Throwing an eco-friendly wedding is no easy feat when you start to add up just how taxing a wedding can really be on the environment. If you are looking to keep your wedding as eco-friendly as possible, you certainly are faced with a great challenge, but the good news is that it is possible to keep your wedding as eco-friendly as possible with tips such as these:
The Wedding Dress
Finding a ‘green’ wedding dress that you will absolutely love might very well be your toughest obstacle to climb up and over. There are quite a few gowns that you can find in second hand stores, and if you’re lucky, the styles will match your personal tastes. Chances are that the dresses you will find are more vintage or even downright ugly, so this may not be the best option for you. So you can consider:
- Renting a dress; or
- Having it custom made by a local seamstress out of organic cotton
You can also find a lot of organic silks and other linens that will make your wedding dress look absolutely fabulous. Try other fabrics like hemp, soybean, bamboo and cotton to add a bit of texture to your dress.
The Invitations
The internet is a wonderful thing when it comes to create eco-friendly invitations. Did you know that you can send save the date cards, invitations, and RSVP cards all over the internet without having to waste any paper’ All you will need are the email addresses for each of your guests and you’re good as gold!
TIP: You may need to still make a few paper invites, especially for the older guests in attendance who are not familiar with the Internet. You can still find eco-friendly papers and envelopes in several craft stores, or if you are really crafty, you can make the paper yourself!
The Flowers
If you did your research about flowers, you were probably shocked to discover that next to none are actually locally grown. Most flowers are flown in from South America, meaning that a whole lot of fuel was wasted to simply transport some pretty flowers around the world.
For green flowers, you have a few choices: You can choose organic flowers, local flowers, or you can even go with silk flowers. If you are choosing organic and local flowers, you will be restricted to choosing flowers that are in season in your area around the time of your wedding, so be prepared to plan for that well beforehand. It’s also important to get in touch with a local grower well before your wedding so he or she will know just how many flowers they will need to grow to fulfill your needs.
The Catering
When it comes to catering, it can be quite difficult to choose a caterer who you think is ‘green’. First, consider how far the caterer will have to travel to reach your reception hall. Then, consider what type of ingredients the caterer uses: are they non-GMO and organic’ Are they vegetarian’ Many caterers will also change their menus to meet the needs of the bride and groom, so ask around and see what the caterers can do for you.
Tags: Eco-Friendly Wedding
Categories: Budget and Basics