 Eco-brides, you have begun your wedding planning and things are moving right along. You have the ceremony site booked and the reception site secured.
You are wearing your mother’s wedding dress (what could be greener?!). Your groom has a tux picked out. You are torn between assembling your own flowers fresh from the farmers market or using flowers from the local organic florist. Things are moving in the right direction…. In a green direction!
But what about all those pesky details like favors and bridal party gifts and the like? This piece offers some helpful hints to better plan your wedding with an earth-friendly focus.
The average wedding creates 14.5 tons of CO2! Therefore the details are extremely important! Here are some suggestions for greening all the little details of your wedding day.
Favors. Instead of the obvious picture frame, wedding CD, or teeny box of sweets, choose something greener, like personalized seed packets or mini bottles of wine or hard cider from local winery or brewery, or
Centerpieces. For better and more environmentally responsible centerpieces you might choose locally grown and/or organic flowers to decorate the tables at the reception. Be sure to avoid floral foam in any arrangements. It’s not biodegradable. Or you could select a centerpiece made of natural materials, like real twigs. Twig baskets can be filled with different varieties and colors of seasonal fruits. Your guests can take the fruit home or it can be donated to a local homeless shelter. Glass made of recycled materials with floating soy candles make a beautiful accent (soy candles are not petroleum based, they are bio-degradable, and a reusable energy source.
Showers. As you are showered with gifts, be sure to reuse all gift bags and recycle all wrapping and tissue paper. Better yet, ask your host to throw you a theme shower where everything comes in reusable storage, like a cleaning tote, shower caddy, laundry basket, etc.
Transportation. To reduce emissions, add convenience for your guests, and prevent drunk driving, arrange for shuttle service (or other mass transportation) between the ceremony, the reception site, and the hotel. If your wedding is held in an area where mass transit is an option, be sure to provide this information to your guests. Make it readily accessible on your wedding website. You can also encourage carpooling and train travel, as greener options. Choosing and advocating greener travel will certainly convey your eco-friendly intentions to your guests.
Wedding party gifts. Choose green gifts for your wedding party. Be sure to wrap them in recycled paper or reusable totes, like the generic/grocery tote bags or monogrammed totes. Another great and green idea is making an online donation registry to a worthy cause, like the World Wildlife Fund. There are many green gift retailers for green wedding gifts. There are also green registry services, like Viva Terra, Branch, and Gaiam,to help your guests shop green for you.
Food. Be sure to use a local baker for shower and wedding cakes and any additional desserts. Serve seasonal fruits and veggies as hors d’oeuvres and sides with dinner.
Hopefully these little tips will help you with the little details for a better wedding with a green conscious! And if you are really curious at the success of your green efforts, you can calculate the specific emissions of your wedding with Native Energy/ Portovert’s wedding calculator.
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