10 Steps to a Green Wedding

NEW: Read our interviews with green wedding planners in San Francisco and Boise and meet a real-life couple that got married in a climate-neutral ceremony.

Every engaged couple wants their wedding day to be a special celebration that reflects who they are and what they care about. Going green is a great way to make the festivities unique and meaningful--and show friends and family just how fun, beautiful, and delicious a sustainable lifestyle can be. Here's how to start planning the kind of wedding the online nuptial gurus at TheKnot.com have anointed "the hot new thing":

1. With this ring...
A green wedding begins where any engagement does: with a ring. Don't start off on a sour note. The beautiful alternatives to "blood diamonds" (those that are mined in war zones and fund conflicts) include:

• vintage rings, whether a family heirloom or an antique find (you can even have old gold melted down and refashioned)
• lab-created diamonds (greenKarat's are set in recycled gold too)
• diamonds mined in peaceful Canada or Australia, like those from Brilliant Earth, Cred Jewellery, or Leber Jewelry's Earthwise line
• diamonds certified as "conflict-free" under the Kimberley Process, an ongoing effort to reform diamond mining in Africa (ask your jeweler the questions in Amnesty International's buyer's guide)
• one-of-a-kind wooden bands

2. Location, location, location
Your choice of venue sets the tone for your wedding day--and accounts for a big chunk of the money you'll be laying out. Spend it wisely! Consider:

• choosing a setting that's convenient to the most guests to minimize travel impacts
• having the ceremony and the reception at the same place, or providing ecofriendly transportation between them
• picking a unique local spot--like an art gallery, nonprofit space, organic restaurant or farm, green hotel, botanical garden, or green-roofed building--that supports a cause you believe in
• an outdoor setting that will infuse the whole event with a natural sensibility (and require less decorating too!)
• arriving at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage, cycle rickshaw, or hybrid car
• offsetting your guests' travel (or asking them to do it as your wedding gift)

3. Please join us...
Your invitation is the first impression guests will get of your green wedding. Look for:

• recycled, handmade, or plantable papers processed chlorine-free and printed with vegetable- or soy-based inks
• tree-free paper made out of hemp, banana stalks, bamboo, kenaf, or organic cotton
• a printer who will use paper with a high percentage of post-consumer recycled content
• papers that aren't metallic or plastic-coated, characteristics that make them hard to recycle
• opportunities to reduce paper use, like sending a postcard (instead of multi-enveloped notes) for your save-the-date, or using online invitations and a wedding blog to let people know about the bachelor/ette parties, rehearsal dinner, and gift registry

In your invitations, let guests know about the ecofriendly hotel and transportation options in your area, whether it's hybrid rental cars or directions to the ceremony on public transportation. And don't forget to pick up some extra green paper products for your guest book, place cards, and thank-you notes. (You will be writing thank-yous, won't you?)

4. The final fling
Plan bachelor and bachelorette parties that will keep the green theme going:

• Stay local (and spend more time with your friends, and less dealing with travel stress).
• Offset your trip if you choose a "destination" party.
• Travel by train (and start the party early in the bar car).
• Indulge in organic wine (or beer) tasting or an organic spa treatment.
• Take a class and learn to make your own wedding flowers or jewelry.
• Do something low-impact and outdoorsy like a camping, surfing, sailing, kayaking, or fishing trip.

5. Here comes the bride...
...in a gorgeous hemp-silk gown. When it comes to outfitting the bridal party, green options abound. You can:

• go vintage (and update your look as necessary with tailoring and modern shoes and accessories)
• pick clothes made from hemp, bamboo, and organic cotton or silk--or find a dressmaker who will make a one-of-a-kind item out of these sustainable fabrics (men's suits and shirts come in organic cotton or wool too)
• borrow an elegant gown from a stylish friend
• buy something you'll wear again (and let your bridesmaids do the same)
• accessorize with a unique recycled purse and/or jewelry
• use vegetable dyes on your shoes (or go barefoot for a beach wedding)
• accentuate natural beauty with all-natural makeup
• donate the dresses to charity after the event

6. Set the stage
Add beauty and style to your wedding décor, naturally. Here's how:

• opt for organic flowers
• find a florist who's diligent about recycling packaging and will source locally raised flowers
• have bridesmaids carry matching purses or silk bouquets instead of cut flowers
• decorate with branches, dried grasses, grains, greens, berries, or live plants (potted or dried arrangements can double as favors)
• choose beeswax or soy-based candles over those made with paraffin, a petroleum byproduct
• arrange to have decorations moved from the ceremony to the reception (if you opt for separate sites)
• use leaves or other natural objects as place cards
• throw biodegradable confetti or organic rose petals instead of releasing butterflies
• donate the flowers to a hospital or rest home at the end of the day

7. Eat, drink, and be merry
Showcase green gustatory pleasures (and spoil your guests) by basing your menu around local, organic, and seasonal foods. Don’t forget the organic wine, beer, and spirits, and the free-trade, shade-grown coffee and tea! Some tips:

• Ask the venue's preferred caterers and bakers if they can do your event organically.
• Find a local organic restaurant that does off-site catering.
• If your wedding won't be complete without a specific type of food, get married when it's in season.
• Find a caterer you trust to pick the best seasonal selections (since you may not be able to taste those exact items ahead of time).
• Consider vegetarian selections and seek out cruelty-free meats and wild, rather than farmed, fish.
• Make sure the venue offers comprehensive recycling facilities, and ideally composting too.
• Have your cake decorated with organically grown flowers or other natural materials instead of plastic toppers.
• Rent real glassware, dishware, and linens instead of using disposables.
• Go for a chic eclectic look by mixing and matching thrift-store plates and dishes (and donating them back when you're done).
• Use biodegradable utensils and dishes made out of cornstarch, potatoes, wheat, or sugar cane--if your venue can compost them.
• Make arrangements to donate leftover food to a local food bank or homeless shelter.

8. Lasting memories
Whether you prefer film or digital photographs, look for a photographer who will do digital proofs to save paper and chemicals. Avoid single-use cameras, but ask friends with digi-cams to share their photos with all the guests online in a free Flickr group or Snapfish group room you set up for your wedding.

9. 'Tis better to give...
OK, OK, giving and receiving are both great! For your gift registry, consider:

• asking for gifts to charity instead of material goods
• registering with the I Do Foundation or another site that gives a percentage of gift purchases to your chosen cause
• registering with stores that offer local, fair-trade, handmade, organic, or other ecofriendly products like Branch, Gaiam, Greenfeet, GreenSage, Ten Thousand Villages, UncommonGoods, or VivaTerra.
• registering for outdoor gear or contributions to an ecofriendly honeymoon
• creating a custom wish list of ecofriendly items like a fresh-produce subscription from a local farm, organic gardening supplies, organic linens, park and museum passes, gift certificates to organic restaurants, and subscriptions to green publications or memberships in green causes

For your favors, give something your guests will really use and enjoy, not disposable plastic souvenirs. Some ideas:

• gourmet organic chocolates or another organic or local food item
• attractive bags of fresh or dried organic herbs
• seeds in a commemorative container
• reusable cloth tote bags
• a small plant
• natural soaps
• soy or beeswax candles
• a compact fluorescent lightbulb
• a downloadable playlist of your favorite songs
• a small charitable donation in each guest's name
• place cards made of seeded paper that can be planted at home

For your helpful, loyal attendants, you'll want to up the ante a little, perhaps with:

• gift baskets of organic skin-care products
• recycled jewelry, wallets, handbags, or drinking glasses
• selections of organic coffees, teas, and chocolates
• recycled paper journals and stationery
• great bottles of organic wine

10. Happily ever after...
Begin your new life with a honeymoon that's light on the Earth. Consider:

• going somewhere local (you're going to be spending a lot of time in that hotel room anyway)
• engaging in ecotourism, which can be as rugged or luxurious as you want it to be (find listings that suit your style through Conservation International, National Geographic, Planeta.com, or ResponsibleTravel.com)
• taking a trip that benefits an environmental group; perhaps boating in Florida's Dry Tortugas, birding in Alaska, or walking the Italian Alps with Sierra Club Outings
• skipping the cruise and taking a relaxing, romantic train trip
• getting around at your destination by renting bikes or taking public transportation (the better to enjoy the sights instead of arguing about your spouse's driving habits)
• staying in a family-run B&B or inn, a luxury teepee or yurt, or a green hotel that's working to save resources and reduce waste
• offsetting your trip’s carbon dioxide emissions

Watch for a segment on green weddings on "Good Morning America" on Monday, April 2!

Comments

[Markomarko]

Put Our Custom Stamps on your Wedding & Engagement Announcements

I thought you might benefit from this. If I am out of line, please forgive me.

Here is a wedding idea to consider from Bridal by Design: beautiful custom stamps for your announcements and other wedding mailings. Instead of using ordinary stamps from the Post Office on those special mailings, you can use stamps that were not only designed for your purpose but customizable with your words and dates as well with a website special feature. Since its launch, these stamps have been very popular for invitations. Yes, these are official US postage stamps!

Our wedding stamp gallery has been very popular, probably because we have one of the best wedding stamp design collections on the internet.

You can find my growing Zazzle.com gallery of designs at http://www.zazzle.com/bridalbydesign* and at http://tinyurl.com/7w5qy (a direct link) or http://www.zazzle.com/MarkoMarko*. The first URL is condensed to make it easier to work with.

Presently I have more than 170+ different stamp designs and more than half can be easily customized. You are welcome to read my customizing ideas. [ See http://www.zazzle.com/contributors/journal/entries.asp?cid=238414603713093271]

While you are there, take a look at our growing collection of wedding and love gift items! Some have matching stamp designs.

If you have already finished your wedding planning, please pass this great idea along.

All the best.

Markomarko
Bridal by Design

[Brittany]

Another option is to set up a personal fundraising page with Firstgiving.com to donate to a charity in place of asking for wedding gifts. One of the best things about Firstgiving is that they send all funds raised directly to the non-profit so the newlyweds don't have to worry about how the money is getting there. It's a great way for the couple to pass on their happiness to a worthy charity!

[Rhonda]

You can also try to use online RSVP through a wedding website to save on response cards. Donate your flowers to a convalecent home and donate left over food to a homeless shelter. Also, checkout the "I do" Foundation. Most bridal registries will donate a percentage of the amount spent on your bridal registry to the charity of your choice...no expense to you!

Rhonda
http://www.ourweddingplus.com

[David Syring]

Remember people,
After the Green Wedding,start looking for a green home to live in. This is obviously a brand new site http://www.ListedGreen.com and there limited listings, but give it some time, this will be the new MLS for green, energy efficient homes for sale.
Check it out.
Dave
ListedGreen

[Laura]

If you are looking for truly one-of-a-kind artist creations that are necessary for many wedding needs... made from recycled materials, check out www.etsy.com

You can find organic bath and beauty products, recycled jewelry, wallets, purses, magnets, vases... etc.

I love buying from the artists there because I know my $ is going directly towards another artist's dream!

[Dave]

My wife and I exchanged simple gold bands found on Devon street in Chicago, got married in a civil ceremony and invited the world over to our apartment.

Then, we told them we got married. No diamonds, not useless garbage presents. Just fun and friends. These wedding trappings concocted by DeBeers et. al. are easy to avoid.

[Ola]

Very usefull tips!

I and my husband Pavel provides "green" photo and video services in Israel and worldwide for last 4 years.
No printed proofs - DVD and CD with the materials, edited movies and personal designed, hand bounded The Wedding Book (the examples are in my web http://www.tinok.tk ).

Have a wonderfull day!!!

[Jassen Bowman]

Not to sound like a "downer" or anything, but I would suggest people consider one of the lowest impact weddings ever: 3 minutes at your local Justice of the Peace or other such official, with local friends and family in attendance. Film it and stick it up on YouTube if other people might want to see it, too.

Just a thought. :)

-Jassen

[marc choyt]

Diamonds are one thing, but manufacturing as a mainstream jeweler using fair trade and recylced metal poses an entirely different challenge that my company is currently meeting.
We have great wedding rings, too.

[marc choyt]

In the above comment, I forgot to mention, check out our website, www.celticjewelry.com

[Tom Wilson]

We had our weding at a local nature preserve. Instead of rice (which bloats the bellies of birds that eat the stuff), we checked with the preserve management and their prairie consultants and ordered quantaties of appropriate prairie grass and wildflower seeds for folks to throw

[Mike]

We are a print/graphics company that does ONLY green printing. Seeded (plantable) papers, handmade chlorine-free, etc with soybean oil based inks, green power etc.

[Toni Cervoni]

Fantastic article. Well researched and well written. I believe you defined every knook and cranny possible in a ec0-wedding.

[Toni Cervoni]

Fantastic article. Well researched and well written. I believe you defined every knook and cranny possible in a ec0-wedding.

FYI Somehow my comments were transposed into a guy named MIke above my note.

[Will]

The horse drawn carriage is an idiotic idea. It would take more energy to transport the horse to the site than it would to drive there.

[Jessica Rios]

Couples looking for a wedding planner to help them envision and orchestrate their elegantly simple day can check out: www.loveevents.com

[Tom McCormack]

I perform Native-American Flute Music and play musical interludes on international ethnic instruments for weddings. I also perform stories from all cultures that represent Ecology, Peace, Healing, + Spirituality.
I have some dates open this summer for performance venues in Northern Calif., Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and western Montana.

[Paul Tick]

As a wedding gift for a friend I purchased $75 worth of wind energy from a wind company that I know is reliable and is building wind turbines locally. This should help offset the damage done with the travel to the wedding and by the electricity used during the wedding.

[Dr. Mary]

My husband and I had our outdoor Western wedding at the home of a friend in Malibu. Because our friend has horses, we purchased bales of hay from his local feed store and covered them with tablecloths that could be re-used for seating. We not only avoided the waste of renting chairs, we fed his horses for a month. We used only natural lighting, and the floral decor was provided by his garden.

My husband's outfit was pulled together from Old West clothing he already owned, and I made my outfit from cotton denim ornamented with lace recycled from an old wedding gown.

[Joe]

You tree huggers. What planet are you from? I really want my bride dressed in hemp and wearing a wooden wedding ring. Talk about mother earth. And your wedding venues!? Their choices: anywhere but church! And for the honeymoon: why don't we walk from New York to California? That will save energy. And your suggestion of a honeymoon teepee! That really does take the cake, the wedding cake. Hey, I suggest we make it out of bark.

[Laura Black]

Let people know they can tailor this to any large party. We recently gave a "green" bar mitzvah for our son. It was challenging - but we were able to create a party that was fun and eco-friendly.

[Mika Yamamoto]

I am planning a green wedding and one tip I saw that I'd like to recommend is the custom stamp. It was actually not my idea but turned out to be great. We had postcard invitations on recycled paper, but had a sketch of a man and woman dancing that Ben's late grandfather had drawn made into a stamp with our wedding date written around it. We got rave reviews. The stamps themselves are not especially eco-friendly (because they come on plastic backing) but they make a simple postcard very special, hence eliminating the need for excessive paper usage.

[Diamond]

I wish I had these tips 3 years ago when I was planning my wedding. Though a few are silly (I agree with Toni about the horse drawn carriage), most of them make sense. We did use the RSVP tracker at www.weddingchannel.com. It worked great and at the same time saved paper and stamps.

[Meagan]

Joe, get the hell out of here. Don't ridicule other people's choices, especially when they're responsible choices. This was a fantastic article with so much well researched information, presented comprehensibly, and very, very interesting. I applaud it, and shame on you.

[Eco Pastor]

I am planning a wedding for next year and found this article very helpful.

While I too thought Joe's comments rather crude, it is sad to see that there is no mention of a wedding that can be green and still be in a church or other faith setting. A church usually has some type of hall so that the ceremony and reception can be in the same location...but then you probably couldn't have organic beer, wine, etc.