Green Weddings by the Green-Ass Bride & Groom!

We hope you’ve had a chance to check out our article on pages 92 & 93 of the bad-ass first issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings! Click the cover to check it out!

Here are five more tips to help you save green and be green as you head toward your big day!

Recycle. Many couples resell, or even give away spare items after their weddings, and in this case one persons trash can literally be your treasure! Buy used from craigslist, ebay, flea markets, vintage or thrift shops, and online resale boards to let the pre-owned work for you. A quick stroll around the internet can easily yield mason jars, centerpiece components, dresses, table number stands, card boxes, dresses, jewelry and more! Many popular wedding sites have message boards specifically for the sale of wedding paraphernalia, and niche sites such as PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com specialize in reselling gently loved wedding gowns. Get cozy there, and you’ll be scoring green deals in no time flat! Just don’t forget to pay it forward, and let your spare parts live on to make someone else’s day as magical as yours was.

If you are going the route of disposable plates and utensils, make sure to go biodegradable. A couple of years ago biodegradable disposables were rare and cost a great deal more than plastic disposables, but times have changed. Plates, cups and flatware made out of biodegradable sugar cane or potato and corn starches can be easily found at an affordable price. So rather than your fork starting in a factory and taking up permanent residence in a landfill, it comes from the earth and returns to the earth. Best yet, BioSmart has a starter pack deal with all the plates, cups and flatware you need for fifty people for only twenty dollars. That’s forty dollars for a hundred happy guests and one happy earth.

Given our current economy and eco-awareness, it’s no surprise that the invite foretelling the arrival of a proper invitation (aka the Save the Date) is often the first to take a hit. The obvious alternative is the evite, and while certainly the easiest, many feel that that it comes off “cheap” or simply impersonal. But there is an option that is free of cost, paper and full of charm and personality: A fun video or interactive CD-ROM created by you and your betrothed is sure to touch the hearts and possibly the funny bone of everyone who sees it. Click Here for an amazing example. Your cutback on costs and carbon will easily be overshadowed by your huge investment of personality and imagination. It’s a great way to say, “Look how much fun we’re ALREADY having. You’re gonna wanna save that date.”

Keep it simple by selecting a venue that can accommodate both the ceremony and reception, eliminating the travel between locations (and saving on emissions). If you must have two separate locations, consider providing a shuttle to help guests along while keeping the number of cars on the road to a minimum. Encourage guests to carpool and take public transit on your wedding website or invitations as well. Or better yet, lead the procession from ceremony to reception yourselves, and revel in the smiles, hoots and well wishes you’ll receive from every passer-by as you roll married-ly along!

Choose a venue that’s rich in ambience and beauty, and therefore requires less decorating and enhancement. By playing up the surroundings, you’ll save money and reduce your footprint. Gardens and parks are naturally adorned and lovely, but even choosing a richly decorated restaurant or event space can reduce your need for extra embellishment quite a bit. If all else fails, remember that candlelight can create instant mood and helps create warmth and glow in cold or sparse spaces.

Choose kind jewelry. No one wants to start a new chapter of their life with blood on their hands, So why support conflict diamonds or dirty gold mining? So many sites today provide alternatives, its easy to find conflict-free suppliers, lab-created gems, recycled, estate and handmade jewelry for your wedding day. Ask your local jeweler if they can melt down and repurpose gold, and bring in something old to make something new. For more information on the impacts of gold and diamond mining visit No Dirty Gold, or the Conflict-Free Diamond Council.

Go, get your green on…. And rest easier knowing that you’re heading into a new chapter of your lives with a clearer (eco)conscience!

~Dana LaRue & Hunter Stiebel

Check out more ideas at our blog!