Many green conscious couples are taking their marriage vows in the form of a green
wedding. People are changing their habits and activities these days to accommodate more environmentally sound ways
of living. This can even be done when planning and conducting a wedding ...
Green Wedding Planning - Tips And Ideas
Many green conscious couples are now taking their marriage vows in the form of a green wedding.
People are changing their habits and activities, these days, to accommodate more environmentally sound ways of
living. This can even be done when planning and conducting a wedding.
The first step of any green wedding plan begins with the engagement ring. Folks planning a green
wedding will want to consider alternatives to “blood diamonds’ and rings that are made in a manner contrary to
conservation. Some such alternatives include estate or vintage rings and even wooden bands.
The location of your green wedding should be considered to keep travel to a minimum. Consider
bussing or car-pooling guests. An outdoor wedding location can bring a natural ambience to the entire tone of the
ceremony.
The invitations to a green wedding should be exemplary of the green theme. You would, therefore,
want to use recycled or non-tree paper. Choose a printer who will seriously consider the use of non-hazardous inks
and processes when making your wedding invitations.
Even bachelor and bachelorette parties can be green. Again, you can reduce travel by
car-pooling, etc. Consider outdoor activities like camping or sailing as opposed to nightclub partying. Look into
organic foods for the event and organic beer and wine for refreshments.
A green wedding can feature all sorts of clothing alternatives from vintage dress to choosing
clothes that you will wear again or donating the dresses to charity after the ceremony.
There is an abundance of wedding decorating options for a green wedding. Choose organic flower
arrangements and donate them to a retirement home or hospital afterward. Move the decorations from the wedding site
and reuse then at the reception. If you are using candles, choose soy-based or beeswax options as opposed to those
made from paraffin or petroleum products.
Be diligent about maintaining green standards as regards food preparation, wedding menu options,
and waste disposal. Make sure that all waste that can be recycled is recycled and that any leftover foodstuffs are
sent home with guests or donated to the needy, not thrown away. Rent real glassware, china, and utensils as opposed
to using disposables.
Use digital cameras for picture taking and discourage the use of single use cameras.
For your gift registry, consider green wedding gifts and gifts of
donations to environmental causes.
Consider unconventional wedding favors like seeds to be planted in a garden, dried organic
herbs, natural soaps, or small plants.
Take a honeymoon that leaves a smaller carbon footprint by using a green travel agent to arrange
your trip and accommodations. Consider offsetting the negative effect of any travel by donating a sum to an
eco-friendly charity. Many airlines already have plans that offset your flight path through the donation of about
$10 to $50 to technologies such as solar or hydroelectric.
Also, consider a green wedding planner who can make all the arrangements to ensure that your
ceremony, reception, and honeymoon are all conducted in the most eco-friendly manner possible.
Imagine how pleased you will be to know that you have done everything you can to start your
marriage off on a responsible and caring path by arranging a green wedding.
When the issue about global warming and its impact on us human are not yet so very well known,
we did not bother to think about any earth-friendly means for contributing to the environment's welfare. However
nowadays when no country in the world has not experienced even the slightest effect of this global nature problem,
all of us need to do something to contribute and help save our earth.
If you think that wedding has nothing to do with it, then you are definitely misled. As a matter
of fact, there are a lot about weddings that can be angled towards helping the environment. One way is by using and
implementing some eco-friendly wedding stationery ideas.
A huge amount of paper is actually used in traditional and average weddings. Thank you cards,
menu cards, place cards, ceremony programs, reception cards, RSVP cards and wedding invitations. All these are
wedding stationery that uses paper. As we all know, paper comes from trees, which of course is in line with
environmental issues is one of the things that must be saved in all possible means.
Rather than using virgin paper, we can choose to utilize a kind of recycled paper, which are
made from recyclable materials, or which are made from alternative fibers like bamboo or hemp. Some may think that
recycled papers have less aesthetic value. But the truth is that there are a lot of recycled papers which are too
beautiful you can't tell they are even recycled. There are 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water saved if a ton of
recycled paper is used. These are equivalent to 380 gallons of oil saved and prevents 60 pounds of pollutants from
contaminating the atmosphere. In addition, recycled invitations are manually made by women to address problems of
homelessness.
Instead of enclosing a lot of paper sheets to relay a lot of information about your wedding, you
may combine all these data in one card only. Or better yet, utilize the modern technological means of the internet
and set up a website which you may include in your invitation where guests can browse through in order to get
updates and additional information about your big day.
As Wedding invitations cannot really be totally replaced by online means, then use online
resources for the other pre-wedding events and parties like bridal shower, hens night, rehearsal dinner and post
wedding lunch.
If possible, simply disregard unnecessary use of paper such as menu cards and wedding programs.
If it cannot be helped, Use only a few copies to provide menu and dish as well as programs to guests. Or another
way is to use a projector to display these information to guests in an enclosed area.
For your wedding seats, instead of papers to relay seating assignments, you may just paint the
guest's name on stones or on a ribbon tied to a flower. As with the printing alternatives, there are organic
substitutes to commercially available inks like those made from soy and other vegetable-based dyes.
Weddings have not changed much over the
past hundred years, but the awareness surrounding environmental impact has changed.
There are a number of different ways to throw an eco-friendly and cost-effective
wedding; all that's needed is a little creativity. Basic understandings of where
products originate, and were they go to end their lives is also helpful when
planning an eco wedding.
There are a vast number of things needed
for the big event that will impact the environment. There are wedding invitations,
shower announcements, rings, dresses, flowers, and leftover food. That's just a few
of the necessities! The following article will help couples find creative and
festive ways to save on wedding costs, while doing their part to protect the
planet.
Once the date is set, the couple should
start sending out invitations for both the wedding shower and the wedding ceremony.
An eco conscious way to use paper is to ensure that no trees are cut down during
the paper-making process. Many companies make tree-free paper products using
recycled coffee beans, cotton, denim and hemp. Of course, there are also lots of
places on the Internet to purchase 100% recycled paper.
In addition to tree-free paper products,
the paper should also be off-white or colored. The chemical bleaching process used
to make white paper emits many toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. Many of these
chemicals take years to break down in the environment.
Recycled rings are not only more
cost-effective, but have a large impact on protecting the environment. Gold mining
is one of the most toxic of all gem-mining procedures. Many jewelers today can use
any type of recycled precious metal to create custom wedding and engagement rings.
For a more traditional approach, the couple could also use vintage pieces, which
can be redesigned into radiant new pieces that will be both beautiful and
unique.
After the rings, the wedding dress is the
single largest expense for most weddings. The choice of dress can be another great
way to cut costs to both the budget and the environment. If the wedding will be in
a sunny, summer location, a nice cotton dress might be nice for the bride. Cotton
is a natural material, and does not require the toxic chemical processing that
satins, or other human-made fibers require.
Other human-made materials used in many
traditional weddings are plastics for fake flowers. Traditional floral arrangements
are used in centerpieces and bouquets that are designed to last long after the
ceremony. Instead of using silk or plastic flowers, consider using potted flowers,
flower petals, tree saplings, and flower bulbs. These can be used for centerpieces,
decorations, and the petals and flower blossoms can be used to shower the new
couple as they leave the reception hall. For a twist, throwing lavender blossoms or
rose petals is a lovely idea. They create a picturesque backdrop for wedding photos
and they smell wonderful!
Many couples choose to open their gifts at
a date sometime after the wedding reception. But no matter when they are opened,
gifts are a big part of any wedding celebration. A bridal registry is a great way
to eliminate the possibility of receiving duplicate gifts, but frequently leaves
the new couple with lots of items they don't truly need. Instead of setting up a
bridal registry, many couples choose convenient ways for their guests to make
charitable donations. Making the donation in the bridal party's name gives the new
couple a wonderful feeling, and prevents pollution to the environment from the
manufacturing of unnecessary gifts.
While the wedding ceremony is one of the
most important events the newlyweds will ever celebrate, it is only for one day of
their lives. However, the impact on the environment will last well beyond their
wedding day. Making environmentally conscious decisions will make a great
difference on the effects for Mother Nature. Many of the aforementioned eco wedding
ideas are extremely cost effective and show future generations that weddings can be
fun and conscientious.
About the
author:Dee Sommers.Dee is the Director of Media Relations at a publicity firm on the
West Coast. She has a law degree and a communications degree, both from privately
run colleges. She has been writing for 25 years, and loves the knowledge that comes
with researching new topics for articles. In her spare time she reads, does logic
puzzles, watches movies with her son, and plays various sports.Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dee_Sommers
Why not use your wedding as a chance to celebrate not only the love that you and your fiance
have for each other, but also for the Earth? More and more couples are deciding to plan weddings which are
eco-friendly. Having a green wedding does not mean sacrificing anything when it comes to style or fun, either.
These tips will help you plan a beautiful eco-friendly wedding.
Set the tone for your green wedding with the invitations. These days there are more
Earth-friendly wedding invitations than ever before, and they are just as pretty and elegant as conventional ones.
Look for stationery which is created from either recycled paper or tree-free paper. Some of the most beautiful
wedding invitations are made using materials such as mulberry fibers or even organic cotton, and they often feature
special details like embedded leaves or seeds (so that your invitations can be planted!). Make your wedding
invitations even more eco-friendly by choosing less toxic inks like soy or plant based ones.
Next we come to the wedding gown. Every bride wants to look and feel amazing on her wedding day,
and no one wants to give up an ounce of style to make a statement. Fortunately, a fabulous bridal gown and a green
wedding are no longer incompatible ideas. One of the simplest choices you can make is to wear a vintage gown,
either from a family member or an antique shop. Think about it like this: by wearing your mom's wedding dress, you
can respect the planet by recycling and make your mother happy at the same time. When Mother Earth and the mother
of the bride are both happy, what could be a better start to your wedding?
If vintage does not float your boat, check out some of the new wedding gowns from eco-conscious
desigers. Designers like Olivia Luca and Threadhead create bridal gowns with classic and modern styling that any
fashion-savvy bride would adore. Best of all, they use fabrics which are friendly to both the Earth and its
inhabitants. "Green" fabrics include organic cotton sateen, bamboo, and hemp. If you have always imagined indulging
in the luxury of a pure silk wedding gown, it is now possible to do without a guilty conscience. Look for some of
the gorgeous new fair trade silk bridal gowns which promise that the silk is grown in a sustainable manner, the
artisan weavers are paid fairly, and no environmentally destructive treatments like beach or dye are used on the
fabric.
As a nice bonus, most eco-friendly wedding gowns are handmade in small workshops in the U.S.,
rather than produced in sweatshops offshore. This brings us to another way to "green" up your wedding: choose to
include products which are people-friendly as well as Earth-friendly. Wedding accessories like handmade jewelry are
absolutely gorgeous, and when you choose handmade wedding jewelry which is created domestically, you will be
supporting a local business and reducing your carbon footprint.
Speaking of the carbon footprint of your wedding, remember that the more local products you
choose to include, the fewer emissions will be produced by transporting your goods. Select flowers which are
available from local growers, local organic food, and even wedding favors which are handcrafted in your area. You
will be doing good for the Earth, the local economy, and obtaining the freshet possible food and flowers for your
eco-friendly wedding. Who know that doing good could also look and taste so beautiful?
Eco-Elegant Flowers & Gourmet
Gifts - Eco-friendly flower arrangements include roses, calla lilies, tulips,
gerbera daisies, hyacinths, sunflowers, alstromeria lilies and blue iris, plus certified eco
friendly and organic gift baskets, fruit baskets, nut baskets, gourmet chocolates, gourmet
cookies, plants, wreaths, organic cotton apparel, organic towels, and organic linens.
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Eco Wedding
Boutique Going green for your big day? Shop The Knot Wedding Shop’s Eco-Weddings
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