Green, Ethical and Eco-friendly Weddings

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!