Make recycled invitations. The invitation and the envelope can be made from recycled paper. Better still, if you have the patience and ability, make your own and include pressed petals in the paper. Rather than printing the invitations, have a local calligrapher write them for you. This employs someone locally and the effect is stunning.
Use a green bridal registry. Most bridal registries have gone green – look for them online. Alternately, when you choose the items for a bridal registry, choose only eco-friendly items. If there is a store that sells a lot of eco-friendly items but it doesn’t have a bridal registry, ask if they would mind setting one up for you. It might just be the impetus the store needs to do it regularly! Or, if you want the registry to be less focused on giving gifts to yourself and your new spouse, and more focused on directing resources toward those in greater need, you can consider having the registry be a list of donations to charitable causes. Tell your guests that, instead of giving you gifts, they should donate that money to a charity that protects the environment. There are many options. They could donate to the WWF, a water reservation organization, or buy a few acres of rainforest land in your name.
Use recycled gold for your wedding rings. The mining of gold leaves environmental devastation in its wake by leaving arsenic residues and other problems associated with mining. Diamond mining also has negative environmental consequences. There are many jewelers now recycling gold and turning it into wedding rings. This is not only a great method for recycling but it is also a wonderful connection with the past and the loves and lives of those who have gone before us.
Select a wedding venue close to home. The closer the venue, the less distances required to travel and the less energy consumed. Also consider a venue that has natural sunlight streaming in, so that you can take advantage of the sun’s highlights and not have to rely on internal lighting. Forever Green has giant floor to ceiling windows that bring lots of natural sunlight into the venue. These not only help with light but connect you with nature and the forest view outside.
Choose your transportation carefully. The traditional horse and cart is efficient, romantic and it doesn’t burn gas. Think of innovative forms of transportation. Arrange for carpools among the wedding party and encourage guests to do the same. At Forever Green, you could even take a horse and cart ride down our forest paths or one of our recycled paths.
Use locally grown floral arrangements. They travel less, they arrive fresher and you are supporting the local community. You will also be better able to discern whether or not the flowers have been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides, something that is best avoided. Also arrange for someone to take the floral arrangements from the wedding venue to the reception venue. It is a logical solution to otherwise wasting the flowers and it reduces your costs.
Select locally grown produce for the reception food. Supporting local growers is a great way to cut down on costs and travel distances. It can also provide you with an opportunity to showcase local specialties that many of your guests may not be aware of or had not realized the extent of availability. Organic food is symbolic of an intention to start married life together with a focus on creating a health-conscious and informed way of living. At Forever Green, we source our food as locally as possible. This includes vegetables from our onsite allotment and apples from our orchard.
Have your ceremony and reception in one venue. This saves unnecessary vehicle pollution in getting from the ceremony to the venue. Forever Green is licensed for civil ceremonies and partnerships so can cater for your whole day.
Take an eco-considerate honeymoon. Consider eco-tourism for your honeymoon destination. Or travel close to home and have a local honeymoon while discovering more about your own backyard.
Use digital cameras for your candid photos instead of disposable table cameras. Developing photos requires a great deal of chemicals, which aren’t exactly eco-friendly and they take very low quality photos. Consider using digital camera rental for your guests to take candid photos instead. You’ll end up with a lot more photos that are much higher quality, plus most companies that offer this service provide website hosting of the photos so all of your guests can enjoy the memories they helped you create
