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.
