There are two ways you can go about planning an eco-friendly wedding. You can go the extremist route and go as "green" as possible (the ultimate), or you can compromise and "go green" where it counts the most (the moderate). For starters, pick a team (ultimate or moderate) and decide how eco-friendly your wedding will be.
When planning an eco-friendly wedding, keep "minimal," "maximize," and "trade-off" in mind. The ultimate eco-bride will maximize the efficiency of her wedding. She will keep energy expenses to a minimum, and understands that "trade-offs" are great ways to compromise without sacrificing the eco-friendly goal of her wedding. With that in mind, here are a few tips for planning an eco-friendly wedding that everyone will rave about.
Get Hitched At An Eco-Friendly Wedding Venue
It all starts with where your nuptials are set to take place. The wedding venue is the foundation of a "green" wedding.
The Ultimate: Get outside! Saving money on utilities is as "green" as it gets. Live up the joys of an outdoor wedding ceremony. Choose from a friend's large backyard, local botanical gardens, a boat or yacht, a special pavilion in the park or other great outdoor wedding venues. After the vows are swapped, dance the night away under the stars (or a tent).
The Moderate: Compromise is key. You want a "green" wedding, but you're not going to sweat off your $100 hair and make-up job for it. No problem. Say the vows inside and switch to a tent reception later. Another option is to plan your wedding during the day with optimal use of natural light during your ceremony.
Walk With Nature's Beautiful Bounty – Wedding Flowers
Flowers are a core part of any wedding ceremony. They touch every part of the service from beginning to end. To make sure that your wedding is as "green" as possible, here are some eco-friendly tips for your wedding flowers.
The Ultimate: Artificial or permanent botanicals are perfect for the eco-bride. Silk flowers can be reused or saved for a child's wedding. If you use real flowers, have them preserved or add them to a compost pile.
The Moderate: You can't deny the classic beauty of fresh-cut wedding flowers. Keep it eco-friendly by limiting the number of flowers used or finding ways to reuse them. For example, bridesmaids bouquets can be dropped into vases for quick and easy centerpieces at the reception. Strike a compromise by using silk flowers at the wedding ceremony and fresh flowers at the reception.
Whatever The Theme, Keep Your Reception "Green"
Because planning the wedding reception accounts for such a large part of the budget, eco-friendly is the way to go. Here are some ways to go "green" while stretching your decorations dollars.
The Ultimate:
- LIGHTING–Host an outdoor reception that starts in the afternoon and makes the most of natural lighting. Once the sun has gone down, break out the candles and bring on the ambiance.
- UTENSILS–Use only real utensils and serving pieces. Many caterers include these in their fees. It's a nominal cost that saves paper waste and landfill space.
- LINENS–Use tables that can be quickly wiped down with eco-friendly cleaners and cloth towels. If you're using chair covers, tablecloths and napkins, make sure they are reusable and washable. Look for recycled fabrics (plastic bottles can be made into fibers now) and cloths colored with organic dyes.
- WEDDING CAKE–Whether ornate or simple, order your wedding cake based on the number of confirmed guests. Your baker or caterer can help you estimate what size wedding cake you'll need to minimize waste.
- ENTERTAINMENT–The ultimate eco-bride will opt for musicians that require little or no electricity for their music. Orchestras, quartets, and solo musicians are all positive ways to go for entertainment.
- FAVORS–The ultimate eco-bride will choose eco-friendly wedding favors, such as personalized plantable cards, or no wedding favors at all.
The Moderate:
- LIGHTING–You want to be in the spotlight which requires having one. Great! Just keep low-wattage in mind. Strand lights are also great ways to light up the night with the same (or lower) energy usage and a romantic air.
- LINENS— Opt for linens that can be reused or rented.
- WEDDING CAKE–You went all out on the wedding cake. That's awesome! Instead of letting leftovers go to waste, offer extras to guests as they prepare to leave.
- ENTERTAINMENT— You want a DJ for reception entertainment. If energy is a concern, use the DJ for only part of the reception and make the rest about community and bonding.
- FAVORS— Choose eco-friendly wedding favors that meet at least one of two standards: (1) recyclable or made of recycled materials (2) practical and reusable. Trade-off here? Reusability is a subtle form of recycling.
See, it's easy to be a "green" bride and throw the best eco-friendly wedding in town without sacrificing the ultimate wedding. Instead a "green" wedding is a long-term, positive pay-off for you, your groom and your guests.
Special thanks to these vendors for the use of their wedding photos:
Photo of the yacht wedding reception courtesy of J&R Guarino Photography, an event and wedding photographer in Brick, New Jersey.
Wildflower cone seed favors photo courtesy of Plant A Memory, providing eco-friendly wedding favors in the US and Canada with headquarters in Locke, New York and Burlington, Ontario.
Poolside wedding reception photo courtesy of Ann's Bridal & Etcetera Including Cakes & Catering, a wedding vendor in Searcy, Arkansas.
In this article it said to use a DJ for only part of the Reception and I use only Solar Power to do Wedding Ceremony's & Reception's with Solar Powered Batteries! A Bride & Groom does not have to limit a DJ/MC for their special day!
These are great tips, and it's so important to think of eco-friendly ways to have a fabulous wedding. Here are a few more tips:
Save on flowers and decorations by choosing a naturally beautiful setting. Also, I know several couples who have used the money they would have spent on flowers and decorations to beautifully redo their own yard. They planted beautiful plants and flowers to make it an oasis they could enjoy for years to come. Now, every time they look outside, they're reminded of their wedding.
Invitations weren't mentioned here, but paper is an important consideration – some people make programs, place cards, RSVPs, etc and most of it just goes into the trash. Our "trash" never goes away. Brides can opt instead for using recyclable paper, paper products made out of post-consumer waste, or find ways to not use paper at all. For example, send e-vites. Make a fun online video as the invitation. Don't bother with programs (who reads those anyway?). Or, your programs could double as fans for an outdoor ceremony, and then make sure they are recycled.
I totally agree about having favors that are usable. Candy or candles are a great choice (soy or beeswax candles because regular candles are made from petroleum products).
Shop for eco-friendly dresses. If you want a silk dress, make sure it's made of Peace silk, which doesn't involve needlessly killing lots of caterpillars in their cocoons. If cotton, make sure it's organic cotton.
Have organic food served.
If you're having a wedding at a resort or hotel, choose one with environmentally friendly practices.
There is so much we can do to make a beautiful occasion better for us, our family and friendly, and the environment. That's holistic living, and it feels good.
Thank you for this article!
Melanie