Green tips and tricks....
What can you do to make your event more sustainable?
- Take a careful look at all your potential vendors and ask yourself: By spending my money with this company, are my dollars supporting a company that is socially and environmentally responsible?
Below are some tips to help guide you through the wonderful process of planning your eco-friendly wedding.
And we don't stop there. We have a lifestyle section that gives you tips to minimize your impact on the environment.
For Your Wedding
Jewelry
Eco-conscious jewelers use recycled stones and metals, as well as ethically-sourced diamonds, gems, and metals to create the ring(s) that will hold so many meanings for you.
Family heirlooms, vintage or antique pieces, or handmade items are also sustainable and often less expensive options to consider.
Invitations
Many progressive couples are finding ways to minimize the use of paper in their wedding stationary choices.
Instead of including separate papers for reception cards and maps and directions to the wedding, house all pertinent information on a wedding website. There are so many fabulous invitation companies that are now creating one-page, self-mailing invitations with a detachable response card.
Additionally, there are online resources that allow couples to create an entire suite of eco-chic electronic invitations that take/track RSVP's, provide registry and accommodation information, and remove the need for paper use entirely.
You will find the middle ground that best fits your style and guests' needs.
Attire
There are a number of ways to lessen the negative environmental impact of your gown and bridesmaids' gowns. Try a designer who is offering eco-couture gowns made from sustainable materials. Buy vintage, have a family gown altered to fit your taste, or donate your gown after the big day.
Beauty and Make-Up
There's a whole world of organic and sustainable beauty products readily available for you. Here are a few for you to check out: Burt's Bees, Aveda, Levera, or Aubrey Organics.
For your wedding party gifts, treat your maids (and groomsmen) to a gift basket or kit. Needing a touch up on those roots? Try a Henna dye rather than its chemical counterpart.
Flowers
Think about taking advantage of the wonderful Texas wildflowers that grow prolifically around our area in so many wonderfully rich colors. While not located in Texas, there are a number of stateside organic companies that offer amazing mixes of wedding flowers.
Think about donating your flowers to a local nursing home or hospital instead of throwing them away. Call me to learn more about creative ways to ensure you have access to local, seasonal and pesticide free flowers.
Décor
The thing to remember is to try and avoid items you're not going to use again. In other words, unless you plan to use 25 pink plastic table liners again and again, rent linens. Look for ways to use recycled glass jars to hold flowers or soy/beeswax candles. (This is a great way to save money with florists!) You can then give them to guests. There are several great websites where brides can buy or sell wedding decorations.
Lighting as decor uses so much energy. Be sure you're looking into LED lighting and/or solar lanterns (there are some terribly cool lanterns available that are real keepers for the backyard afterwards) rather than traditional.
Lose the plastic aisle runner in favor of using something clever like luminaries to demarcate your aisle. (Did you know that if you lined up a year's worth disposable aisle runners end to end, they would wrap around the world twice? ICK!)
And for goodness sakes, stay away from balloons. There is just nothing good about them. They're made from petroleum-based materials and can choke the life out of a bird if swallowed.
Food and Beverage
Use the season you are going to be married to drive your decisions about menu and for that matter the overall look tone and feel of your wedding. By staying true to the season, your caterer will have access to local produce which will result in a burst of fresh flavors for your meal. I have found some amazing farmers in our area who raise grassfed, hormone-free and antibiotic-free livestock and foul (each with acres and acres in which to roam and a barn to call their own).
When available, providing wine, beer, and other beverages made in the area adds some local flavor.
Gifts
By registering with an eco-friendly company like the Green Bride Guide, you can support sustainable business while educating your guests about eco-friendly products. There are even organizations you can register through that donate a portion of the sales from your items to a variety of causes. Check out I Do Foundation. For more of a mainstream option, Macy's Department stores have an enormous line of eco-friendly home goods.
Favors
Making a small donation for each guest to a cause that is important to you is a thoughtful alternative to a tangible, potentially-wasteful favor. If you are set on giving a small gift, there are tons of non-wasteful favor ideas like edibles, small potted plants, seedlings or soy candles that will echo the values behind your sustainable wedding. There are a gazillion online resources for ideas. Etsy has some pretty clever favor ideas and you will support a small business at the same time.
Transportation
Cut through all the whys and hows and do yourself a favor -- check out Brighter Green to purchase carbon offsets for less than $100 a year for a midsize car.
Holding your ceremony and reception at the same venue or close by one another is one way to limit travel for your guests. Think about finding a hotel that's close by to other event venues. If possible, make this a centralized location so that most of your friends and family will not have to travel far. Carpooling, renting an alternative energy bus or trolley, or talking public transit if available will not only make things easier for your guests, but it will also get them to and from your celebration while minimizing emissions.
Travel
Many honeymoon hotspots, such as tropical reefs or national parks, are also ecologically-sensitive areas. Ecotourism options, green hotels/accommodations, and carbon off-setting all help conserve resources and ensure the money that you are spending makes its way into the local economy. To even further lessen the impact of your honeymoon, explore local or volunteer vacation options.
Lifestyle
If you are just beginning your eco-transformation, don't apply too much pressure. This will be a ramp up process. As you run out of items or things burn out, replace them as you go. This will be easy on the pocket book and you won't waste already-purchased products.
Below is where my family started:
- Replacing cleaning supplies (general household as well as dishwasher and laundry detergents)
- Replace household paper goods (paper towels and toilet paper)
- Utilizing compact fluorescent lamps (the swirly bulbs). They only work on certain dimmers... so don't try it with just any dimmer -- it makes an awful popping noise, as I found out the hard way.
- Recycling
This year we committed to composting. I know this is a work in progress but am thrilled that my son can identify what goes in the compost and what doesn't. It's a commitment for sure but one I've found not too difficult.
There are a number of websites to help guide you through the process. I've listed a couple below that I frequent.
