The Green Queen

‘The secrets to losing weight in record time for your wedding day'

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^{_{A Free Raw Brides Teleseminar with Special Guest Valerie McKen}}

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A strictly one time FREE teleseminar with Denise Duffield-Thomas (the Bride Transformation Expert) and very special guest, Valerie McKen, Dip CNM, Nutritional Therapist, Eating Disorders Practitioner and Holistic Chef.

Everything old is new again

Today Mark and I went wedding band shopping. As I mentioned in my previous post about wanting a green wedding, we were looking for antique (AKA recycled and green) rings. Platinum is a metal that is quite dirty in an environmental sense, so we didn't want new ones.

Antique platinum is not easy to find, and we went from place to place asking before being turned away. However, in Gray's Antique Market in Bond St, there were lots of good possibilities. Some very old, and others from fifty to seventy years ago. Mark got my engagement ring from there. It's circa 1930's and it's absolutely, absolutely beautiful. 

The jewellery in this market is amazing. Using the word market totally undersells what this place is - from cameo brooches (like the one you wish your granny had) to tiaras - dusty but gorgeous watches, eye popping aquamarine earrings - everything absolutely gorgeous. Diamonds everywhere.

We also went to the Burlington arcade and found this very upmarket jewellery store that looked like it might have antiques. We were ushered in and asked to sit down. As like in all these places, they sneak a look at my engagement ring to see what we can afford. We asked the question "do you have any antique platinum bands?"

"Antique" he asked. "Do you mean, second-hand?"

We smiled at him. "Yes"

"First of all - there is no such thing as second-hand rings, and secondly, nobody would want that anyway"

"I would" I said.

He looked at me. "Why would you want a second-hand ring that came from a dead person's finger, or a divorce?"

"Or someone who had a happy marriage" I countered. "I think it's romantic".

"I've supplied rings to hundreds of couples, I advertise in every bridal magazine. Nobody wants a second-hand ring" he said. 

So we left, thinking "what a wanker"

I don't want to be buried with my wedding and engagement rings. If our marriage is a long and happy one or lasts six months, that power isn't stored in a piece of metal. I would want someone else to enjoy it and continue to be a symbol of love for someone else. 

Secondly - why is new better? When we are running out of raw resources, or killing the planet to find the ones that we do still have (for the time being), buying antique is not just incredibly romantic, but it's better for the environment too. Believe me, when they are all shined up, you will never tell the difference, NEVER. A wedding ring is only a symbol of love. Love isn't actually embodied in the physical thing. What is embodied is potentially some heavy forest degradation, child and slave labour, supporting corrupt governments and poisonous environmental waste. To give you an idea, a single gold ring can produce over 20 tonnes of mine waste. (source)

AH - rant over! What a self righteous little Virgo I can be sometimes!! If you are getting married soon, or just buying jewellery for someone you love - go antique, and make up a lovely story about the owner(s) of it, cherish for the time it's yours and then let it go for someone else. 

Other posts you might like

My kinda sorta, not really Green Wedding

We are Circle, by Corrina Gordon-Barnes

Buying a wedding dress you can wear again, by Katie at Ethical Weddings

Mining and Its Effects on the Environment

If you would like to attend the Eco Chic Wedding & Home Show on Sunday the 8th March, readers of The Green Queen can get 2 for 1 offer on tickets (which would make them just £4 each) with the code: ECWHS-GQ

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Yoga, ahhhh it's so amazing. Yogamazing in fact.

I just did a post about yoga on my Ejuva Detox Cleanse diary, but want to share it here too.

I had the most amazing yoga session last night. I first tried yoga when I was in my teens while I was doing dance training and exams. I just didn't get it. It didn't feel good, and I couldn't get out of performance mode.

Last year, something just clicked for me, and yoga was suddenly an extremely pleasurable experience. I went through a stage of Bikram yoga, and had some weight loss which was fab, but then I moved away from the studio, and also it's really expensive.

What I do now, is download free 20-30minute podcasts from Yogamazing, and do it in my bedroom. Mark, my fiance is really into it as well, and we try and do it at least 3 times a week. It feels sooooo good.

So, last night, I was just in this intense state of bliss. For the first time, the breathing just flowed and I got this sense that I could just do or be anything I wanted. I had this thought - If I felt like this all the time, imagine what I could manifest in my life? Indeed!

So - no excuses - visit Yogamazing - it's free, and dust off that yoga mat, or buy a new one, like my favourite, the Warrior Mat in purple.