More brides looking at Green options

The sun was setting on the horizon over the lake as he waited with his four closest friends. As she made her entrance, a vision in ivory and pearl, the guests stood for the moment of truth. Her veil was lifted, and beauty itself unfolded as she smiled the smile that only brides have. It was a beautiful picture of the love that had grown between two friends. It’s that time of year again … wedding season. Invitations, dresses, guest lists, floral arrangements, catering, all the details coming together for what brides hope is the celebration of a lifetime. The point for most couples is not the celebration itself, but a new life together. Regardless, the wedding and reception are a huge event. They do not always have a lot of guests, but they almost always have a lot of planning. Right now a growing trend is emerging to focus on the environment more during this intensive preparation process. The “green wedding,” the up-and-coming stylish method of wedding planning, is now being marketed full throttle, and industry professionals are capitalizing on the green aspect of the wedding business, taking advantage of the trend and effectively convincing many to purchase “green wedding packages.” Unfortunately, these often have only slightly less waste than a traditional soiree, and are incredibly expensive. The good news is, there are other options. Emily Anderson, author of Eco-Chic Weddings, and other down to earth wedding professionals agree that people do not have to buy into the multi-billion dollar wedding industry to go green. In fact, less is more. Making use of recycled items can go a long way, along with not being too selective about the smaller details. When I refer to recycled items, I am not suggesting paying top dollar for vases made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled glass. Rather, there are some fabulous items that are used, but not necessarily even reprocessed into recycled materials. Here are a few ideas for “greening” up your wedding, without the additional cost of hiring a green wedding planner. The focus here is recycling and using products that will have minimal environmental impact and waste. Attire: Borrow a wedding dress from a family member or friend. For an article of clothing that you will only wear once, it is incredibly expensive to purchase new designer gowns. You can have the added intangible value of keeping a dress in the family as well. Also, choose basic jewelry and shoes for the bridesmaids that they already own, cutting the excess of purchasing accessories that, let’s face it, they probably will not wear again. Floral: Another huge cost, and often a huge environmental waste, is the floral arrangements. There are many options here to decrease the environmental impact. You can grow your own flower, pick them from a “u-pick” farm, or simply buy locally to reduce carbon emissions in the transfer process. Other options include using silk flowers that last virtually forever, or for the floral décor at the reception, using live plants. Many people are opting for potted plants for center pieces at the reception because they can be replanted. An additional creative recycled idea for a more rustic, country wedding, is using old canning jars (purchased from a thrift store) for centerpieces, accompanied by fresh wild flowers picked the day of the wedding, and arranged by a friend or family member. This can give an elegant country feel to the décor when combined with lighter colored table linens. Decorations: For other decorations, try to use things that can be reused at a later time or even things that you can use to decorate your new home. If you are not planning on renting linens, choose fabric that can be made into window coverings in your new home. Other items that can be expensive, and guests rarely notice are the flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow, which can be picked up at a local thrift shop. And as for the cake topper that will assuredly only be used once, try edible flowers instead of a traditional cake topper. Location: For the venue, opt for an outdoor wedding if you can. This reduces wastes because it does not require electricity or air conditioning. If you can have the wedding and reception at the same location, or very close, it is also helpful. Guests will not have to expend as much gas in the process and it simplifies the planning. Paper: An incredible amount of wrapping paper and ribbons are used on wedding gifts. Choose to save the paper and use it again to wrap gifts, or use it for creative craft projects like scrapbooking. A meaningful use may even be to do your wedding scrapbooking on the gift wrap. There are many ways to use it, so it is an easy way to conserve. If you are moving into a new home, use it to pack with. You should also try to do all of the paper components online, except for the invitations themselves and the thank you notes. And at the reception, you can use something alternative for name cards that is not made out of paper, and can even double as the wedding favor. Photography: Many people have hundreds, if not thousands of pictures printed after their special day, which wastes money and valuable resources. One way to avoid this is to have an online photo book, instead of a printed one, with a few select pictures printed for your home. Just remember that less is more, and your wedding does not have to be planned by an expensive “green” planner to be eco-friendly. Just follow a few simple guidelines, and enjoy yourself.