4 Simple Home Proposal Ideas that Won't Add Carbon Footprint

Almost all activities on Earth that involve machines contributes to carbon production. Dining, communicating, shopping, and travel are some of our daily activities that are major sources of carbon footprint.

It's empowering to know you are saving the planet once in a while. Considering the effects of your choice is one way to minimize carbon footprint. That's why think about an important milestone in your life like a wedding proposal. Make it as impactful to the planet as it is to your loved ones by going for home proposal ideas that won't add carbon footprint.

Below are four ideas to improve your proposal.

1. Bring Out the Dessert

Ask your loved one to a backyard picnic. If you have a rest house in the countryside, pick a spot with a view of the sunset. Get on one knee during the golden moment to have a picture-perfect moment.

You can also pop the question after eating the delicious meal you brought. Place the ring on top of the pie, pudding, cake or with it. You can ask your partner to get it out of the container. If it's IN the dessert, take the initiative to get a slice and give to him or her.

Maximize the picnic set by extending the event until the night. Leisurely walk in the area or watch the stars in the sky. The gem on the ring will seem like a star in your hand once the warm glow of candles and backdoor lights shines over it.

2. Follow the Flowers

There's nothing more romantic, elegant, and eco-friendly than walking to a path lined with fresh flowers. The type of flowers depends on the part of the home you want to propose. If the way leads indoors, consider potted plants and petals to spell it out or enclose the ring box.

You can also go the high route by growing the flowers in your garden or nursery and replanting them once you are ready to ask the question. That way, you hit two birds with a stone. You have a decorated outdoors and partner who'll walk down the aisle.

3. Blindfold Suprise

It takes some trusting before someone agrees you guide them to a path. It doesn't matter if it's just walking in the house. Living without vision is terrifying. That's why placing a blindfold over a loved one is challenging. They might fight back or curse at you for taking them on an ambush.

Go on a trust walk by pulling down the blindfolds in your home and going on different routes to get to your destination. Make sure it's a secluded spot they'll be happy to stay. A backyard camping in a house and lot for sale Cavite is one exciting way to finish the outdoor proposal idea.

4. Take Some Notes

You are taught to write correctly since your youth. The next DIY marriage proposal is easy to execute but requires a few elements. If your home is near the beach or has a beach house available for rent or visit - think Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind - you can draw on the sand. Once done, bring your loved one over to what you created while you get down on your knee. Ask someone to capture the moment so you can recall on the silly yet one-in-a-lifetime moment.

If you want to propose during winter time, you can gather some snow and pack them until they form the letters. Use red coloring or food color to spell out the "Will you marry me in the snow?"

Wedding proposals need not be grand or expensive. They don't have flashy and store-bought materials. There are no right or wedding proposals, just eco-conscious and Earth-friendly ones. Utilizing what you have in homes such as the areas of the house or the supplies are enough as props to an intimate marriage proposal.

Green Weddings 101: How to Make Your Wedding Eco-Friendly (Part 3)

We’ve discussed in the second part how you can plan a green wedding including invitation, attire, reception, flowers, décors, gifts and parties. Finally, we will look into food, ceremony, jewelry, makeup, photography, favors, transportation and honeymoon. For food, the emphasis is on choosing the best catering services in Philippines. Again, here are some practicalities that will keep your sanity and creativity at the same time.

Food

Food can affect the sustainability of any green wedding. One of the common practices is having local growers as food suppliers, thereby eliminating the amount of chemicals used in producing and the amount of emissions released in transporting.

Green caterers frequently have contacts with local suppliers whom they can work with in adding organic elements on the food where possible. Some couples request their caterers to customize the menu and make it more vegan or vegetarian.

Find the wedding caterer who can pick the best seasonal fruits and ingredients for you because you might not be able to taste test them ahead of time. Local produce needs lesser fridge time and lesser packaging thereby producing lesser wastage.  

The same goes with the wedding cake wherein organic, in-season ingredients are used in reducing chemical use further. So, there is no need for the cake to travel miles to the wedding reception, reducing carbon footprint in the process. Don’t use plastic toppers. Choose fruits or flowers instead.

If there are leftovers, couples may choose to have them composted. Untouched foods are also donated to a homeless shelter locally.

Ceremony

Regardless of wedding, ceremonial paraphernalia are used. In the Philippines, weddings are not complete without rings, arrhae, candles, veils and cords. Veils and cords used can be made from organic fibers while the candles are made from beeswax.

Red carpets are usually used in local weddings although some couples may choose a personally-designed aisle runner. The runner can be made from organic cloth as well.

Jewelry

Wedding rings are a must. They are symbolically important. Blood or conflict diamonds are a big no-no. These are the diamonds mined in conflict areas. Instead, couples often consider buying from eco-conscious jewelers that use recycled metals and stones in their rings. Some jewelers strictly enforce the use of ethically sourced diamonds and other gems. These are sustainable luxuries that you cannot afford to miss on your wedding.

Other less expensive options are re-fashioned family heirlooms or antique jewels for a wedding ring or buying handcrafted rings. These are the most common choices not just for wedding rings, but also for engagement rings.

There are couples who opt to wear wooden wedding bands in place of metal bands.

Makeup

On average, a lipstick wearer absorbs 4 lbs. of lipstick over her entire lifetime. Cosmetics, like lipsticks and other makeups, have toxic chemicals in them. Instead, use all-natural beauty products for the bride and bridesmaids. Organic hair products should be also used.

Some brides seek out local green salons for her wedding day to style and makeup the female members of the entourage.

Photography

What’s a wedding without a photographer to capture the special moments? Most photographers today had already migrated to digital. Digital photography means paperless, chemical-free way to cover the event. In fact, digital photographers simply gave newlyweds choices on which photos to print.

Green photographers who use rechargeable batteries, 100% recycled photo papers, non-toxic inks and LED or CFL bulbs are a good choice.

Finally, you may also ask your families and friends to bring a digicam with them. Just make sure they will share the photos perhaps on Flickr, Snapfish or even Facebook. In this way, you don’t have to hire several photographers.

Favors

Favors are trinkets that some guests may choose to throw to the garbage bin. Instead, couples choose to make a small donation in the name of their guests to an advocacy. You may give your guest a choice of charities to donate.

Some weddings, on the other hand, opt for non-wasteful favors such as seedlings or mini potted window or table plants, echoing the values of the wedding. Couples may also choose to plant a tree and name it after a guest.

Other options are homemade jams, gourmet organic chocolates, bags of dried or fresh organic herbs, organic coffee or tea, reusable bags and organic soaps and other skin care products. Make sure the containers are reusable also.

Transportation

Transportation to and fro the church to the venue is another must for weddings. Typically, the couples arrive in cars and guests travel separately. Cars are a leading contributor of air pollution.

Some to-be-weds decide to hold their ceremony and reception at the same place or close to one another (as in walking distance) so there’s no need for frequent transports. There are couples who chose to transport their guests in batch through alternative energy buses.

There are couples who arrange carpools to travel from an agreed place to the church and then to the venue. This minimizes emission while having them acquainted with one another in a less yet fun way.

Honeymoon

About 99% of the newlyweds in the US will go to a honeymoon. The choice of honeymoon destination can also reduce the impact. For instance, newlyweds may choose ecologically sensitive areas. They may also go to eco-tourism options. They may choose green hotels or accommodations such as family-operated bed and breakfast or lodging inn that opt to help in conserving resources. Both of you are going to spend most of your time in the hotel anyway.

Couples ensure that what they are spending will go to the local economy by choosing local vacation options instead of traveling abroad. Choose a location where people and environment will benefit because of that choice.

Whether it’d be in the Philippines or elsewhere, there are various ways to have a green wedding minus the need to sacrifice style and elegance. Eco-friendly weddings are like your traditional weddings without the waste. All aspects of a wedding have sustainable options to consider during planning. Whether you want an earth-friendly element in a wedding or two or go completely green from the decors to the foods, remember going green always makes a difference.

Green Weddings 101: How to Make Your Wedding Eco-Friendly (Part 2)

In the first part, we’ve tackled what a green wedding is and what it entails. Now here’s the main question: how to plan a green wedding? There are several aspects of a wedding to look at – from the invites down to the Philippines catering provider. Nonetheless, there is a surefire way of making an aspect as green as possible. Here are the practicalities involved in planning a green dream wedding.

Invitation

Weddings cannot be completely paperless. Impossible! You will need papers for save-the-date, seating program, RSVP card, seating card, menu card, thank you card, maps, guestbook, etc. Old-style paper-making is not only an energy-intensive process, but it also produces chemical wastes.

While invitations are not the sole aspect where papers are needed, the choice of the right paper products is mostly consider for such. Some sustainable options for invitations are recycled papers, DIY invite kits and tree-free milled papers. Some use postcard-like or one-page invites with detachable response cards.

If you are going to let a local printing service provider to do your invitations, make sure that it is using chlorine-free and plantable or recycled papers, vegetable or soy-based inks and eco-friendly printers.

Some couples go the extra mile to use the Internet instead and send out electronic invites to their families and friends. There are couples who create their own wedding website and put all the information there. For instance, if you have guests traveling from other countries, you can put information about green hotels or transports in your area.  

Attire

Wedding dresses contribute greatly to waste as well. In pursuing a sustainable wedding, the couples may choose to have their dresses borrowed or rented. If they opt to buy the dresses, they make sure that the dresses are manufactured by companies that advocate green business practices. The dresses themselves must be made from organic fibers like hemp silk to ensure minimal impact during production.

Nonetheless, there are bride-to-be’s who chose to wear vintage or re-purposed gowns instead of buying a new one. Some brides alter their wedding gowns so they can be recycled into new dresses or can be worn again.

For the entourage, the dresses are usually designed so they may be re-worn in the future. One-time use is never a principle of green weddings. Actually, there are eco-couture designers who clearly understand how the environmental conscience thinks.  

Unique recycled accessories may be worn by the females.

Reception

Wedding venues set the tone of the event. Some couples choose a same-venue ceremony and reception while some choose to provide eco-friendly transportation. However, there are those who pick a local spot for a reception like an art gallery, organic farm, heritage park or botanical garden. Some choose outdoor settings to minimize the need for décors. The natural backdrops will serve as your décor minus more cash to spend on it.

Some couples even arrive either on a horse-drawn carriage or rickshaw although another popular option is a hybrid car.

Make sure that the venue has comprehensive recycling processes or facilities.

Flowers

Weddings are not complete without flowers. When picking flowers for the wedding, however, a conscious choice should be those that are grown locally, seasonally and organically without using any fertilizer, pesticide or other chemicals in nurturing them. These not only release harmful chemicals, but they may also contaminate drinking supplies and waterways.

Local flowers are commonly chosen as there is no need for long transports; the longer the transportation, the higher the amount of gas emitted to the surrounding. The couples often pick organic florist as a supplier other than growing the flowers that they intend to use on their wedding.

Some brides may collaborate with their florist to come up with simple designs that require less number of flowers or faux flowers that can be used as décors later after the wedding ceremony.

Yet another practice is deciding early on what to do with these flowers post-wedding. The couples may replant the flowers if possible or donate it to the local chapel or church for ornamenting the altars. Hospitals also accept donated flowers.

Decors

Décors are present on both the ceremonies and receptions. In reducing one-time utility, some couples choose to use the same wedding ceremony décors on their receptions. Buying more flowers than usual is thereby eliminated.

For other couples, selecting ‘pre-decorated’ venues is preferred such as forest parks and farm resorts. They also use seasonal décors such as gathering sea shells nearby to decorate the place during summertime. For all-time earth-friendly appeal, decorate the venue with twigs, berries, live plants, etc. Whatever décor you have in mind, location and season are good sources of inspiration.

There are weddings that made use of stylish glasses as centerpieces. They just stuck them with ornamental stones and few stalks of flowers. For candelabra centerpieces, choose soy-based or beeswax candles.

Have the flower girls throw organic rose petals or biodegradable confetti. Refrain from releasing butterflies. 

Gifts

An average wedding can have as many as 200 guests. Each guest spends from $20 to $100 (₱500 to ₱4,000). Soon-to-wed couples ask their guests to buy gifts for the local charity dwellers. Or, they create a registry full of earth-friendly items from gardening supplies to organic linens to organic restaurant certificates and more. You may register with stores that sell eco-friendly products.

You may ask for small contributions for a green honeymoon as well. Just be discreet because majority of us Filipinos regard asking for money as downright tacky.

Parties

Bachelorette and bachelor parties are still big these days. Keep the sustainable theme going by going local. Most couples forego the parties, but if they decide to have one, they can choose a local destination and have the caterer serve local foods and drinks.

The bachelorette party can be conducted on organic spa treatment houses. Or, they can spend the day learning how to make wedding bouquets and other arrangements or DIY aisle runner. Any low-impact activity will do such as camping. The same goes with the stag party.

That’s all for Part 2. You see you’ll never run out of choices on planning a green wedding. We’ll take a look at other equally important components of a wedding in the last part.