This month Green Wedding Shoes hit a BIG milestone – we turned 10 YEARS OLD!! SO CRAZY!! I wanted to jump in and share some of my thoughts on the past 10 years. So much has changed in the online (and wedding!) space since we started in 2008. Back then there was no Pinterest, no Instagram, and not many wedding blogs….
In looking back at the past 10 years, we have shared over 2,300 real weddings, launched 5 different GWS product collections (including jewelry, bridesmaids dresses, wedding dresses and neck ties!!), traveled the world to find some of the best honeymoon spots, and have been sharing some of the most creative couples + artists in the wedding space daily on GWS. It’s been a pretty amazing 10 years!! And the best part? I get to work every day with my partner, best friend and husband Jason (aka the man behind GWS!). LOVE that this job allows us to work together each day and create new content daily. Also, wanted to give a quick shout out to our amazing + dedicated team! We are a small team, but I SO value everything our team brings to the brand—and from the emails and DMs I receive daily, I know you guys notice their dedication + passion as well. So big thanks to our editorial + production team, Katie (our first employee and still with us!!!), Chelsea and Brittany! Thanks also to Mark who helps with our tech and backend development.
{intro photo by tyler rye photography from this desert wedding inspiration in zion national park}
GWS was founded on the belief that every couple is unique and should celebrate that. Whether you want to wear green wedding shoes (like I did), rock a colorful wedding dress, or forgo any + all traditions—we are MAJORLY in support of just that. It would be impossible to pick my favorite weddings from all the amazing ones we’ve shared over the past 10 years but I wanted to highlight a few that stood out to me when I think back and people ask me what types of weddings we share here….
A Few of My Favorite Real Weddings From the Past 10 Years
This Harry Potter-inspired wedding showed that you could incorporate pop culture into your day and still have an utterly romantic wedding! Mischief managed. ;)
photo: nirav patel | location: hollywood castle | design + planning: crosby + jon | from this glam harry potter wedding at hollywood castle
This couple reminded us you really can say I Do wherever your heart desires—even if that means all your guests join you in the water!
photo: geoff duncan | from this intimate sandbar wedding in hawaii
This wedding was from way back in 2014 and love that the couple got married on her family’s Almond Orchard Farm and selected the date when the trees would be in bloom…so magical!
photo: josh gruetzmacher | from this magical springtime almond orchard wedding
Unique locations to say I Do is definitely one of the things we love sharing most here on GWS and this couple camping out all night to have their ceremony under this bridge made for a one-of-a-kind venue.
photo: taylor bartram photography | from this wedding under one of portland’s most famous bridges
This California Festival wedding (from 2015 for one of the founders of Daughters of Simone) kicked off the current trend for throwing a festival-inspired wedding and we just LOVE it!
And when it comes down to it, couples with crazy cool fashion, personal details about the two of them and working with a talented photographer, well, that really sums up our couples we love sharing here.
photo: lauren scotti | from this marie antoinette-inspired paris wedding
….but seriously, we have SO MANY inspiring weddings in our Real Weddings archive…take a look and you’re sure to be inspired!
We’ve Kicked Off Some Crazy Cool Trends
Trends come and go, but some of them are in it for the long run (think getting married at a barn…but burlap didn’t stick around! We shared this list of coolest barns to get married at in the United States back in 2015 and recently updated the list for 2018.)
Going off of the barn trend, we’ve seen a number of weddings happen inside gorgeous greenhouses, and that trend seems to keep getting bigger! Check our list of Coolest Greenhouses to get Married at in the United States here!
photo: ryan flynn photography | from this: rustic meets eclectic at this greenhouse wedding in new york
Back in June of 2013, we shared this romantic elopement in the woods—it blew UP and started the current popular trend for adventure elopements!
photo: benj haisch photography | location: rattlesnake ridge
And several years later, the trend that kicked off from the Rattlesnake Ridge elopement, resulted in our ‘MOST PINNED’ article, ever! Pretty cool how that came full circle, right?
photo: benj haisch photography | location: rattlesnake ridge | from this 25 jaw dropping spots that will make you want to elope
When it comes to textured florals, you may have noticed how pampas grass has become a major player in recent years. This is the post that started it all (from 2015!)…with a ribbon of blooms leading all the way down to this halo installation!
photography: carlie statsky | event design + florals: christine cater | from this dreamy wedding inspiration at carmel valley ranch
to see 21 unique ways to include pampas grass in your wedding, click here!
Creative confectionary delights are always pleasing to the eye…and mouth, right? One of our fave (and most delicious) trends is that of drip wedding cakes! While naked cakes have been, ahem, taking the cake for awhile now, the drip cake is quickly becoming a MUST for events. Essentially it’s a cake where the top has been expertly doused in a liquid icing and it runs/melts down the sides (kind of like lava).
photo: we laugh, we love photography | cake by: amy’s sweet bakeshop | from this enchanting fall wedding fashion with bhldn
We’ve sat in the front row for multiple years of Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week shows to bring you the best of the best and all the upcoming designs in the bridal fashion world.
see our recaps from 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018
We’ve Taken You To Tons of Places Around the World
Travel is truly important to us. We encourage you to always seek adventure, experience other cultures, come back with new ideas and feeling refreshed. We love to show all the people and places out there and motivate you to step out of your comfort zone. Whether it’s a holiday to connect with your love, celebrate your marriage, or one to come back feeling refreshed + a new spark for life, travel is invaluable to us and so much can be garnered from it.
We spoke at the By the Lake Workshop at Lake Como in Italy… see more here!
We visited Hotel Villa Hongg in Switzerland and the pool there definitely needs to be added to your honeymoon wishlist!
Looking for travel inspiration? We’ve shared these guides (+ many more!)
- 48 Hours in London
- Puglia, Italy Travel Diary
- Tuscany + Cinque Terre, Italy
- Cabo San Lucas
- Oahu, Hawaii
- Provence, France
And speaking of travel, in 2016 we listened to you guys and expanded GWS into sharing more lifestyle content (including more travel features) along with home tours, parties and tips for entertaining at home!
We’ve Shared Some Seriously Incredible + Creative Gowns
We’ve shared several colorful wedding dresses (including this hand-painted one) and always encourage couples to break traditions and make their wedding truly about them (no white dress necessary).
photo: alex kwong photography | dress: designed by tiff manuell, handmade by patricio banados valenzuela | from this where the bride wore a hand-painted rainbow wedding dress
Colorful wedding dresses, for the win! This yellow one is one of our ‘Most Loved’ on Instagram!
photo: levi tijerina | dress: sarah seven “sullivan” in yellow | from this desert road trip elopement
We’ve Crafted Really Fun DIY Tutorials
This DIY Silk Flower Hoop Bouquet perfect for bridesmaids!
This DIY Floral Balloon Arch that we could see at weddings, bridal showers, or any type of party!
This recipe with all the instructions you need to make frosé (which is one of our ‘Most Popular’ pins!)
We’ve Curated Round-Ups to Inspire Your Planning Process
We see A LOT of weddings and know how difficult the planning process can be: where do you start, how do you sift through all the articles, what about this color palette, or this trend? So, in an effort to help inspire the planning process and make it go as smoothly as possible, while encouraging creativity and focusing on your unique relationship, we’ve curated these guides:
Tips to Save Money and Still Have a Gorgeous Wedding!
photo: kate salley photography | event design + planning: wedfuly
How to Incorporate Potted Plants Into Your Wedding (and Home After!)
photo by: marcos sanchez photography | from this free-spirited elopement on the volcanic island of lanzarote
How to Elope in a National Park
photo: jordan voth | location: horseshoe bend at the grand canyon | featured in this intimate horseshoe bend elopement
Wedding Planning Tips: Floralize Your Tablescape and What Each Piece Costs
photo: cavin elizabeth photography | florals: compass floral
AMAZING Product Collabs
In the past 5 years we’ve grown exponentially, especially when it comes to the incredible brands we’ve been able to collaborate with and design bespoke GWS products with!
Jewelry with Gorjana + Mejuri
Introducing the GWS x gorjana Bridal Collection!
photos: stephanie williams of this modern romance
Our GWS x Mejuri Jewelry Collection
Bridesmaids Dresses with Show Me Your Mumu
We’ve collaborated with Show Me Your Mumu on three gorgeous collections of bridesmaid gowns…and our next one is in the works launching early next year!!
GWSxMumu Wedding Bells Floral Collection
GWSxMumu Wedding Soiree Print Collection
photo: danielle poff | planning: spreading lovely
The Original GWSxMumu Collection
photo: brandon kidd
Tie Collection with Neck and Tie Co.
We can’t forget the guys! A look at our GWS x Neck & Tie Co Tie Collection!
photo: katie pritchard
Wedding Dresses with Lovers Society
And our biggest collab?!! Our GORGEOUS wedding dress collection with Lovers Society!! We partnered with them on SIX stunning wedding dresses available here in the US at Lovely Bride and now around the world as well in other select bridal shops!!
Take a closer look at our Lovers Society X Green Wedding Shoes Wedding Dress Collection here!
photo: jordan zobrist | available exclusively in the US at Lovely Bride
And many more things are currently in the works… ;)
We can’t wait to see what the next 10 years have in store + we are so thankful to be on this incredible journey with you—supporting unique couples and fantastically creative wedding artists, while fostering an encouraging and inventive space in this wedding sphere we call home. Cheers to that!
Breathtaking ideas you smashed it
Hacker Wedding Photography
Congrats on 10 years!!!!
Congratulations on 10 years! And great ideas.