Green Weddings - Environmentally Friendly

A Matter Of Choice

The first thing you’ll learn when planning a “green” wedding, is that there is no such thing as an all encompassing definition for what is or what isn’t a green occasion. Some couples elect to make sure every last detail is as socially and environmentally responsible as humanly possible. Others make more modest strides such as printing invitations on recycled paper. Ultimately, it’s about a certain level of consciousness and caring for others. For some couples, a green wedding isn’t even a conscious decision to be more environmentally and socially responsible - it’s more like a natural extension of the way they live everyday.

GOING GREEN

What kind of wedding any couple decides to throw is certainly a personal decision. And there is no right or wrong way to throw a wedding—what any one couple can do or wants to do is dictated by their beliefs, family traditions and financial concerns. The idea of “being green” is open to wide interpretation. Some green choices are more expensive than others. For example, you can walk through a supermarket and see that food in the organic section is quite expensive. It would increase the cost by about 30 percent to serve every person an organic meal. Of course, cutting costs in other areas of the wedding may make the expense of organic food more palatable, as well as free up some money for other organic touches in the ceremony.

 

CATEGORY GOAL STEPS
Attire Reuse and think long-term
  • Consider wearing your mother's dress. Fully restore it or use part of it - you might even incorporate a piece of the veil into the dress.
  • Choose clothing you can wear again.
  • Have bridesmaids choose their own dresses.
Invitations & Stationery Use recycled materials and/or minimize the paper used by incorporating technology
  • Send just one sheet of recycled paper for the invitation and have guests RSVP online.
  • Send electronic invitations.
  • Print one or two menus per table; print one program per couple.
Reception Minimize waste - think local and seasonal
  • Ask caterers to open the alcohol only as needed to avoid throwing away ruined remainders.
  • Have recycling bins available.
  • Serve local, seasonal and/or organic food.
  • Consider composting leftover foods.
Wedding Jewelry Think socially responsible
  • Consider buying vintage rings.
  • Buy fair-trade diamonds, and go with companies that have ethical mining practices.
Transportation Conserve gasoline 
  •  A few limousine services are beginning to incorporate hybrid vehicles into their fleets. Keep the ceremony and reception sites close together. And if you're really hard-core green, skip the limousine and ask the bridal party to carpool and drive themselves.
  • Try a horse drawn carriage ride.
Flowers  Reuse and donate; think seasonal and local 
  • Have the bridesmaids carry the same arrangements you're using for the reception tables. Leave a vase empty for each bridesmaid, and then fill in the vases with the bridesmaids' bouquets after the ceremony.
  • Reuse any arrangements from the ceremony at the reception site and decorate your head table or such.
  • Donate flowers to hospitals or hospices.
  • Send the flowers home with guests.
  • Choose seasonal blooms available locally.
Cake Minimize waste
  • Order a cake that is proportional to your guest count & minimize waste.
  • Use fresh flowers.
Gifts & Favors Minimize waste with thoughtful gifts
  • Think about giving service gifts to your bridal party instead of physical objects. At one wedding I planned, many of the bride's attendants had children. The bride gave each one of them a free night of baby sitting where she and her husband would watch the children. I think that was a more meaningful gift to those women than any scarf or bag or anything else.
  • Do a group activity for the groomsmen (like a baseball game) or bridesmaids in lieu of a gift.
  • Consider making a donation to a philanthropy in the amount you would have spend on favors.
  • Give favors like potted or dried herbs or seed packets that guests can use.