Weddings are a day of love, joy, laughter ... and waste. With diamonds and gold, dresses and tuxes, food and dessert, favors and invitations, weddings can have a big-time effect on the environment. Because weddings are unique to each couple, they will reflect the couple’s personal beliefs and values. If those include finding ways to decrease the impact your wedding has on the environment, read on for tips, tricks and places to look for that incorporate some green into your wedding. Weddings can be incredible, elaborate affairs or simple, intimate gatherings. Whatever your particular vision calls for, many of the traditional details can either be left out in favor of other things or incorporated in an environmentally friendly way.
Often the first thing purchased before a wedding is an engagement ring. “Conflict-free” diamonds are getting a lot of awareness, but more is involved when creating jewelry. Besides making sure that diamonds are not coming from conflict zones, consider how the diamond has been mined. Some mining practices wreak havoc on the area’s ecosystem. Gold is another consideration: Some gold mining exposes the environment and workers to hazardous materials, including cyanide and mercury.
There are other options for both an engagement ring and wedding bands. It is possible to find recycled gold rings—greenkarat.com specializes in creating jewelry made from environmentally friendly materials. Or buy a vintage ring or have a family diamond placed in a new setting. Some companies even create wooden rings—check out www.touchwoodrings.com or www.simplywoodrings.com.
One of the easiest ways to make a big difference in how much waste your wedding is creating is by choosing a location near friends and family. Even better, look for a location that is all-in-one. At the Bellevue Club, “we can do the ceremony and reception in the same place, so there is no driving back and forth,” says Jayme Groseclose, Wedding Consultant at the Club. In addition, guests
can stay in the Hotel, dine in Polaris or Splash, and attend rehearsal dinners and morning-after brunches all in the same facility. Since air and land travel create so many emissions, finding a spot to tie the knot close to the majority of your guests’ homes means that much less pollution is being put into the environment. The first thing your guests are going to see (besides the beautiful engagement ring, of course) are invitations. This is also where you’ll set the style and tone of the wedding. What better
place to show that you’re an eco-conscious couple? There are various companies that create invitations from recycled paper. Also think about going paper-free: Save-the-dates, a popular addition to weddings, can be sent out via e-mail through companies like Evite (www.evite.com) instead of an envelope in the mail.
These customizable electronic invitations provide a place to include a link to a wedding Web site, where guests can get information about the wedding, including directions to the ceremony and reception sites, hotels to stay at and things to do in the area. A Web site can also be a place for guests to RSVP and make dinner selections—saving paper that would be used in a response card. Also consider invitations like those from Seal & Send (www.sealandsend.net). The invitation, directions and response card are all on one piece of paper, trifolded so it is also mailable. That can cut down on both paper used in envelopes and
invitation costs.
What might be the largest expense for a wedding is the food. This is also the place to really wow guests, and an easy place
to make a small impact on the planet. Work with your caterer to serve food that is local, first of all, and organic, secondly. By choosing local foods the amount of waste created getting them to your reception is minimized. Organic foods are also much easier on the environment. Also consider serving a plated dinner instead of a buffet. Plated dinners create less food waste than a buffet, says Jayme.
Pair your earth-friendly menu with a variety of local, organic wines and champagne—Washington and Oregon produce a variety of quality wines. Check out www.vineatrust.com—this cooperative effort includes a number of Walla Walla Valley vineyards and works to
establish a culture of stewardship and sustainability in winemaking.
Many women have a good idea of what they’d like their wedding gown to look like. If a “green” dress is on your wish list, look for 100 percent silk dresses. Some companies also create dresses out of hemp and organic cotton. Another option is to find a dress that can be altered or dyed and worn again—especially if you’re leaning toward a more casual
affair, this idea can work well. Grooms aren’t left out, either. Web sites like Rawganique (www.rawganique.com) offer all kinds of men’s and women’s clothing created from sustainable fabrics.
Buying already-worn dresses or renting
a dress or tux is another great way to save waste—just be aware that traditional dry cleaning uses perchloroethylene, exposing employees and you (through your clothing) to this central nervous system depressant. If possible, find dry cleaners that use earth- and people-friendly methods.
While some venues require a lot of decoration and some require very little, most weddings will feature flowers and candles. These are also two items where going green is easy—especially in the Northwest.
For flowers, choose local varieties that are in season. For a large part of the year, flowers are plentiful and inexpensive at Pike Place Market. Consider buying ready-made centerpieces from the local farmers selling at the market. If you do choose a florist, find one that buys locally grown, organic flowers. Also get creative with centerpieces. Local organic fruit can make fantastic displays, or try using potted plants instead of cut flowers. These can be replanted and enjoyed much longer than anything cut. Also consider reusing ceremony decorations and flowers
at the reception site.
If candles are a priority, look for beeswax or soy candles. Conventional candles can use
toxic chemicals to release candles from molds, create
certain colors or as additives in the wax so candles set up faster. They are also created from paraffin—a byproduct of petroleum—while soy and beeswax candles are created from renewable resources that can often be found locally. Table settings are a simple place to go green—choose to use real china, silverware and glasses, and use cloth napkins instead of paper. Most catering companies will provide basic versions of these items. Many couples like to give a favor to their guests at weddings. These days, one of the most popular favors is a bag of candy guests create on their own from a candy buffet. While edible favors are a great option—they probably will not be thrown away—things like plantable cards and trees are also available. Treeinabox.com and the Audubon Society sell tree seeds or saplings in bulk that guests can then plant. Flower seeds embedded in biodegradable cards are also an option, as are simple seed packets of flowers or herbs. Other couples choose to forgo favors, instead donating money to a favorite charity in honor of their wedding guests.
Many wedding photographers are now shooting digital, but if one or two on your list does shoot film, consider that digital avoids the use of toxic chemicals in film and photo developing, and digital also lets you print only those photos you want without having to first process film. An additional idea is to purchase digital photo frames for family members instead of albums—the frames will cycle through your favorite wedding photographs, no paper required!
Even if the green tips aren’t what you envisioned for your wedding day, there is still a way to help the environment. Companies like TerraPass and NativeEnergy let you offset the carbon emissions created on your wedding day with money put toward carbon-reduction projects, such
as wind power. In fact, both Web sites have wedding-day emissions calculators. By entering the number of guests flying and driving in, how far they are coming from and how many hotel rooms will be used, you will learn
how much carbon your wedding is creating—and have the ability to offset some, or all, of your wedding-day emissions.
After the send-off back to a hotel, many couples head quickly to their honeymoon destination. This is another place couples can live their green lifestyle. There are a
variety of opportunities for eco-trips and volunteer travel that, for some, might be as fun as lazy days on the beach or chilly days on the ski slopes. If you choose an eco-trip, research it beforehand—some might actually be hurting the environment more than helping it. The International Ecotourism Society (www.ecotourism.org) is a good place to start. If you choose to volunteer during your trip, know that volunteer trips can be just as expensive as resort vacations, and many organizations have scheduled start/end days, so it might not be possible to leave exactly when you want to.
If you do want to go the traditional route and lounge on the beach for a week, think about alternatives to airplane travel. Heading places by train and ship is more earth-friendly and can make the journey part of the fun. There are a few choices for traveling by ship besides the popular cruise lines—
a few British companies take ocean liners across the Atlantic. With large staterooms and grand accommodations throughout,
a transatlantic trip from New York to England might be
a wonderful way to spend a week together.
The Bellevue Club is a wonderful option for a wedding venue—with dining options, the Spa and the Hotel all at the same location, you and your guests can be pampered all weekend while celebrating your brand-new marriage. The Club is able to hold the ceremony and reception, says Jayme. The Club will also work with you to create a dinner menu, and is able to accommodate couples who wish to serve local or organic food. The Club can also provide local, seasonal flowers in bud vases. During dinner, china, silverware, glassware and linens are all provided. And, because the Club is in a metro area, everything you might need to bring in is close, says Jayme. Wedding items are available locally, avoiding the shipping that creates so much waste. Whether you choose to go green, Jayme says the most important thing is to make the wedding your own. “Pick foods you like, favorite hors d’oeuvres the couple has, pick a favorite dish to serve everybody. Choose favorite songs, not just what people think you should do. Do things to spice it up ...
if you like Vegas, you can get a few poker tables. If you
really like karaoke bring in a machine and have your DJ do karaoke. That’s what makes it personal and that’s what makes weddings memorable.”
