A friend of mine announced her engagement this week, and she let me know she wanted to have a green wedding. She asked me for some tips and suggestions on how to make her very special day just a little bit more environmentally friendly. While some things go without saying - like no conflict diamonds - a lot of work goes into planning a wedding. Here are some tips to get you started on your environmentally-friendly wedding.
Print your invitations on tree-free or recycled paper
Wedding invitations often come on extremely fancy, frilly paper. You can still have frilly and fancy wedding invitations without waste. A quick internet search will find companies who carry environmentally sound paper and printing options. InviteSite is based out of California and they carry a wide range of gorgeous eco-friendly wedding invitations and other products.
Alternatively, you can design and print the invitations yourself on eco-friendly products.
Use evites for smaller events
Now, I know it's a wedding, and evites aren't exactly the classiest thing ever. But for the engagement party, rehearsal dinner, and bachelor and bachelorette parties, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get away with an evite. If you are planning a slightly less formal or traditional wedding, evites may be a welcome option for the ceremony or reception.
Make sure your guests know it's a green wedding
You need to include your guests on your green wedding concept, if only because of the wrapping paper and tissue. Imagine if you put together an almost completely waste-free wedding, only to have loads of gifts wrapped in shiny non-recyclable paper. Put it on your wedding website, in your gift registry, and on the invitations. Register for eco-friendly gifts, too. You can even request that gifts be wrapped in recycled paper. It is your special day, after all.
Ditch the big white dress
You can still get married in white! But please, ditch the big, huge, "only going to wear it once and pay hundreds of dollars for it" dress. Be practical, and more importantly, be ethical. Find a dress you can wear more than once, and try to find companies that use ethical labor practices. If your dress can be paired with a cute pair of shoes you already own, that's even better.
Let the bridesmaids and groomsmen compromise
Most men have a standard black or navy blue suit that they can wear if they are selected as groomsmen. There's no need to rent a tux when they probably have a suit already! Bridesmaids should be given a little wiggle room as well. Let them pick the style of the their dress, and give them a color palette to choose from in advance.
Get rid of the frivolous decorations
Yes, you want your wedding to be pretty. But you don't need to decorate every table with disposable plastic do-dads and glitter. If you want streamers, (why?!) try to find recycled ones. If you're going to decorate the tables, try to use things that you can keep, or items that your guests will actually want to take home. A seashell with a picture of the happy couple is not on the top of my list.
Instead of giving flower girls confetti to throw down the isle, opt for petals from real flowers or scraps of fabric instead.
Buy your flowers locally, or grow them yourself
If you live in any decent sized city, odds are you can find a florist that can meet your needs to be environmentally friendly. If you have the capabilities, grow the flowers yourself. If you're getting married in the winter, consider swapping out non-seasonal flowers for something else.
Use recycled or reusable products at the reception
If you're holding a reception and feeding people, you need to think about place settings and plates. Many catering companies will provide plates and silverware, as well as cups. Napkins can be recycled paper, or linens that can be washed and re-used. Plastic cups are sometimes unavoidable, but be sure to have a recycling container nearby so your guests will know where to toss their recyclables. Avoid styrofoam, even if you're serving coffee.
Hold your reception and ceremony at the same site, or encourage car pooling
Holding your ceremony and reception in the same location cuts down on unnecessary driving for your guests. If this isn't possible, you'll need to get all of your guests from the ceremony to the reception site all in one piece. Encourage people to drive to the reception site together, or hold your reception site within walking distance.
Odds are, these guests aren't going to be attending the ceremony together unless encouraged. You can help guests set up car pooling options, especially if they're traveling from a far distance or similar neighborhoods.
What are your tips on having a green wedding?