Green, Ethical and Eco-friendly Weddings

Today we wrap up Tara and Mike’s Eco Wedding. We hope you enjoyed reading about this wedding, and if you would like your own eco-wedding featured on BluePlanetWedding.com, drop me a line!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

What would you say to couples thinking of having a green wedding?

If there are any couples considering implementing a few eco-friendly initiatives into their wedding or thinking about having an eco-wedding, I would congratulate them on their decision and provide positive support as well.  Sometimes it takes guts to change or do something a little different.

I would suggest to the bride and grooms to follow their heart and not listen to negative comments by those who are scared of change.  A lot of people do not realize how much weddings (and other large events) negatively impact our environment and if 100 brides implemented 1 eco-friendly initiative into their big day, it would make a large impact.

I think the top 2 must haves for an eco-wedding are an eco-wedding coordinator and the internet.

If anyone is considering having an eco-wedding, the most important suggestion I have is hiring an eco-event planner.  Wedding coordinators are great but they are there to serve you.  On the contrary, an eco-event planner is there to serve you, but they are also there to protect and serve the environment.  On Green Lily Events‘ website, they sum it up very well when they say: “We believe that making responsible choices in the early stages of event planning can minimize waste and create a lighter footprint. Our mission is to create unique, eco-chic events that balance style with sustainability.â€�  My wedding would not have been the same with the help of Green Lily Events.  Especially in a place like Texas, doing something eco-friendly requires help whereas in California, it is a law that recycling must take place at large events.

Also, I did spend a lot more time researching eco alternatives on the internet, and that is definitely a necessity if someone is planning an eco-event.

What green or eco-friendly things are you going to establish in your household?

We already recycle everything we possibly can in our home.  Our new favorite TV channel is the Planet Green channel.  I watch the shows on making homes green a lot and we love to learn about the environment and what we are doing and what more we can do to help minimize the negative impact our consumption is having on the earth.  Before the channel even started, I had decided to make my current home green.  We purchased a condo in March of 2008 and we have plans to green our home as much as we can with the limited budget that we have.  Recently, we purchased a digital thermostat and a blanket for our water heater.  Also, over the next 2 years we plan on replacing the paint with a low or no toxic paint, install new appliances and purchase as many energy star appliances as possible and install recycled glass countertops in the kitchen and bathroom.  In addition, we are gradually replacing our cleaning products with eco-friendly products and we try to purchase organic and local products whenever it is financially possible.

The eco-wedding has already made an impact of some of my family members and my brother and my father have begun recycling in their homes too.  My father even sent me a picture recently of his first time recycling!

Overall this experience has been life changing for me and my husband.  Not only do we feel good about having an eco-wedding, we are planning on making all our future events eco-friendly.

Part 4 of the interview with Tara about her green wedding. Read part 1, part 2 and part 3.

How did your guests react? Did they notice and appreciate the green element?

Overall, the reaction was positive although we did receive some jokes and odd looks along the way.  A lot of people, particularly Houstonians, are not environmentally conscious, so an eco-wedding is new and strange.  I can understand their hesitation and curiosity because that is how people typically react to change, but I think the majority of our guests liked the idea and felt honored to be included.

Except for the eco-favors, there was nothing really obvious that made people notice that it was an eco-wedding, especially because the most important eco initiative, the recycling, happened in the kitchen/service area.  The eco elements were all around though, from the cakes to the linens to the eco-fetti. We did get a lot of compliments on the eco-favors, the floral centerpieces and the organic cakes at the wedding.  Also, moving part of the décor from the ceremony room to the reception really made a big impact. A couple of people have already told me that they planted their lavender seeds and pot, and there are sprouts growing!  I am so happy to hear that some of our guests really enjoyed their favor.

Before the day of the wedding, we received several comments on the invitations. A lot of people were very curious about the invitations because they looked natural but still elegant. When we told people they were made from tree-free materials and post consumer recycled paper, they were amazed at how beautiful the invitations looked.

Many people asked us throughout our engagement (7 months) what an eco wedding was or how you made a wedding green.  I always told them that a green wedding was same as a traditional wedding but rather than throwing paper, plastic, aluminum and glass in the trash, you recycle it instead.  Also, having the ceremony and reception at the same venue was another example I gave.  It’s simple and something that most people would not even think of as eco-friendly, but it is.

Tomorrow: Conclusion

Here’s part 3 of the interview with Tara about her green wedding. Read part 1 and part 2.

Was your eco-wedding more expensive than if you had done a standard wedding?

I can see where an eco-wedding would be more expensive than a regular wedding, but we did not really see an increase by adding our eco-initiatives. If it did cost us more, it was so minimal that we didn’t even notice.

I do admit that many organic or eco-friendly products available in America and throughout the world can cost more a lot of times, but that is not always that case and sometimes it just takes an extra few minutes to do some research and find a cheaper alternative.

What we did notice was how much more expensive everything has become even over the course of 7 months. I read recently that there has been a 15% increase in the cost of goods and services in the bridal industry, and next year that trend is supposed to continue.

I believe the reason our eco-wedding did not cost more is mostly due to the fact that we made wise decisions by deciding not to purchase flowers from ecobouquet.com and we did not choose an organic or free range meat. I wanted free range chicken, but it was going to cost an extra $10 a person so we decided to go with our original choice. No one even noticed that our chicken was not free range, so I think it was a good decision. However, in a perfect world, my wedding would have been eco-perfect with an entirely eco friendly menu, but that is not possible with most budgets. Also, I wanted organic flowers but the cost was too much for our budget so we chose a local florist that purchased a lot of local flowers instead.

One thing we did purchase that we did not have to was eco-fetti for our exit. Ecoparti.com offers eco-fetti which is colored, dissolvable paper. It was not expensive at all ($19.95 per bag of eco-fetti) and rose petals probably would have cost as much, but bubbles definitely would have been cheaper.

When we went shopping for our invitations, we got a quote from a well known local invitation company and they wanted to charge us $1500 for one of their nicer designs and it wasn’t even eco-friendly. We did get a quote for one of their eco-friendly invitations, but it was around the same price. Our budget was only $1000 and the only reason it was even that high, was because my mom was trying to please me because I wanted eco-friendly invitations. Luckily, my wedding coordinator was very resourceful and persistent and she found Invitesite. They make eco-friendly invitations at affordable prices by having their customers assemble the invitations. Our total for the invitations was $900 and although it did take quite a bit of time to assemble the invitations, it was well worth the savings.

Also, I originally wanted a wedding cake and grooms cake from the best baker in town, Nadine Moon of Who Made the Cakes, but I was open to the idea of an organic cake. We went to see Nadine and she created some fabulous designs for us. Her quote ended up being $1500 which was out of my mom’s price range. Jessica Zapatero saved the day again and introduced us to Monica Martinez of Precious Cakes by Monica. Not only were her cakes absolutely fabulous, but they were more affordable. The quote from Monica for the same cakes with the same designs but organic was $1100! So, we ended up with delicious organic cakes and we saved $400.

Tomorrow: How did your guests react? Did they notice and appreciate the green element?

Here’s part 2 of the interview with Tara about her green wedding. Read part 1 here.

What were some of the things you did to make the wedding “green”?

In the beginning we started small but we ended up implementing over 20 different eco-initiatives. Having an eco-wedding is still a new concept in Houston, so we did have to overcome some obstacles, but we did it and we succeeded too.

Here’s a list of our eco initiatives:

1. Ceremony & Reception at the same location (The Four Seasons Hotel)
2. Eco-event wedding coordinator Jessica Zapatero of Green Lily Events
3. Wedding Cake and Groom’s Cake were mostly organic (from Precious Cakes by Monica)
4. Wedding Dress made from Raw Silk (Paloma Blanca – Canadian Company)
5. Engagement diamond is family heirloom – Brides’ Great Grandmother’s diamond
6. Plantable favors (seeds and pot are both plantable)
7. Invitations and accessories from Invitesite.com
   • mailing envelopes, rsvp card and additional card are made of 100% post consumer recycled paper
   • the booklet is tree-free and is made from lotka paper
   • the invitation sheet is tree-free and from ivory mulberry paper
   • the lining is lavender mulberry tissue
   • programs, menu cards and place cards all made from the same materials as invitations (but mostly with lotka and mulberry paper
8. Recycling of plastic, aluminum, paper and cardboard by Waste Management (at expense of Four Seasons)
9. Recycling of glass by Green Lily Events (at expense of Green Lily Events)
10. Guest baskets included recycled bags and local products (some organic too)
11. Donated Floral Centerpieces to Lexington Senior Citizen Center
12. Carriage ride after reception
13. Carbon offset for round trip airfare for honeymoon
14. Plated lunch
15. Used chair covers from Four Seasons
16. Used tablecloths that the linen vendor already has in stock
17. Re-used part of décor from ceremony at reception
18. Eco-suede kippahs/yarmulkes (made from cardboard – purchased from ZaraMart)
19. Bridal Party Make-Up from eco friendly line GloMinerals
20. Eco-friendly photographer Michael Ramos
21. Used Eco-fetti for exit from hotel (ecoparti.com)

Tomorrow: Was it more expensive than if you had done a standard wedding?

This week we’re featuring Tara and Mike’s green wedding, held in August in Houston. Tara gave me a ton of great info in the interview, so instead of one long post, I’m going to break this up over a few days. It’s great stuff, and if you’re thinking about doing an eco-friendly wedding, be sure to read the whole interview.

Why did you decide to have a green or eco friendly element in your wedding?

Over the past several years, I have become an environmentally conscious person and that has impacted my daily life. My husband has also jumped on board over the past few years too.  We started recycling at our home about 2 years ago and today I am proud to say that we recycle everything we possible can including paper, cardboard, plastics 1 through 5 and 7 (Houston cannot recycle plastic # 6), aluminum, glass and we also donate items that we don’t need anymore instead of tossing them in the dumpster.  (Note: we have to take all the recyclables to the appropriate places around town ourselves. The City of Houston refuses to offer curb side recycling to all residents who do not live in a single family dwelling and even if you do live in a single family dwelling, you have to get put on a wait list because they currently only service 150,000 single family homes).

Also, Mike and I had done a lot of traveling throughout our childhood (Mike traveled all over Europe and I went to a lot of National Parks) and we had come to appreciate and respect nature early on, so I think it was probably only a matter of time before we became environmentally conscious adults.

When I finally decided that Mike and I should make our relationship official (Mike was ready but I was not ☺), I was very hesitant to proceed because I knew how much waste was produced by weddings.  I was never one of those women that had to get married, rather the opposite.  I have always considered myself to be a leader and not a follower so I did not want the typical wedding that happens every weekend.

One day I realized that maybe I could have it all.  I decided that weddings in Texas needed to be more eco friendly and if they were, I might want to participate.  I did not tell my husband that this was one of the reasons that I was hesitant to get married until I found my wedding coordinator. Once I realized that having an eco-wedding was possible, I told my husband that I wanted to get married.  He agreed that having an eco-wedding was important to him too.

My mom and I contacted Jessica Zapatero of Green Lily Events and that is how it all started.  We met with Jessica a couple of days later and she explained that she is an eco-event planner.  I told her I wanted an eco-wedding and she was looking for an eco-bride so it was a perfect fit.

Tomorrow: What were some of the things you did to make the wedding “green”?

Too often, “eco-friendly” is equated with “expensive” - higher prices on “green” household products, organic food isn’t cheap, and so on. With unpredictable economic times ahead, couples are looking for ways to cut down on wedding costs and wedding debt without appearing cheap.

One of the core concepts behind the eco-friendly wedding is cutting out the extra stuff - cut back ruthlessly and find inexpensive natural alternatives for otherwise expensive “stuff” that would otherwise find its way into landfills once the ceremony is over.

So, 8 ideas for a frugal eco-friendly wedding:

1. Have fewer guests.
Why its frugal: A smaller wedding is cheaper to run, up to 2/3 cheaper! Less food, smaller hall, fewer flowers… small is good.
Why its green: Less stuff. Less waste (a lot of food gets thrown out after a wedding - consider donating it to a homeless shelter). Less travel (less carbon and pollution created). Just less, which is usually good for the environment.

2. Wear a vintage or second-hand dress.
Why its frugal: You can find designer dresses for more than half of what a new dress costs, even with alterations
Why its green: Wedding dresses are worn once. Since it takes a lot of effort and energy to make a wedding dress, keeping it in circulation means the original environmental and economic footprint of the dress is lessened.
Encore Bridal
PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com
SellYourWeddingDress.com

3. Use electronic invitations, RSVPs, announcements, etc.
Why its frugal: Many web sites will handle all electronic invitations for free or for a very small fee. No postage either.
Why its green: Less paper and ink. Paper production is very rough on the environment and electronic communication - especially if it is not printed out - is a better choice.
Notes: You will probably still need some paper invitations for those who are not online - some grandparents, etc.
Evite.com
Pingg.com

4. Use flowers grown in your garden (or a family member or a friend’s garden)
Why its frugal: Seeds and bulbs are much, much cheaper than cut flowers.
Why its green: Commercially-grown flowers have enormous environmental impact, from the massive amounts of pesticides used to grow and preserve the flowers, to the transportation costs and impact - most commercial flowers are grown in South America or Africa.
Notes: This one takes quite a bit of planning. If you are considering this, talk to several people including the local nursery about the right flowers for the area and time of year.

5. Hire musicians from the local college or music conservatory
Why its frugal: Music students work very hard and are skilled, and they will work for cheap. A quartet can work for the price of a soloist.
Why its green: Classical musicians generally do not need electricity for amplification, or choose a musician who will play “unplugged”.
Notes: There is a lot of talent at local music schools. My wife is an accompanist musician at the Mount Royal Conservatory here in Calgary; one of the students she play for and two of her siblings played at our wedding as a trio and they were wonderful! But remember the extra cello strings…

6. Honeymoon locally
Why its frugal: Less travel = less cost
Why its green: Less travel = less environmental impact

7. Keep the favors simple - five sugar-coated almonds is very traditional
Why its frugal: Enough sugar-coated almonds for 75 people should cost about $30-$40 (depending on where you get them, of course)
Why its green: Food is always a good choice for favours - there’s less chance of waste (kids tend to eat all the leftover favours). Knickknacks tend to accumulate (and accumulate in landfills) and aren’t appreciated by everyone. Some bakeries and cookie decorators will do combined placecards and favour cookies. There are a lot of other options you could consider, like donations.

8. Keep the reception simple
Why its frugal: Large banquets are very expensive - anywhere from $50 to $200 per guest. Plus, with a banquet, its harder to mingle with the guests. Consider a simple cocktail-and-hors d’oeuvres reception, a sandwich buffet or even a pot luck.
Why its green: Less waste.
Notes: My wife and I did a sit-down afternoon dinner buffet (which I wouldn’t do again), but skipped the dance. We rented two adjoining hotel suites (an advantage of being married in the off-season) and had a big gathering of all the friends and family. We felt like we visited with everyone.

Keep in mind that the wedding isn’t about the size of the party, it’s about the first moments of the rest of your life together. Planning a wedding is incredibly stressful, and relationships have broken up over the wedding planning. Don’t let anyone, including the wedding magazines and media, tell you what your wedding should be like. Make the day uniquely yours by adding in the special touches that make it personal - growing your own flowers is far more memorable than writing a cheque to a florist. Simple weddings reduce stress, reduce costs and reduce impact. And enjoy the day - it goes fast!