Wedding Blog

Actually, it is that easy, being green.

It occurs to me that some of you who read my posts may not understand why the Dude and I want to have a “green” wedding or what having a “green” wedding even means. I’d like to share my thoughts on the matter, while at the same time recognizing that there are many ways to make your wedding and your life more eco-friendly. We’re choosing to do a few, simple things that make our wedding have less of an environmental impact.

Why do we want our wedding to be eco-friendly?

Global warming is real, people. We, as human beings, have caused our planet to change in a way that it may not be able to recover from. The Dude and I believe in doing what we can to lessen our negative impact on the earth. At home, we recycle, we use cotton grocery bags, natural cleaners, and energy-efficient light bulbs. We unplug appliances when they’re not in use, like cell phone chargers and coffee makers. We drive low gas mileage cars, and I used to take the bus to school (though biking would be better). We’re not perfect, but we think about the decisions we make on a regular basis and how they will impact the environment. Also, I have been planning on going into some type of environmental law practice when I finish law school. I’d like to do something to make more of a difference in how our planet is treated, such as helping companies get into compliance with the (hopefully soon-to-come) legislation that will set limits on production of CO2.

What are we doing to make our wedding more eco-friendly? Let’s take the slogan we all know by heart: “reduce, reuse, recycle.” The words go in that order for a reason: reduce what you buy, then reuse what you have, then recycle what you can when you’re done. We’ll be trying to do all three of these things. The first and most important thing we are doing is simply trying to consume less (reduce)—the less stuff we have to buy, the smaller the impact our wedding will have on the environment. The moral of the story is: don’t buy crap you don’t need. It’s easier said than done, especially when you consider all the amazing wedding widgets that are floating around on the interwebs. In the spirit of reducing, we’re trying to keep our guest list to a reasonably small number. Additionally, for all of the paper products that have to get sent out, we’re going to use the least amount of paper possible to convey our messages in an attractive way. This means postcards for the STDs, and at the maximum, two pieces of paper in the invitation suite. All the paper will be recycled, of course. Finally, our favors will be kept to a minimum, and they will all be edible.

Next in the cycle is “reuse.” My dress is built from a recycled bustier, and the Dude’s suit is totally vintage; buying vintage is even better than buying stuff made out of organic materials, in my opinion. When you buy vintage, you are reusing. The impact that garment had on the environment when it was made doesn’t get made again when you re-wear it. My only concern with buying my wedding dress was the fact that I ordered it on Etsy, so it had to be shipped to me, which created an impact on the planet. Probably not as much as making a whole new garment would’ve created, though. Ideally, I should’ve shopped locally (Craigslist or thrift stores) for a vintage dress.

“Recycle.” We’ll definitely make sure that everything we use in the wedding that can be recycled gets recycled. There’ll be a few things we want to keep to remember the date by, but everything else will either get sold on boards online or donated to someone who needs the item.

There is one other key aspect to having a “green” wedding, and that is making sure the things you do have to buy new have the least amount of environmental impact. The most important factors to consider are 1) what kind of materials is the item made out of? And 2) where is the item made? Ideally, you want the items to be made out of sustainable materials and made locally. We’re very lucky in that our venue, Barr Mansion is the only certified organic wedding venue in the United States. They understand exactly what it takes to make a wedding eco-friendly. Their menu is entirely organic, and they have plans to certify the grounds as organic in the near future. Their in-house florist, who we will use, works with local flowers (no $3,000 lilies shipped in from Hawaii!). Finally, having our ceremony and reception at the same venue saves us hassle while also saving the planet, as guests will not have to drive from one location to another.

If you do things right, having an eco-friendly wedding can also mean having a less expensive wedding. Think about it: cutting out things you don’t really need saves you money. Reusing items that someone else once used saves you money. Selling your stuff after the wedding’s over, instead of throwing it away, saves you money. In the end, I’m not going to deny myself that cute veil I saw on Etsy just because it would have less environmental impact to buy one made locally. However, I think after our wedding is over, the Dude and I will feel good that we threw the best party of our lives in a way that didn’t feel too wasteful or extravagant.

What does being “green” mean to you? Any tips you can share to reduce our impact on the planet?