Green Weddings
Many eco-conscious brides and grooms are not only making statements about their love to family and community but are making statements about their passion for protecting the environment through the ways in which they celebrate their weddings.
There are so many ways that couples can continue their green lifestyles even as they celebrate what is traditionally an extravagant celebration hardly ever considered in terms of the 3 R’s – “reduce, recycle, reuse.”
It can begin as early as the shower. Some “green” bridal showers request that friends and family only think of giving gifts that do not require electricity, do not contain plastic and are not designed to be disposable.
Even the jewelry that is purchased as a token of love can have a eco/ethical foundation. Couples are choosing to purchase rings made from gold that is mined in an ethical that is not the spoils from international conflict as is the case in many African countries where precious minerals and diamonds that are mined at the expense of many lives. Consumers can actually purchase “conflict-free” diamonds and in doing so help to diminish the profits to be had by those international firms that mine diamonds without concern for the livelihood and safety of the nations from which they are taking these diamonds.
Couples may also choose to purchase gold that is mined in a ecologically safe way—a way that does not create unnecessary harm and damage to the environment around which the mine is created. Other couples have actually chosen to melt down gold rings that are already in the family (like a grandparent’s ring) and reforming the ring in a style that is representative of the tastes and experiences of the couple.
As for the actual wedding brides who are more conscious about reusing items than the newest overpriced wedding dress are choosing to wear vintage dresses from family, friends or vintage stores. Other brides are choosing to rent dresses—a decision that can cost as little as $100. That’s far cry from the thousands of dollars many brides pay salons for new gowns today. Often times what you can rent for $100 is the exact dress someone else is paying over $1000 to wear one time. Hmmm…
Another way to reduce exposure to toxic pesticides and help cut down on the pollution created by the importation of exotic flowers is to buy flowers that are in season from your local flower stores. Many people aren’t aware that cut flowers are among the most pesticide-intensive crops. Wild flowers grown domestically and sold locally at stores are often chemical free. Again the cost of buying locally grown flowers will be considerably less as will the impact on the environment.
How many people really need those wedding favors? At many “green” weddings, wedding favors are replaced with a donation to a local favorite charity of the couple. This is a far more meaningful gift from everyone’s perspective especially when the alternative is a wedding favor that may be readily discarded many guests.
To toast the happy occasion, many couples are choosing to serve organic or biodynamic wines. More and more wine shops are offering choices that include organic wines that are priced similarly to regular wines.
A green wedding can be not only a celebration of love and commitment between two people but also a celebration of our commitment as a community to saving our environment.
Cheers!
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the Sage and Sassy RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
April 17th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Did you or are you planning a green wedding? We’d love to feature you in our Green Wedding Guidebook being published by Sierra Club next year. Please share your story!
Email me, and we can set up a brief phone interview.
Kassia
green.your.wedding@gmail.com
May 5th, 2008 at 7:49 am
All of these are great ideas!
When I had my wedding, we gave away tiny packets of wild flower seeds in a paper fold-over that was stamped with “There is nothing so beautiful as Spring” (a quote from Gerald Manley Hopkins). We used rented plates, wine glasses and tumblers (and only broke one!), and we used flowers that were in season (we picked them out that morning). My bridesmaids were barefoot, as was I, and my husband and his grooms wore the craziest shoes they had under their tuxes. We used yards of fabric (afterwards I used as curtians in our first house) instead of paper throw away decorations for the banquet hall. All our invitations, etc, my maid of honor and I made ourselves. We used ‘hand made paper’ from a local shop and leaf skeletons for our wedding invitations tied to the hand made paper with sweet green ribbon.
It was a wonderful day… but when I think back on it, it was a very green one as well. We didn’t throw rice, we blew bubbles, and we didn’t buy anything that was throw away… even the trays the food were on, I bought two three tiered silver platters that I still use for birthday parties and such and I used glass platters… and asked for ones to borrow from friends and family where I couldn’t own any more… even the salad bowls were bought, second hand, when we found two good large white ones at a Value Village. I think we had two bags of garbage for the whole wedding.
We also had a strict budget. It was $500 from my parents and one $600 tax return from us. All but my dress was bought with that. It meant we could not hire people to do the work for us, but the work we did made a heck of a wedding for $1100 (back in 2000).
There are many other small ways to turn your wedding green. The big things, are of course, rings, dress etc… but the small things are perhaps just as important.
Blessings,
Val
Val’s last blog post..Little Explorer
July 16th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
My husband and I had a wedding with green elements. We used http://www.thegreenbrideguide.com to help us plan - I highly recommend it! You can see a picture form our wedding on the real weddings page.