Want to have an environmentally friendly wedding?

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=96&s=wedding


A Green Wedding
by Suzanne Gerber
When high-school sweethearts Alicia Gomer and Mark Wittink got engaged in December 2001, they pledged that their wedding would reflect their commitment to ecological issues. Alicia, who is working on an M.S. in environmental-science policy, and Mark, a project director at the Resource Conservation Alliance in Washington, D.C., were 'shocked at the lack of green options in wedding planning. We had no idea what a consumptive, high-impact industry weddings can be,' Alicia says.

About 2.4 million couples get married every year in the U.S., at an average cost of $20,000 per wedding, generating total revenues of some $70 billion, reports www.theknot.com, an online wedding resource. 'Since you'll probably spend more on your wedding than any other single expenditure except your car or home, it's a chance to support and open markets for local, organic, recycled and recyclable goods,' says Eric Brown, communications director for the Center for a New American Dream (newdream.org). Michelle Kozin, founder of Organicweddings.com, a full-service, green-wedding-planning company, agrees. 'You have a captive audience you can influence with your choices,' she says.

Where to begin? Here's a green-wedding checklist.

Place and Food

The place (the venue) and the caterer usually represent about half the wedding budget, Kozin says. Alicia had dreamed of having her June wedding at a vineyard in the Finger Lakes, near her hometown of Ithaca, New York, but couldn't find one willing, or able, to serve organic food and wine. Then she thought of the 150-year-old Rose Inn. At first the food-and-beverage director was reluctant, but he was won over after Alicia explained the health and environmental benefits of organic--grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, in ways that protect soil, water and wildlife. All the food, except for the wild Alaska salmon (which is not overfished), will be organic and locally produced. (Local food means less fossil fuels used for transportation and fewer post-harvest pesticides.) 'We're still sampling local and organic wines--that's the fun part,' Alicia says.

When selecting a venue and caterer, Kozin recommends:

* Consider finding a nonprofit or green location--a park, museum or retreat center—to support.

* If you're looking at a hotel, inn or restaurant, ask if their food director will cater to your organic and local wishes. If not, ask if you can bring in your own caterer, baker (Alicia's is a family friend) and wine purveyor.

Flowers

'Most flowers come from countries where pesticide usage isn't as regulated as it is here. And, since flowers aren't a food crop, they're seldom tested for pesticide residues,' says Margaret Reeves, Ph.D., staff scientist at Pesticide Action Network in San Francisco. 'In Latin America and Africa, the laborers on flower farms are mostly women of reproductive age, and exposure to excessive pesticides can be particularly harmful,' Reeves adds.

Some safer options:

* Choose organic fresh flowers--local if possible, or try organicbouquet.com.

* Grow your own, or force bulbs if not in season (see bulb.com).

* Use dried or silk flowers (driedflowersdirect.com) or decorate with fruits or greenery.

Invitations, Programs, Menus

According to a June 2002 EPA report, close to 40 percent of the material in U.S. landfills is paper. Alicia and Mark's save-the-date card was printed on recycled junk mail; they also could have used old U.S. currency or denim. (See bloomington.in.us/~twistlim, handmade-paper.us/home or handmadepaperonline.com.) Eco-friendliest paper is non-chlorine-bleached as well as at least 30 percent post-consumer-waste (PCW).

Apparel

'Synthetic fabrics cost less, but polyester is petroleum-based,' Kozin says. While cotton suits a spring or summer wedding, it uses an average of 5.85 pounds of pesticides an acre. The eco-best cotton is certified organic and either undyed or tinted with gentler natural/vegetable dyes. At least one web merchant, jinjor.com, offers organic cotton 'garden wedding' gowns (Also organiccottondirectory.net or sustainablecotton.org.)

Although Organicweddings.com offers organic cotton or cotton-and-hemp dress shirts for men, Kozin favors a silk-hemp blend for the natural wedding dresses that she designs. An even lighter way to tread is to buy vintage, or choose a beautiful dress you can wear again. 'I already had a silk crepe dress. It's simple but beautiful,' Alicia says.

As for the ring, gold mining releases poisonous cyanide and mercury into the environment. Silver is lower impact, or you can have vintage gold rings resized.

Favors & Gifts

As favors, Alicia and Mark decided on organic cloth bags.

More ideas:

* Give favors of organic chocolate or small jars of local honey, from your farmers' market.

* Make a charitable donation or plant trees in your guests' names. See The Green Guide's Nursery Forest program to donate in support of tree-planting.

* Request or register for green gifts such as energy-saving CFL light bulbs, organic cotton linens (see heartofvermont.com or gaiam.com) or an organic cotton, chemical-free mattress (organicmattresses.com). See ecomall.com for more gifts, and thegreenguide.com for product reports on organic food and wine, clothing, paper, appliances, bedding and more.

* Note: Do not release butterflies, which can disrupt wild butterflies' migration and spread disease or parasites, according to the North American Butterfly Association.

Cleanup

Use as few disposable items as possible, to avoid adding to landfills. Request that cleanup staff separate recyclables. If guests don't pick your tables clean, compost the flowers, or, if still fresh, drop them off at a nursing home.

Honeymoon

Alicia and Mark plan to honeymoon in an eco-friendly way in Tahiti. 'We want to find a lodge that employs local people in management roles, that gives money back to the community and that treads lightly, using solar energy.' Look to greenpages.org (travel agents) and greenpages.org.

'A wedding is a time of hope for the newlyweds,' Alicia says. 'Why shouldn't it be that for the environment too?' For more and more couples, it does seem a natural time to vow to treat the planet, as well as one's spouse, with respect and love. n

Re: Want to have an environmentally friendly wedding?

That is so funny!!!

And I love when they say that the average wedding costs $20,000....Where on EARTH does a wedding cost $20,000???

Re: Want to have an environmentally friendly wedding?

i love this! and i don't even know if you could have a backyard wedding for $20 k !!!! .... in Nebraska!!!!

seriously, i just had to put my two cents in here. we did a lot of 'green' things for the wedding (i am an environmental attorney and it was important to me). Recycled paper invites, recycled paper guestbook, partially recycled programs, etc. However, what we didn't realize is that the worst part of a wedding as far as the consumptiveness is the GIFTS!!!! we registered at Macy's and Willams Sonoma. Everyday, huge boxes stuffed with styrofoam arrive and each one contains like a plate! everything is individually wrapped and covered and re-wrapped in plastic and then placed in a huge box. if someone really wanted to go green, they should figure out a way to have everything shipped at once or held at the store, or something less wasteful. It is awful!! (except the gift getting is really fun!!!!!!!!!)

Re: Want to have an environmentally friendly wedding?

This is an old post, but I love it. I wanted to note that another 'green' way to get gifts is to register at www.thehoneymoon.com, it's a perfect way to get others to pay for your honeymoon. And, if you pick an eco-resort, all the better.

Re: Want to have an environmentally friendly wedding?

I had my invites made out of recycled paper and my return was a postcard, this way I did not have to waste a envelope.www.custompaper.com

Check it out. they were great and the invites were beautiful.