I haven’t mentioned it yet as I’ve been SO busy, but I got engaged over Christmas! Things have been busy, busy, busy!! My fiance’ teases me saying the entire wedding was pretty much planned within the first couple of weeks. And, I have to admit, he was pretty much right!
We’re calling the wedding ”Our Oddball Wedding” we actually want to have a wedding that’s everything but “normal”. If there were hidden camera’s in our house, most people would think Jeff and I are, well, an interesting pair. That or you’d laugh your tooshies off at our silliness!
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m a Master Recycler. I couldn’t possibly plan or have a wedding that didn’t follow my ethics and belief’s. In order to wear my Master Recycler badge proudly, I need to role-model and hopefully inspire others at the same time. Having an eco-friendly wedding doesn’t mean it has to be tacky or lack anything, it just means you may have to put a little extra thought into it. So, we’re taking as many steps as we can to ensure the wedding (and the planning) is as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible. These include:
- Making sure our invites can be easily recycled (no fancy ribbon, fabric, etc.);
- Having a wedsite with electronic RSVP’s (nothing else is going to be included with our invites);
- Durable dishes vs. disposables;
- Having my wedding dress and accessories created using upcycled, vintage or old dresses;
- A local, in-town location easily accessible by public transportation;
- Encouraging carpooling;
- Carbon-offsetting and conducting a carbon footprint calculator;
- Utilizing local, organic fruits and vegetables as much as we can (we’re self-catering). This minimizes our carbon footprint and supports our local farms.
- All decorations must be easily recycled or reused and NO plastic!
- Speaking of recycling, decorations and equipment will be sold after the wedding to other brides. However, most will have been made from upcycled items such as old wine bottles or mason jars. I’m even considering starting a wedding-sharing program to provide FREE services to other brides based on donations!
- NO flowers – why have something at a wedding that’s dying the moment you’ve cut it? This always seemed strange to me – flowers are beautiful, don’t get me wrong, I just hate cutting something to have them wither away and there’s no use for them a few days later. Our flowers will be made from coffee filters instead (and will LAST!)
- Utilizing chalkboards for signage – these will be handmade from chalkboard paint and old frames purchased from Goodwill (we don’t have any around the house).
I really believe that eco-friendly weddings are the way of the future. Personally doing one makes me feel SO much better about what I’m personally doing and it’s been fun doing the research!
Did you do anything “green” or sustainable for your wedding?
