Eight tips for a green wedding

Weddings are an occasion in which families gather to celebrate the union of two individuals who deeply love one another and intend to build a future together.

Unfortunately, weddings are also occasions that often produce significant waste.  Luckily, there are plenty of ways a couple can limit the environmental impact of their affair, and perhaps even do their part to keep our world healthy.

Natural location

Choose your location wisely and consider an outdoor location – nature’s beauty is a superior substitute for producing superfluous decorations and the natural light will limit the amount of necessary electricity.

Local flowers

Incorporate local, organically grown flowers; their more exotic counterparts require that they be shipped from faraway, which consumes fuel.

Furthermore, many of the flowers that are traditionally used in weddings are coated with pesticides.

Transportation

When choosing a site, be conscious of the amount of fuel and carbon emissions your guests will be going through in order to get to-and-from the event.

A way to limit this is to arrange for a carpool or luxury bus to take participants from the ceremony to the reception (or to have it in the same space).

Eco friendly

When choosing a venue, caterer or party planner, be clear about your eco-friendly priorities and ask for specifics about how they can accommodate this; ideas can include serving locally grown produce and using biodegradable materials.

Green wedding favours

Make sure to select green wedding favors for your guests; this includes items made from recyclable or renewable materials, or perhaps even favors that will help your guests to positively interact with the environment, like flower seeds or miniature bird houses.

Another alternative is to give participants yummy treats that they’ll be sure to consume instead of tossing in the trash. And don’t forget to look for packaging that is constructed from recycled supplies.

Gifts

Ask for in-kind donations to nonprofits that help our planet, like the Rainforest Action Network or Friends of the Earth.

Save paper

Limit the amount of paper that is being used, especially when sending out the invitations. Consider emailing the save-the-dates and perhaps send out the formal invitations as postcards – this will limit the amount of paper used as you will not need envelopes.

Outfits

Select outfits that will not go to waste after a single day, especially for bridesmaids and the bride (you can always dye it another color). Secondly, look into featuring fabrics that are eco-friendly, like organic cotton, silk, bamboo, hemp, tapa and lenpur.

Other options? Renting your wedding attire for the day or shopping vintage. After the big day, you can donate the dress to charities like the I Do Foundation.

As a fourth grade teacher, Dianna tries to nurture her students’ love of their planet and educate them about the importance of limiting our environmental impact, values that she translates into her own life by carrying her own cloth bags when grocery shopping, purchasing eco-friendly light bulbs and using her bicycle as a means of transportation. With her won nuptials set for May, 2013, she shares with us her tips on how to have a green wedding.