Tags: eco-friendly, all-natural, organic, green wedding, more>>all-naturaleco-friendlygreen weddingorganicEnvironmental issues are in the forefront of the news and on most everybody’s minds. As a result, “green weddings” are one of the hottest trends in weddings today. The following are some tips on how you can be kind to our planet by having a green wedding.
Use recycled or tree-free paper. You won’t have to sacrifice beauty for conservation’s sake. There are many resources on the Internet for stationery companies that use environmentally-friendly papers that are beautiful. You can also have your invitations printed from ink made with vegetable base dyes rather than metal or other harmful chemical bases. You may also use pens with vegetable ink to address your envelopes.
Use locally grown, organic produce and flowers. By using organic products you will help reduce the use of pesticides which are not only harmful to the environment, but are also harmful to people. Using local wedding vendors will reduce transportation costs, and will reduce auto emissions as well. You can also discuss donating your flowers to a local charity or nursing home after your event. The beautiful arrangements will brighten someone’s day and ensure that your flowers have a longer life than just a few hours at your wedding reception.
Some caterers offer organically grown food, including organic beer and wine. The per person food cost may be a bit higher, but you will be serving your guests fresh, pesticide-free food. Another way your caterer or reception site can help with the environment is to recycle. Find out if your reception location can put out separate bins for glass, cans and paper. More and more facilities offer these kinds of services for those who plan a green wedding.
Some articles suggest donating left over food from your reception as a way to give back to the community. In an ideal world, it would be great to send the prepared food you didn’t consume to a local shelter, but because of liability issues, this rarely, if ever, happens. You can help protect the environment by discussing your food and beverage needs in fine detail with your catering sales manager to minimize waste. Explain to your sales manager that you want an amazing event with incredible food; but that you want to make sure that you don’t have too much. If you give your sales manger an accurate guest count, she will be able to order just the right amount. Over-ordering just creates more waste.
Speaking of auto-emissions, have you considered how much your wedding guests will contribute to global warming just driving or flying your wedding celebration. You can find out exactly what kind of environmental impact your wedding day will have with the wedding emissions calculator at www.protovert.com. The calculator will tell you how many tons of pollution your wedding will contribute to the environment. The calculator will also tell you how to off-set the pollution by making a contribution to organizations who research and provide clean energy.
Mining for gold has a significant impact in communities around the world. Consider using a family ring, or a piece of jewelry that has been recycled. Some couples are even using rings made of hemp. You can find stories about the impact of gold mining on our environment by going to www.nodirtygold.org.
Make your passion for preserving the environment known to your guests. In lieu of traditional favors, make a donation to your favorite environmentally-friendly organization on behalf of your guests. If you do want to give a favor to your friends and family, make it seeds, or a seedling that all can plant when they return home. They will have a living reminder of your special day. You can even put a statement on your invitations or reception place cards that say, “This is a Green Wedding.”
Finally, consider an eco-friendly honeymoon. There are travel companies who specialize in finding eco-friendly lodging who use locally-grown, organic food, renewable energy, and a recycling program. For those of you who are a bit adventurous, consider doing community service for a few hours at your honeymoon location. If you travel to another country, you will learn more about the culture and you will make a valuable contribution to your host community.
Not every couple will find it practical to incorporate every eco-friendly idea into a complete “green weddings”, but even making a couple of changes will make a positive impact on the environment. A healthy planet is a wonderful gift to give to future generations and it is a beautiful legacy to remember your wedding celebration.
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