Finding Eco-Friendly Wedding Gowns

If you are planning a green wedding in Manila, Philippines, the catering and venue are the very last thing that you should stress yourself with. There are hundreds of catering providers locally. Hizon’s Catering, which is the best wedding caterer in the Philippines, for instance, can match events with ideal venues whether it’d be a catering in Manila or nearby provinces and whether it will be an all-organic feast or not. Hizon’s is accredited to over 250 world-class venues.

What you should stress yourself about is your wedding gown. In the US, the choices of eco-friendly wedding gown designers are limited. What more in the Philippines?

The dilemma

We are talking about green weddings here, and one aspect of such is reducing the price and buying an item that can be recycled or reused. Regardless though, every bride wants to look ravishing on her wedding day. This means finding the best gown that fits your earth-friendly lifestyle.

There are many international designers, but again their costs may be too high for a green wedding. There are also local designers who cater to your requirements, but be reminded that they do not specialize in green wedding gowns. If you are going to have the gown made from scratch, be prepared financially since the cost may go up to $2,000 or even more.

Fundamentally, you can always buy online such as from Etsy although you must have a way to take a ‘good look’ at it somehow to establish the fit otherwise you have to return and have the wedding gown shipped in the Philippines again, a costly process definitely.

The solutions

All brides have their own styles, and some have their own eco-style to look for. If you are from another part of the world, the best way to ensure you can wear an eco-couture wedding gown is to buy abroad and hand-carry or have it shipped here.

There are eco-couture designers who consistently launch their collections of eco-friendly wedding gowns. Also, designers such as Chris Kole, Adele Wechsler, Justin Alexander, Katherine Feiel, Tara Lynn, Pure Magnolia and Wai Ching also accommodate custom wedding gown. Most of the designers also offer wedding gowns for as low as $100. Some even rent brand new wedding dresses.  

The wedding gowns are local and handmade. The environmentally-friendliest wedding gowns are made from organic hemp or silk, organic cotton, bamboo silk, vegetable dyed silks and with organic design elements. Some designers use vintage or remnant fabrics for their individually hand-cut gowns.

Some of the designers also offer alterations of used wedding gowns. If designer prices, which can go anywhere $500 to $3,000, are not in your scheme of things, you can start the search through prowling the local thrift stores or consignment shops. Just remember when buying vintage dresses, it is wise to go for bigger dresses than smaller ones if you want it altered. Alterations are usually around $40 to $60.

After the wedding, if you want to repurpose your wedding gown, you can donate it to Brides Against Breast Cancer or I Do Foundation. The foundation will sell or auction your gown, and the proceeds will go straight to the foundation’s advocacy funds.

Further, the search for your green wedding attire doesn’t stop at finding the perfect wedding gown. Of course, you also need to find the right pair of shoes to go with your dress. Some options for eco-worthy wedding shoes are Moshops, Beyond Skin and Olsen Haus. The shoes and sandals are perfect for any wedding. The best part is the shoes can be used over and over on various occasions.

Sometimes, weddings are not about where you want to marry, but more about how you want your wedding to be remembered. Not all couples-to-be are bold enough to have their weddings as earth-friendly as they want it to be. Unfortunately, you need to bring with you your organic wedding gown to the Philippines if you want to marry here since the choices of eco-designers are limited. Anyhow, bringing your gown or having it shipped here in the Philippines is easy-peasy.