When planning a wedding, there are lots of ways to make a positive impact on Mother Earth
Planning an Earth-friendly wedding
Finalizing a guest list for your wedding reception can be a daunting task, yet more and more environmentally conscious couples are making sure to include one very important “person” in their plans:
Mother Nature.
“When you’re planning your wedding, you are really making a statement about your identity as a couple, your future,” said Christine Richmond, senior articles editor for Natural Health, an online magazine. “With so many of us now thinking about our impact on the planet, you can honor the planet on your wedding day. It’s a nice way to tie it all together.”
Enter the “green bride,” who sends invitations on recycled paper using eco-solvent ink. Her dress is vintage, her wine organic, her makeup mineral. The ring she wears is crafted from recycled gold.
“People want their wedding to be elegant and beautiful,” Richmond said. “In the past, it was hard to do that and do it green because people thought of green as a frumpy potato sack dress. Today, with the green movement in full swing, there are lots of lovely and sophisticated products out there.”
The wedding industry has gone green in another way, pouring $160 billion of commerce into our economy per year, according to the New Yorker Magazine. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of that money also helped save the planet?
Buying in
Therese Forton grew up organic. The event planner was ahead of the curve when she planned her own green wedding in 1999 using recycled paper for her invitations and serving an organic feast at her rehearsal dinner.
“People first have to believe in it,” said Forton of “Events to a Tee.” “Today, brides are more receptive, although Buffalo is a little bit behind. You are going to pay a little more, but organic prices have come down.
“Be creative,” she suggested. “When I get invitations, it drives me crazy that they always put an extra envelope and that sheet of paper. It’s such a waste, but that’s how the wedding industry has been for so many years.”
From salad to meat to dessert, a wedding reception can easily offer organic food, according to Forton, who noted these eco-friendly area providers:
• Frog Pond Winery — A certified organic winery in Niagara- on-the-Lake, Frog Pond does not use insecticides, herbicides, synthetic fungicides or chemical fertilizers ( www.frogpondfarm.ca ). • Native Offerings Farm, located 10 miles west of Ellicottville, grows vegetables and herbs and raises beef and pork following organic standards ( www.nativeofferings.com ). • Porter Farms — Five hundred acre certified organic farm in Elba ( www.porterfarms.org ). “Caterers could order organic food locally,” said Forton. “People are hearing about it, because it’s out there. You pick up any wedding magazine and it will have something on ecology.”
Cutting waste
At Samuel’s Grande Manor in Clarence, manager Mark Fromholt handles more than 200 weddings a year. Fromholt said he would gladly obtain sustainable food to serve at a reception, but admitted there have been no requests.
“If they want free-range chicken, we can get that,” Fromholt said. “If they want corn from Eden we’ll do that.”
Recycling is a huge issue for event planners nationwide, according to Forton, who advised couples to ask service providers if they recycle. She also took the recycling concept one step further by suggesting that reception leftovers (buffet people, listen up) be taken to a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
“I typically try to have all my leftover food taken to Friends of Night People,” she said.
Green gowns
Beth Daruszka of Bridal Chateau in Williamsville keeps an eye on trends in the wedding industry. Bridal gowns of hemp or ahimsa silk (harvested without harming silkworms and available by the yard at www.organicavenue.com ) may be environmentally correct, she said, but they exceed the price that many local brides-to-be are willing to spend. “We carry gowns that cost up to $1,500,” said Daruszka of her family-operated bridal shop. “Many of the organic gowns (by eco-couture designers including Adele Wechsler and Deborah Lindquist) cost double that.”
One alternative is to go vintage.
“It’s still relatively rare to find an off-the-rack ‘green’ wedding dress,” said Richmond, of Natural Health. “Go vintage and have it tailored. Ask family members if they have a dress you can tailor to suit your style, or visit a consignment shop, where you can find discount designer gowns.
“Eco-friendly fabrics — like hemp and linen — are grown in a sustainable way,” Richmond noted. “They are grown without the amount of pesticides used with conventional cotton. Raw silk can be sustainable.”
And gold — just ask your friends who have recently cashed in their gold jewelry — can be recycled.
“It’s really easy to purchase recycled gold for wedding rings,” said Richmond. “People don’t realize that mining for gold and silver and platinum can be so damaging to the environment.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, gold mining does harm the environment. Furthermore, gold jewelry may contain cyanide, a pollutant used to separate rock from mineral. As for diamonds, Canadian diamond mines are reportedly better managed under environmentally and socially responsible conditions.
Gift options, etc.
Donating part of the wedding checks to energy-saving technologies like wind farms represents another option for environmentally-conscious couples. Favor tags, too, have become popular, according to Calling Cards Unlimited on Sheridan Drive. Placed in tabletop card holders, the tags convey the bridal couple’s intent to contribute to a charitable or environmental cause in lieu of table favors for their guests.
Gift registries at stores including Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as Crate and Barrel, can steer guests to eco-friendly purchases of organic cotton towels, linens and sheets.
Another alternative is to minimize the registry process by asking guests to donate to charity or placing a big-ticket item on the registry that guests can contribute toward. One couple from England — according to a report in The Courier- Mail of Brisbane, Australia — listed a $2,500 horsehair mattress (Horsehair is considered the best mattress filler because this hair retains its springiness almost indefinitely).
An informal survey taken of limousine rental companies in the area indicated an absence of hybrid luxury vehicles, and the high cost of gas does not appear to be influencing demands for stretched Dodge Chargers and 12-person PT Cruisers.
The increasing use of wedding Web sites — for friends and relatives to learn all they need to know and more — encourages carpooling and the use of shuttle buses to transport guests between venues. Many event planners, meanwhile, are promoting the location of ceremony and reception at the same site to reduce travel costs — not to mention carbon emission.
“Just like planning any wedding, green wedding planners focus on what is important to the couple and that’s where they pour their money,” said Forton. “Some items will actually save you money.”
Thinking of a big fat green wedding? Here are some resources:
• www.socializr.com — Save a tree and e-mail
your invitations through this event sharing site.
• www.theochocolate.com — Thinking of bonbon favors? This premium organic chocolate house is based in Seattle.
• www.greenandblacks.com — From bean to bar, organic chocolate as humanely as possible.
• www.fairtradeusa.org — The Fair Trade Certified Label guarantees consumers that strict economic, social and environmental criteria were met in the production and trade of an agricultural product.
• www.tiffany.com — Discover rings made from cyanide-free gold.
• www.terrapass.com — Measure your carbon footprint and then discover ways to offset it.
• www.greenweddings.net — Planning ideas range from bold and revolutionary to sensible and careful.
• www.greeneleganceweddings.com — Comprehensive and up-to-date resource for planning environmentally and socially responsible weddings.
• worldwildlife.org/weddings — Set up a personalized green wedding registry and Web page.
