Adorable Ideas for Green Weddings

Many people have started thinking green. Even with weddings, many wedding planners, wedding experts, and couples who are getting married have started considering the concept of green weddings, which make use of eco-friendly means to prepare for the big day.

If you want to have a green wedding but you have no idea where to start, here are some adorable ideas to help you plan this kind of special event.

Venue of the event

• Hold the wedding in a location that is close to home. This will minimize the amount of driving that guests have to make in order to get to your wedding.
• Consider having the ceremony and reception in the same venue. Again, this means less driving and less gas, as well as convenience not only for you but for the guests too.
• Choose a venue with natural sunlight. This way, you do not have to depend too much on internal lighting equipment.
• Better yet, choose an outdoor wedding venue and hold the event in the daytime to eliminate the use of lighting as well as air conditioning (or heating) system altogether.

Wedding rings

• Opt for heirloom, vintage or antique rings that can be melted down to be refashioned.
• Consider buying lab-created diamonds or recycled gold rings.
• Choose only diamonds that have been mined in conflict-free areas such as Canada or Australia.
• Go for unique and environmental-friendly wooden bands.

Wedding flowers

• Steer clear from commercial cut flower arrangements and use homegrown blooms instead. The latter are just as beautiful and yet not damaging to the environment.
• Plan to use potted flowering plants to decorate the wedding. Potted plants can be used to adorn the altar area or to serve as table centerpieces. After the wedding, guests can take these home as favors. You save money and help the environment with this technique.
• Opt for organically grown flowers that are raised without the use of pesticides or insecticides.

Wedding favors

• Bake a batch of cookies, brownies, or whatever sweet treat you can think of, wrap them in handmade paper and give to guests as edible wedding favors.
• Give away packet of flower seeds that guests can use to replant in their own gardens.
• An attractive bag of fresh or dried organic herbs is also perfect to give as wedding give-away.
• You can also choose to give guests reusable cloth tote bags, homemade soaps, beeswax candles or charitable donation for each guest’s name.

Bridal gown

• Find gowns that are made with sustainable fabrics or natural fibers such as cotton or silk.
• Prefer a pre-owned wedding gown. It may be something that your mother wore on her wedding day, something that you rent, or something that you bought from a second-hand store.

Food and Drinks

• Go vegetarian. Include less meat in the menu.
• Avoid hiring caterers that do not have concern for the environment.
• Make sure that you choose local and organic food to serve during the reception.

Invitations

• Use 100% post-consumer recycled paper when making the invitation.
• Avoid having too many inserts or envelopes in each invitation. Keep it succinct and use less paper.
• Print invitations using soy-based inks.
• Why not go for electronic wedding invitations? They are convenient, faster, and you will save a lot on paper, postage, and fuel for transportation of mail.
• Try using paper that are not made from trees such as those that are made from bamboo, banana stalks, hemp or cotton.

A green wedding should be more than just a fad. The fact is, it is a necessity. Environmental consciousness is something that everyone should start to embark on. After all, we only have one earth and we should start doing to take care of it.