How to Make Your Wedding Green as Can Be

Your wedding is a meaningful event that honors the love you and your partner feel for one another. That does not mean, however, that you cannot also honor your love for the environment! In a world where carbon dioxide is polluting the atmosphere at astonishing levels and the United States wastes an exorbitant amount of food, you do not want to feel guilty about your special day. Here are a few tips for ensuring your event is as nature-friendly as possible.

Use eco-friendly stationery

You are probably going to use a lot of paper between your Save the Dates, invitations, cards, place cards, advice boxes, and more. Paper is a recyclable material, so encourage your guests to put their materials in the recycling bin when they are done with them. You can purchase stationery made from recycled paper, too, so search online for eco-friendly options.

If you want to acknowledge your serious commitment to nature, another option is plantable paper. Botanical Paperworks, for instance, produces stationery embedded with seeds. This way, you and your guests can bury invitations and other paper materials in the earth instead of the trash bin, and then expect flowers, vegetables, or herbs to grow in their places (and the paper composts). If you are hosting an outdoor wedding, perhaps you and your guests could make a point to bury your place cards together.

Serve sustainable food

Can you imagine how much leftover food weddings throw away? Not only is it perfectly edible food that no one gets to eat, but you also paid for it. Instead, consider donating your leftovers to a food bank or soup kitchen that would be more than happy to serve it to people in need.

As for the food itself, go for locally sourced options to minimize travel time. Keep your menu in-season so that no one has to search far and wide for goods not naturally available in your area. There are also plenty of caterers willing to provide organic meals. Skip the junk food and go for the ethically sourced fruits, veggies, and meats (or skip the meat if you are vegan or vegetarian). If you are finding it difficult to stay local, research if there was slave labor involved in the production (it happens more often than you think).

Keep in mind that you are not obligated to serve a gigantic three-course meal to all of your guests, either. Movies often depict fancy dinners, but it might be more your style to go with a small afternoon tea or dessert-only affair. With a limited menu, you’ll spend less money and keep it greener.

Use recyclable materials

Ask your caterer to provide reusable dish and silverware. Many weddings opt for disposable plastic goods because it feels more convenient to throw things away when guests are finished eating, but such materials often end up in the ocean and pollute nature (they’re not exactly eco-friendly to make, either). Make your decorations out of sustainable materials and do your best to avoid out-of-season flowers full of pesticides.

Reuse what you can

Plus-size wedding dresses and tuxedos are expensive, so there is no reason you cannot rent one, buy a used version, or continue to wear your outfits after the day is over. One-use only bridesmaid dresses are also unnecessary: have your wedding party wear things they already own, or purchase matching outfits that they can wear for the rest of their lives. If you do not intend (or cannot) keep your dress, consider selling it online or donating it to a cause or bride-in-need.

Your flowers are reusable, too. Before you buy them, double check that they are in-season and your vendor can get them to you quickly (which reduces refrigeration and the potential for preservative chemicals). Once you are done with them, donate them to a community home or hospital that could use some color. If the notion of cutting so many flowers bothers your eco-friendly heart, that’s okay too. Instead, fill your venue with other decorations and make an unconventional bouquet.

Minimize travel

Another way to reduce travel (and therefore costs and fuel) is to host your ceremony and reception at the same venue. This way, your guests do not have to get in their cars to move from one place to the other. When it comes to arrival, ask some of your guests to pick up other local invitees and carpool before the ceremony begins.

A lot of components make up a wedding, so every element is an opportunity to keep nature in mind. How will you ensure your wedding is environmentally friendly?

-- ZylaCourtney - 09 Aug 2018