Friday 15 June 2007

GREEN WEDDINGS


Planning weddings are a complicated affair. I remember when I was best man at a wedding I made the error of not checking the car arrival times to pick up the bride for the joyous trip from home to the church. It ended up with me driving like a maniac through a busy town in my own car, to get her to the church on time. Thankfully the bride was seen as being fashionably late and rather dishevelled for the experirience.

Weddings are a big affair and are as different as the couple getting married. More and more couples are now opting to go for a ‘Green ‘wedding now instead of a white one. It starts with invitations being sent on recycled paper then gets more involved.

Every aspect of the wedding can be a real drain on natural resources, if you think of the amount of energy used to bring everyone to the one place for the day for example. Generally people come from all over the globe for such an event.

Here are some ideas. You might not agree with all of them but incorporating just a few into a wedding could make a big difference to the environment (and your pocket!)

Wedding cars could offset their omissions by investing in tree planting campaigns. Food and drink consumed on the day can come from local sources and if not it could be bought from Fair Trade companies. A woman I know in England made all of her bouquet arrangements by using her mothers home grown flowers. Jessica also used a dress from Oxfam, which might not suit everyone’s idea of a perfect wedding but it did save a lot of money and energy. Talking of saving energy, the weddings would save on heating costs if they were held in the summer months

Other items from a wedding could also be environmentally friendly. Presents can be from local manufacturers or dare I say it, recycled from the guest’s homes! The confetti could come from recycled paper or a locally grown grain. The honeymoon could also be a green affair by staying local or, like the car hire, find a way of offsetting the carbon emissions. And don’t forget to make the cake locally too!


Environmental.

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