A Green Day

So much of a wedding is considered wasteful, from the items (including the dress) that are bought for a one time use, to the multitude of accessories and decorations that are thrown away once the big day has gone by. As you plan your wedding think of ways you can "green" it up by following the three rules of environmental goodness: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Reduce

Think about the one time only use accessories or decorative items you had planned to use for your wedding and then try to think about more permanent items you can replace those accessories with.

If you had planned to have napkins stamped with your wedding details, why not stamp or embroider cloth napkins instead and use them as part of your wedding favour, or rent the napkins and have them stamped with a washable ink. Look towards finding natural-styled decorations, from vines and garlands to draped fabrics and flowers. Items that won't end up in the landfill the next day.

Reuse

Wedding and bridesmaid dresses are perfect examples of wedding items that can be purchased secondhand yet still look wonderful.

If having your own dress, created or bought just for your day is something that is important to you, look at ways you can modify the dress (removable hems and trains), so that you might get repeated wears of it as an evening dress, or plan on placing the dress in a consignment shop post wedding so that another eco-conscious bride can have the joy of reusing it.

Recycle

Many wedding venues are entering into this eco conscious new order and are actively separating and recycling all of their special events waste. From plastics to paper, bottles to cans, as much as is possible they try to recycle. Look for these and other eco-friendly services when booking your wedding reception.

If at the end of all your planning you still feel like more should be done to offset some of the waste created by your wedding, look to doing something for the environment in exchange, whether taking your bridal party on a pre-wedding tree planting excursion, or park clean-up, or buying carbon credits to offset your wedding day, the number one rule of a green wedding is just to be aware.

©2008 Weddingstar Inc.