"It's (Not) Easy Being Green": Planning an Eco-Friendly Wedding

Like most people nowadays, you’re doing your best to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle than you once did. You choose reusable shopping bags, carry an aluminum thermos rather than buying bottled water, and are the first one on your block to proudly display your accumulation of recyclables on the curb every other week. But the idea of having a green wedding can be a bit daunting. Planning a wedding is a lot of work, and the pressure to make environmentally-responsible choices might not be foremost in your mind. But the truth is, it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition, and eco-friendly choices are available at every turn. Here are some ideas to consider.

Your Gown

It’s easy to find dresses made out of polyester, but remember that polyester is petroleum-based. Consider a dress made out of more natural fibers, such as cotton or silk. Another way to minimize the effect on the environment is to buy or borrow a gently-used or vintage dress. Or, choose a dress that you can wear again – cutting it down for another event, perhaps.

Your Invitations

There are many options for environmentally-friendly wedding invitations. We offer a large selection to choose from.

• Birchcraft Studios is now using soy-based inks for all thermography printing except metallic colors. Their recycled papers include up to 100% post-consumer stock. In addition, they also offer invitations printed on 100% cotton paper.
• Carlson Craft offers environmentally friendly wedding products by many lines, including Naturally Ever After™, Chloe B.® and The Wedding Collection™. Their offerings include products that are printed on paper that is Green Seal Certified, made with 100% post-consumer fibers and created without the use of chlorine compounds.
• McPherson’s and Stylart both offer products from the Naturally Ever After™ line, which features products crafted on quality, recycled papers containing at least 30% post-consumer fibers.

Your Flowers

• Find a florist who carries organically-grown, local flowers that are in season. Flowers that have been grown organically have been grown without the use of pesticides and other dangerous chemicals. Buying a local product will reduce the distance that they need to be shipped, thus reducing carbon emissions. Look for labels such as ‘eco-friendly’, ’socially responsible’ and ‘Fair Trade.’ If you live in New York, visit Gardenia Organic, New York’s first sustainable florist. In Boston, visit Faxon Green, where they compost all living material, recycle everything, use the cardboard boxes and cartons of vases to pack bouquets for delivery, and do not use floral foam, plastic or chemicals. Or visit Organic Bouquet to order organic flowers online.
• Reuse your flowers. After the ceremony, have a friend transport them to the reception so that you can use them as table decorations, or a beautiful background for your photos. After the party, send them home with your guests.
• Another option which is gaining popularity is the use of silk flowers, rather than natural. A great benefit of these flowers is that you can keep them forever as a special memento from your wedding day.

Your Favors

• Buy edible or consumable favors. These include chocolate, cookies, jams, soy candles, free-trade tea or coffee.
• Or, you might choose live seedling favors. Environmental and earth-friendly, with a natural elegance, seedlings by Green World Project make excellent favors, and can be personalized for any occasion. The National Arbor Day Foundation also makes it easy for eco-friendly brides to give trees for their favors. The trees are delivered in an easy recyclable plastic tube with your choice of customized label. Your recipients can plant their trees right away, store them in a refrigerator, or grow them indoors for months.
• In lieu of favors, consider making a donation to a charitable organization in honor of your wedding guests (a choice we are seeing more and more often). Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc. (EOR), for example, is doing wonderful work to improve the living conditions and lives of orphaned children in Ethiopia. Your guests will no doubt find this to be far more meaningful than a tin of jordan almonds will ever be.

Your Decor

Candles add so much romantic ambiance to a room, and are a great alternative to flowers. Soy and beeswax candles are cleaner and burn longer than traditional candles, and are not made using petroleum by-products. Scent-Sations, Inc. specializes in soy candles, and has a large variety of colors and scents to choose from.

Your Photographs

Find a photographer who works in digital format. Digital photos are more environmentally friendly because they don’t require the use of toxic chemicals and don’t waste paper. If you would still prefer film photography, discuss less toxic developing methods with your photographer. And please don’t place disposable cameras on the tables at your reception. Most of your guests will bring their own digital cameras, and will be happy to share their photos with you.

Your Caterer

• Choose a caterer who specializes in local, organic food. Simply using locally grown vegetables and meats both supports the local economy and reduces transport carbon emissions.
• Consider a vegetarian or vegan menu. Or, if you choose to serve meat, make sure that it is organic and cruelty-free.
• Choose a plated meal, rather than a buffet. If the food is prepared and served based on the actual number of guests, it alleviates the need to make the extra food that is needed on the buffet. This also tends to result in fewer dirty dishes, which reduces the amount of hot water and detergent needed to clean them.
• And don’t forget to choose fair-trade coffee and tea to accompany your organic wedding cake!

It might not always be “easy” to make green choices, but these choices (along with all of the other eco-friendly lifestyle changes you have already made) will help to make the earth a better place for your children. Now… start looking for that gently-used dress!