Planning a wedding is an exciting time for a bride and groom. As people are becoming more environmentally aware some couples find themselves looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact of their wedding.
Gee that sounds romantic.
Having an eco friendly wedding doesn’t mean that you have to wear an organic cotton wedding dress, while renting hybrid Prius’ for your wedding transportation. Although, if you were fully committing to an eco themed wedding those might be some of your choices.
Most couples, I suspect, would be more comfortable with a moderate approach. Within “moderate” there are still plenty of choices that you can make to lighten the burden of your special day.
As a matter of fact, once you start thinking about the environmental impact it may even help streamline and focus some of your decision making. Find yourself waffling in indecision in any given area, chose the more eco friendly option. There are so many options in wedding “marketplace”, consider the eco implications:
Jewels
Your impact can start before the wedding – if you are planning a diamond engagement ring be sure to choose an ethical diamond. Look for a conflict free guarantee. There are a number of online jewelers online that focus on eco jewelry that is cool, classic and chic. Vintage settings -if they are your style – are a great way to get an original design and are a very eco friendly choice. Companies like Dan Forth Diamonds use recycled precious metals.
Invitations
Selecting a stationer that uses 100% post consumer recycled paper or tree free paper is an even better choice ecologically speaking. Companies like IniviteSite have gorgeous invites – they’ve received acclaim from InvitesWeddings.
Consider eliminating just one of your printed items and use the internet. For example, instead of mailing a save the date card or rehearsal dinner, send a save the date email or evite. Most couples won’t want to forgo the formality of their wedding invitation for an evite – however for the save the date, bachelorette and bachelor party, and rehearsal dinners, these are often less formal and not only would it be a great place to save money (think of all the printing and postage you could forgo) but the party wouldn’t suffer one bit!
Location Weddings
Location weddings have a bigger impact because you have to get so many people to one place: jet fuel, hotels, shuttles and such. This may be true. However, if you have your heart set on a destination wedding it might be tough to give up. So look for other areas to reduce and take advantage of all the local fares and wares. If you are on the fence about a location wedding, perhaps this information will help your decision making process.
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