Green, Ethical and Eco-friendly Weddings

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?