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Here Comes the Bride, All Dressed in...Hemp?
How today's eco-conscious couples are turning their white weddings green
By Laura Meyer
Published: Mar 05, 2008
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YAHOOFor a growing number of couples preparing to walk down the aisle, commitment is taking on a deeper meaning. Many couples are embracing the growing trend to reduce their wedding's impact on the environment. To assist them in reducing their special day's carbon footprint—you guessed it—the green wedding planner. Corina Beczner graduated with an MBA in sustainability and went on to found her wedding-planning firm, Vibrant Events, in San Francisco. She has a passion for waste reduction and helps couples plan eco-friendly weddings. Here are some of her green wedding tips:
The Rings: Vintage rings (family heirlooms or antiques) or rings made out of recycled metal are the green way to go. Also, starting with the engagement ring, avoid buying "blood diamonds." These are diamonds that are mined in war zones and help fund conflicts. Go to Amnesty International's Buyer's Guide to help you through the process of finding what's known as a conflict-free diamond.
The Invitations: Use high recycled-content paper, 100% recycled cotton paper, tree-free paper such as paper made out of bamboo or plantable paper that contains seeds that can be put in soil, watered and grown. Work with a local green printer who will use less toxic printing methods such as printing with soy-based inks. Corina says green printing is a growing business and, these days, not hard to find especially if you live in a metropolitan area. If you're really willing to break with tradition and be alternative, you can even go paperless with E-vites.
The Setting: A beautiful outdoor setting helps to reduce one's decorating needs—good for your wallet and the environment! Choose a location that's in close proximity to most of your guests to minimize travel and/or buy carbon offsets through organizations such as www.liveneutral.org. Another company, Native Energy, even has a special link that helps couples figure out how much they should buy to offset the environmental impact of their wedding and honeymoon. If you want a hotel wedding, look for one that is Green Seal certified.
The Food/Cake: It's not just people who fly. So much of our food is imported and flown thousands of miles from other locations. All the air travel has a huge impact on the environment. Source local and seasonal food instead. If the venue you have chosen uses its own caterers, ask if they will prepare local, organic food and inquire about organic wine and beer. There are also many organic caterers and organic restaurants that will cater. Similarly, organic bakeries are becoming more common if you want to go for the organic wedding cake. Use real place settings (dishes, glasses and napkins), not disposables, and consider that buffets are much more wasteful than plated or family-style dinners.
The Decor: Opt for local and seasonal flowers and look for flowers or talk to your florist about using flowers that have the VeraFlora certification (certified as sustainably grown). There are also alternatives to using flowers or at least so many of them. Florists can make beautiful arrangements with local branches, greens and berries. As far as candles go, choose soy-based or beeswax candles, not candles made with paraffin (which has been identified as a carcinogen).
For more information about green wedding planning, Corina can be reached at corina@vibrantevents.net.
Laura Meyer is an attorney and writer, a fanatic about cleaning green and has, with some difficulty, given up her 30 minute showers. She is the author of Remodel This! A Woman's Guide to Planning and Surviving the Madness of a Home Renovation and is currently working on her next book, The Ultimate Green Guide
Submitted by brooklynmama | Posted 127 days 22 hours |
Shameless plug for where I got my hemp wedding dress which I loved. http://www.getconscious.com/ - ignore the fact that every person has dreads in the pics...
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