… And Something Green
Ways to Make Your Wedding More Eco-friendly
By Rebecca Mitchell
Having an eco-friendly wedding does not mean you have to sacrifice style or elegance. It simply means being environmentally conscious about the products and services you use. With more and more couples choosing to have weddings that produce less waste and pollution, the $70-billion-a-year wedding industry is expanding to meet the demand. Additional “green” wedding products, services, and resources are hitting the market. Eco-Chic Weddings: Simple Tips to Plan an Environmentally Friendly, Socially Responsible, Affordable, and Stylish Celebration by Emily Anderson; greenweddings.net; greeneleganceweddings.com; and Michelle Kozin’s Organic Weddings: Balancing Ecology, Style and Tradition are a few comprehensive planning resources available for couples ready to host an Earth-friendly wedding.
Set the tone for your environmentally friendly wedding by exercising any or all of the following tactics to decrease your wedding’s environmental impact.
Minimize the amount of driving your guests will need to do. Many couples offer shuttle services for their guests if their ceremony and reception are at two different locations or parking is limited. Emily and Todd (wedding story featured on page 23) offered their guests a shuttle service because parking was limited at their wedding venue. They asked a close friend to shuttle guests from a nearby parking lot to their wedding location. “It is very important that the person shuttling, a friend or someone hired for the job, be responsible and trustworthy,” advises Emily. “If you hire someone, ask around about the company’s track record. If you ask a friend, make sure he/she understands exactly what you are expecting.”
Use eco-friendly paper for your wedding stationery, or go electronic. Your options include 100 percent recycled, partially recycled, or completely tree-free paper products. Consider how much paper goes into a wedding; there are engagement announcements, save-the-date cards, shower invitations, shower thank-you notes, wedding invitations, ceremony programs, reception place cards and menu cards, wedding announcements, and thank-you notes. Many couples have turned to electronic methods of communication to reduce their wedding’s paper trail. In fact, you can easily create your own personal wedding website to share all of the pertinent information for your special day. A simple Google search provides numerous wedding website services—weddingwindow.com, ewedding.com, and wedquarters.com to name a few.
Choose “green” wedding rings. The mining of gold can exact a serious impact on the environment. So, consider seeking out recycled precious metals and stones, or transform a vintage ring into a new beauty.
Choose decorations that can be reused. Consider making your table centerpieces and altar decorations potted plants or ornamental grass planted in reusable containers, or fruit arranged in elegant recycled-glass vases. Offer these decorations to your guests to take home, or donate them to a local organization like Hayes and Ryan did (wedding story featured on page 37). Hayes ordered native wetland plants in one-gallon pots, and Ryan built the barnwood boxes in which they were displayed. As their “gift” to their guests, they donated the plants to the Teton Regional Land Trust to be used in a wetland restoration project.
Give “organic” favors like live evergreen tree seedlings, flower bulbs or seed packets, handmade soaps, or small boxes of locally made chocolates. The National Arbor Day Foundation sells tree seedlings that are delivered in a recyclable plastic tube with a customized label. The recyclable tube converts into a birdfeeder after the tree is planted. -