I'll kick this off since I just finished filming a FABULOUS one hour special on throwing a green wedding. You're all going to love it. Here's my kick off - think food, fashion, location, entertainment, decoration, gifts and everything else WAY outside of the box. My favorite - let nature be your decoration. Host an outdoor wedding or reception so your need for electricity and centerpieces is reduced. Be well! -Sara
I eloped, so my wedding was pretty earth friendly! About a month and a half ago on Good Morning America, they did a segment on having a green wedding - it was really cool! I'll keep the ideas in mind in case we ever renew our vows.
We were married last september and found some great green favors. "Tree in a box" was a personal way for us to plant almost a hundred trees and now are looking forward to celebrating the young saplings that have sprouted amoungst friends and family. They were affordable too, at about $2.50 ea, the packaging was very pretty and boxes can be personalized for your day!
I was married in Jan. 2007 - as wedding favors, I purchased note cards from an animal sanctuary that were painted by a rescued elephant. All the proceeds from the purchase of the cards went directly to the organization - it was a great way to support one of my favorite charities and get the word out to my guests about the org's mission. I also adopted several animals from World Wildlife Fund in my guests' honor and placed the animal's pictures around the reception site. Very cool.
I used recycled paper for my wedding program. On the program, I put an inspirational message about the importance of conservation and wildlife protection. It was a big hit.
A lot of my guests wrte me a thank you card on the actual cards I handed out - cute idea.
On my registry, I picked designers who donate a portion of their proceeds from the sale to wildlife and nature conservation - specifically Arthur Court and Lynn Chase designs. So, I felt good and so did my guests!!!
A couple who married shortly after, borrowed my eco-friendly ideas and bought chocolate bars that supported rainforest conservation in the Amazon. Each chocolate bar featured an endangered species.
Just recently on "Days of Our Lives" (for my couch-potato-w/bon-bons days! ), they had a green wedding! Even though it was pretty cheesy on the show & WAY over the top(!), they do offer up some good tips on the site:
I got married last summer. We had elements that could be considered a green wedding. The invitations were made of handmade paper using wild flowers. Since I did use a velum overlay to have the words printed on, the two papers were fastened with a fern leaf. The reply cards and such were also handmade paper. The ceremony was held outside, in a meadow surrounded by aspen trees. Our caterer uses all organic vegetables and recylces. Our favors for the guest were plantable handmade paper filled with wildflower seeds. We hoped our guests would take these home, plant them, and think of us. Unfortunately we don't know what happened to the extras, so we never got to plant any (make sure you keep at least one for yourself!) We got these from the same company that we got our inviation paper from. We wanted to share our love of the outdoors and Colorado with our guests, many of whom were from out of state.
Sara I have to say you are great. Any way, one good green thing from me is a bouquet. I wanted to have a spice bouquet for my wedding. I however did not find the spices and items to make that come true. I did have a great wildflower one instead though. But wouldnt that have been very nice and fragrent?
I just picked up a great book on the subject too! "Eco-chic weddings" by Emily Elizabeth Anderson. ISBN 1578262402 it's got some great ideas in there, one of mine being- the chapter on wedding rings, and how to look for fair trade/ and fair price rings.
I was just married in October of 2006 and we did some eco-friendly things. I look back and wish I did more after seeing some ideas in the previous posts but this was before I was really into the green life! We made caramel apples as favors using locally grown apples, we used locally grown cranberries floating in water for centerpieces and scattered little pincones on the tables from my parents yard, we got married outside in a beautiful park a short distance from the reception location, and the hotel our out of town guests stayed in offered a free shuttle to and from the wedding so guests carpooled! We loved using so many natural elements in our wedding! I can't wait to watch the special, keep the great ideas coming!
Great Ideas! I have also heard of other ways of having a green wedding...purchasing your wedding dress from a vintage store or resale store, select native flowers that are in season or organic flowers from a local florist, have the meal you provide your guests come from seasonal items grown locally and organically (including alchohol beverages), and decide to have your honeymoon within your own home town/state (bed and breakfast?) or at an eco-friendly place.
I haven't had my wedding yet... We're in the planning stages right now. However, one of the things I decided on was having actual plants as the centerpieces. There will be a different flowering plant on each table, and the pot will be decorated. It's a tradition in my family for everyone to take the centerpieces and reuse them (in our own houses, other decorations, etc.) This way, however, people can enjoy the flowers on the tables and at home when they plant them in their gardens.
Thanks for all of the suggestions, by the way. We'll need them.
A happy hello to you Sara and all the other green guys and gals out there! I was so excited to see the episode about green weddings. My fiance and I are getting married June of next year and I'm having such a wonderful time planning our eco-friendly wedding. I have always wanted an outdoor wedding and have decided on the theme of "country picnic." We have a beautiful local park with a gazebo and pavilion that is a perfect fit for our country picnic. The park used to be a farm and was donated to the park district 40 or so years ago. The property is situated along the river and is a stunning mix of forest, restored prairie, and park; although I may be a little biased because I do work there! I also love the idea of using actual plants as the centerpieces. I'm planning to grow dwarf sunflowers in metal buckets for mine. I really wanted blue and white gingham table linens and when I showed a picture to my mom, she told me she had a whole bolt of similar fabric in the basement! So I'm going to make either table cloths or runners depending on how much fabric I'll need. I'm going to make my dress with a hemp/silk blend material. I'll have to order some swatches from the company Sara recommended because the dress on the show was so beautiful! If you couldn't tell, I'm a chronic do-it-yourself-er! One thing I won't be doing myself is the food. My aunt and uncle(a chef) from New Orleans have graciously offered to cater the wedding as a gift to us. I'm hoping to work with them to find as much organic and local food to incorporate as possible. I could go on and on and on, but I think I'll end this post here. I'm just so excited! I think just about every girl can't help but tell everybody who'll halfway listen all her wedding plans! I wish all of you the best of luck!
I've found it frustrating that it's hard to find a comprehensive list of green wedding tips. It feels like you have to pull together 10 different lists to get a good collection of ideas. After a lot of searching, I found a great detailed list of green wedding tips on this Wedding Blog. It covers everything from green rings to green honeymoons and carbon credits.
About a month and a half ago on Good Morning America, they did a segment on having a green wedding - it was really cool! I'll keep the ideas in mind in case we ever renew our vows.
), they had a green wedding! Even though it was pretty cheesy on the show & WAY over the top(!), they do offer up some good tips on the site:
