Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget

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Introduction
In the fall of 2006, when my husband, Barry, and I began thinking about and planning our own green wedding, we were surprised by how little information was available to assist us. I read every book and article I could find on the topic and spent hundreds of hours surfing online for green ideas, supplies, and vendors. It was an extremely frustrating and laborious process - but we were delighted with the results! To save others from having to go through the trouble, I decided to compile my efforts into this comprehensive resource - The Green Bride Guide.

Throughout this book I have tried to include some of the answers to the why of different choices - why local, why organic, why fair trade, etc. - but first, the biggest why of all:

Why a Green Wedding?
I should mention off the bat that my husband, Barry, and I are both environmentalists - he's an environmental historian, and I work in environmental law and policy. However, when we announced our plan to have a green wedding, my father's first response was still, "Why would you want a green wedding - aren't weddings supposed to be white?" Although the confusion about green the color vs. green the concept was cleared up quickly, my father's skepticism remained. This is the first hurdle. Although green weddings are becoming more popular, it is inevitable that some of your friends and family members will not understand what a green wedding is or why you would want to have one. So let's begin with a few reasons why one might choose to have a sustainable event.

Sidestepping the Wedding Industry.
Put the emphasis on industry because that is what it is - a $70-billion-a-year industry. Many writers have discussed the phenomenon of being thrust onto the "wedding conveyor belt," and even well-intentioned, thoughtful couples can find themselves getting sucked in. Weddings are complicated beasts, fraught with emotions, expectations, social conventions, and etiquette, and it is all very powerful stuff. Brides feel a lot of pressure to make everyone happy and are willing to spend whatever it takes - about $30,000 these days - to make their wedding "perfect." Many couples go into debt (on average about $25,000 worth!) to pay for their weddings, so it is not surprising that ConsumerAffairs.com reported that 80 percent of couples cite money as the leading source of wedding stress. With a financial burden added to an emotionally demanding situation, it's no wonder the mythical "Bridezilla" lives on.

Part of having a green wedding is conserving resources - including money. This is not to say that a green wedding has to cost less than a comparable wedding - some cost more, and some cost less - but part of having a green wedding is thinking about who you are, what your values are, and what kind of wedding you would want if the industry were not constantly telling you what you should want. When planning a green wedding, you have to be prepared to take a step back and make choices based on a different set of values.

Supporting Green Business.
The wedding industry has spent a lot of time and money selling a certain "look" so that you will buy its products. These products include expensive single-use bleached white dresses, disposable aisle runners, chemically treated imported flowers, toxic makeup and skin-care products, mined gembased jewelry, individual packets of rice, little plastic picture frames with your names and the date engraved on them, and all manner of disposable flourishes and trinkets. With almost 2.5 million weddings a year in this country alone, the impact on the environment from our weddings is substantial.

Weddings offer an amazing opportunity to make a difference. In addition to saving energy, conserving resources, and decreasing pollution, imagine what a boost $70 billion a year could give to sustainable businesses. If we are going to combat the environmental problems of this century, we need to change the way businesses operate. We need to create demand. Other than a house, a wedding is generally the most expensive thing a young couple will ever "buy." By spending your wedding dollars on green goods and services, you send a signal to companies that it is time to change their ways. By simply bringing your awareness of environmental and social issues to the negotiating table with you, you can affect the impact of every purchasing decision you make and have each dollar you spend work to support your beliefs and values.

Educating Others.
One of the amazing things about a wedding is that it is the only time in your life when pretty much everyone you love is in the same place at the same time. The effect of this confluence can be rather surreal, and you may spend a lot of your wedding marveling at the bizarre combinations of people mingling around the room. They come from near and far, from childhood and adulthood, from school and work, and they have all gathered to celebrate you - both the person you are and the union you and your fiance are creating. In other words, you have a captive audience and a chance to let your eco-conscious values shine.

This does not mean you need to be preachy - you don't have to take the mic and start ranting about how we are destroying the earth when you are supposed to be saying "I do." It just means that in the same way that a wedding is an opportunity for you and your fiance to showcase your tastes, it is also a unique chance for you to showcase your values. Throughout this book I offer tips on how to let your guests know about the green choices you have made and how to create a ceremony and reception that will demonstrate that you do not have to sacrifice style, comfort, or tradition to be green. By infusing your wedding with a sense of respect for the environment, you will inspire your guests and transform your wedding into an event that they will remember forever.

How to Use This Book
To make this book as accessible as possible, each section is subdivided by topic (e.g., invitations) and type (e.g., paper invitations, electronic invitations, etc.). If you already know what you want to do, this structure should help you quickly and easily navigate to the sections that interest you most. Whenever possible, I have further subdivided by price, with three categories: $, $$, and $$$. These are only rough guidelines and do not signify actual values, because a $$$ dress can be thousands of dollars, where a $$$ website might only cost a few hundred. However, as almost every wedding has budget constrictions, this can help you prioritize and come up with creative ideas to meet your needs.

Be aware that pinning down the "best" green choice is often tricky or impossible. For example, a honeymoon at home is green, because you do not have to drive or fly (which contributes to global warming by adding CO2 and greenhouses gases to the air). However, many wildlife preserves and indigenous cultures rely on tourist revenue to survive - so if everyone stopped traveling, it would actually frustrate conservation efforts in many parts of the world. A similar dilemma arises when you are faced with the choice of buying something manufactured in the United States or buying something produced under "fair trade" conditions abroad. Or when you are faced with the choice between locally grown food produced with pesticides or organically grown food shipped in from out of state. There are no right answers to these dilemmas. The important thing is that you remain a conscious consumer. Which choice is right for you depends on what you value most. I have done my best to lay out the issues and hope the information I provide helps you come to the best answer for you.