More and more people are becoming aware of the impact wastefulness has on the environment. If you are planning for your big day, you may be considering having an eco-friendly wedding.
Weddings are often large events that use a lot of paper, plastic and other materials that are used once then discarded or set aside, especially at the reception. Here are simple ways you can make your wedding greener.
Most wedding invitations will be viewed and then eventually discarded. Cut this waste by creating your wedding invitations yourself, using environmentally friendly paper. You can do your wedding invitations at InvitationBox.com, for example, and opt to have them printed on recycled paper and paper from sustainable forests. In addition, this company donates to the Conservation Fund.
Consider holding the rehearsal dinner at someone’s home, rather than renting a large space at a restaurant. If you want to go an extra step to be eco-friendly, make sure the food served is certified organic.
Choose a space for the wedding and reception that will hold guests comfortably but does not use a lot of energy, in the form of lighting or heating and cooling. In nice weather, you could even consider a wedding outdoors, such as at a botanical garden in your area.
If you do hold the wedding indoors, make sure that no lights are left on unnecessarily in other areas of the building during the wedding.
Rent the tuxedos, the wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses or purchase them used. The wedding party will only wear these items one time. By renting or purchasing them used, you will save money and you will not be contributing to the extra electricity it took to manufacture new items.
Choose recycled paper for the cups and napkins at your wedding reception. You can also find cutlery, plates, trays and bowls made of biodegradable materials, rather than plastic. For the tables, use fabric tablecloths, reusable plastic tablecloths or recycled paper tablecloths. It is easy to find eco-friendly wedding favors to hand out as well.
Some of these steps may seem small, but the impact it has on the environment can be quite big. It is easy to think of an event as only one event; the problem is, that is what everyone thinks as they throw away all of the plastic cups, cutlery, and plates. It builds up. Every step you make to reduce that kind of wastefulness helps.
Article by Amanda Green, a guest blogger that has written extensively on the subject of technology and business.
