You’ve been engaged for two weeks and already the guest list is spiraling out of control.
“We went to Cousin Steve’s wedding in Dallas four years ago, we have to put him on the list.” “Yes, but if we do that, we have to add Uncle Mike’s whole family or we’ll never hear the end of it at the next family reunion.”
Had a similar conversation? I know my wife(-to-be) and I did. She has over 40 cousins, and it’s a tight family. Yikes - recipe for a huge wedding (we ended up with 100 - seemed like a lot more, though).
Keeping the ceremony and reception small has many, many benefits.
Many of those benefits are environmental - less consumption, less waste, less impact and so on. Other benefits are cost control measures, but there is one huge benefit to a small gathering that most people don’t consider.
Your wedding day will (not may, but will) be a very busy day of schedules, planning, meeting & greeting, organization and controlled chaos. There will be so much action it’ll be hard to visit with guests and even remember much of the day. Keeping things small gives you the opportunity to actually be a part of your day instead of being swept along in a tide of events and a blur of faces. You’ll remember the day more, and have more fun.
REDUCE, reuse, recycle (and my fourth ‘R’ - repair, but that’s a topic for another day). Weddings can get excessive (no, really?), and even if the choices are eco-friendly, the question of consumption still arises. There’s one key question you need to ask yourself: do I really need that? Remember, NEED is different from WANT.
Ariel at the excellent Offbeat Bride blog:
“…I definitely get concerned when I see wedding trend articles that lay yet another financial concern on engaged couples, yet another way in which brides can whip themselves into a frenzy. “I must have tea candles on every table — and they must be SOY CANDLES!” How about just skipping the candles? As my friend Esther pointed out, it’s a little frustrating that the article seems to ignore the “reduce, reuse, recycle” aspect of environmentalism, focusing on green products couples can buy instead of suggesting that couples take the truly radical step of just buying less. “
Buy less, consume less - reduce. A radical idea…
Another reason to consider reducing the wedding “stuff” - there’s no doubt that making eco-friendly choices is more expensive than sticking with mainstream, mass produced stuff. By cutting stuff, you free up the budget for organic meals, flowers, etc.
This list is highly individual, and every bride will make different choices as to need or want, but here are some things to think about. Do you need:
- floral centerpieces for the tables?
- candles?
- individual place cards?
- a newspaper announcement?
- a ring pillow?
- toasting goblets?
- a ‘going-away’ outfit?
Run through your checklist. What are the things you can cut out?
By now, most people know not to throw rice at weddings - it’s difficult to clean up (most venues won’t allow it), and, according to urban legend, birds will eat it and explode (this is false).
As an alternative, many people are now throwing bird seed. Supposedly friendlier towards birds, bird seed poses a different threat to the environment - the introduction of non-native and invasive plant species, AKA weeds.
Perhaps the most common animal-related products that cause new plant introductions are bird seeds. Commercial bird seed marketed towards pet owners contains many non-native species. As bird owners know, large amounts of seed are thrown away intact simply because the bird will not eat it. Naturalists in Britain tracked “bird seed aliens” for the past several decades. They found several dozen species that either grew unaided in garbage dumps, or would germinate under laboratory conditions. Many bird seed aliens easily germinate if exposed to water, even while still in the bird cage. Some of the better-known bird seed aliens include Panicum miliaceum (proso millet), Setaria italica (foxtail millet), and Helianthus annuus (sunflower), all common seed contaminants themselves. One common bird seed component that has recently come under increased scrutiny is Cannabis sativa (hemp); although the seed is supposed to be sterilized before it is included in mixtures to be sold in America, this species is still a noxious weed in many states.
Methods of Introduction of Non-Native Plants into New Habitats: A Review
by Jennifer Forman, University of Massachusetts, Boston
The idea of throwing things at newly married couples is a tradition that goes back thousands of years. Grains, fruit, seeds, nuts and so on symbolize a fruitful union and growth (an old Irish tradition has the couple being pelted with pots and pans - sounds like a honeymoon in the emergency ward… :) ).
Today, we have many adaptations of this tradition, and we can celebrate in other eco-friendly ways. Blow bubbles from a solution made from biodegradable soap - always a nice option and it’s fun to blow bubbles!
John Reeve at Digital Web Magazine published an excellent article yesterday: How to Build a Green Business. The article covers many things you can do to build an eco-friendly business, and clearly defines some buzzwords like “sustainability”.
5 take-away points from the article
- Recycle everything you can, including old electronic equipment and inkjet cartridges.
- Reduce your consumption of everything, including power (turn things off when not in use) and paper (don’t print emails).
- Use green products: everything from post-consumer waste recycled paper to green cleaning products.
- Alternative commuting, including taking the bus, biking, working from home, carpooling and driving energy-efficient vehicles.
- Revamp your product line by eliminating the inefficient and harmful.
Check out the article for more great ideas on running an environmentally-friendly and ethical business. Share your ideas in the comments on how you you run an ethical and environmentally-friendly wedding business.
It’s Valentine’s Day - the most popular day to get engaged*.
Congratulations to all new brides and grooms! Enjoy your fair-trade chocolate and organic roses today, and remember to have fun planning your wedding.
Source: popular assumption.
“Many will embrace willful waste as a sign of confidence or luxury.”
Seth Godin (my favourite marketing guru) riffs on waste. He talks about a hotel room that was fully lit (with incandescent bulbs - gasp!), overly warm and so on. He talks about a watch that seemed to be more extras than watch. The theme of his post was excessiveness.
Many (dare I say most?) brides want a luxurious wedding, and weddings are often a venue for displays of wealth and excessiveness. It’s still possible to have a wedding that’s chic and glamorous but easy on the environment.
Most of the choices come from not sacrificing the glamour, but knowing where the different elements come from. You can have the big diamond, but choose an ethically sourced diamond. Have a fabulous dress, but choose organic fabrics. Have a sumptuous meal, but go organic and local. Make ethical choices for your once-in-a-lifetime blowout.
Check out the 95 Ideas To Make Your Wedding More Environmentally-Friendly.
Where do you see waste in your day-to-day life?
A bride’s wedding gown is usually the #1 thing on her mind in the days after the engagement. There are thousands of options when choosing a dress, but are you even thinking about the most important option?
Organic silk
The manufacture of silk is a resource- and labor-intensive process, and since most silk production takes place in developing countries, the production and manufacturing conditions can be questionable. Michael Lackman at LotusOrganics.com has written an excellent article about silk production: Raw and Organic Silk: Facts behind the Fibers.
(Image courtesy of Rene Geneva Design)
Here are some galleries and makers of organic and ethical wedding gowns:
Conscious Clothing (USA)
Rene Geneva Design (USA)
Threadhead Creations (USA)
Rawganique (Canada)
You can always have a wedding dress custom-made. Depending on the designer and seamstress, this can be a cost-effective alternative to an off-the-rack dress, and you can ask to have it made from environmentally-friendly fabrics.
BluePlanetWedding.com, the green and ethical wedding business directory, is now accepting US wedding business listings! Get a free listing for your company and be seen by couples looking for eco-friendly wedding resources.
Wooden wedding bands are an eco-friendly alternative for the groom, but the maintenance and care can turn off many people. Pure wood rings are not as permanent as gold and other metals, and the symbolism of permanence is an important part of being married. There are options; consider a wood-inlaid titanium ring.
(Rob and Lean Creative and Unique Gifts)
There are always issues around the production of any metal - mining is a destructive and chemical-intensive process. Turned wood rings are an alternative, or you could recycle an older piece of gold jewelry and have a jeweler craft something new.
For wood, species like teak and mahogany are endangered species; look for woods that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or other governing bodies. The type of wood is not as important as where it came from and how it was produced.
(Any wood ring, inlaid or not, cannot be submersed in water for any amount of time - learn how to take care of your ring)
I wonder if I could convince my wife that I should trade in my current gold wedding ring…
