Want a Truly Green Wedding From Beginning to End? Then Start With Your Wedding Favors!

Wedding favors have traditionally been things like matchbooks printed with the date of the wedding and the bride and groom’s names, similarly imprinted balloons and the like, which are all disposable products. If you’re truly interested in making your green wedding a success, then you’re going to need to begin thinking green from beginning to end, and that includes the kinds of wedding favors that you’re handing out to your guests. One idea that I really like for wedding favors is to give guests some hand-made, locally produced soy-based soaps or candles packaged in a square of locally manufactured cloth that can be recycled as either a handkerchief, head scarf or napkin. That way, the wedding favors are earth friendly, produced with as tiny a carbon footprint as possible, and even the packaging can be reused again and again. If you ask me, it’s hard to beat that for a green wedding favor.

One thing to bear in mind for whatever wedding favors you choose however is how far the components of these wedding favors will travel. When you buy local, you’re supporting the local economy, and ensuring that the carbon footprint these small gifts create will be as small as possible. Here’s another idea for a classy and very green wedding favor: give packets of flower seeds so that after the wedding the guests can plant the bride’s favorite flowers in their own gardens. If you like, you can have the seeds packaged in wrappers printed with the day and date of the happy event, the bride and groom’s names, and the name of the flower that will grow from these seeds. Just make sure that you print the gift packaging using recycled paper and soy-based inks. And if you can find a local grower to supply the seeds and a local printer who can accommodate your desire for recycled paper and soy inks, all the better. Always keep in mind the idea of the carbon footprint that you are creating when choosing your wedding favors, as well as everything else.

If you do have a good printer in your area who carries a line of environmentally friendly paper products, then you can also give your guests a set of note cards and envelopes printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks, or how about a set of Post-It® -style notes imprinted with a picture of the bride and groom or their wedding date. That way their friends and family will be reminded of their happy day every time they use the note cards or Post-It notes. Now that's what I call having some smart green wedding favors!

How to Throw an Earth Friendly Wedding

It seems that more and more couples these days are choosing to have an earth friendly wedding, while many other well-intentioned couples would like to have an earth friendly wedding but just don’t know how to approach staging one. I won’t try to kid you by saying that it’s easy to stage your own earth friendly wedding, but it’s probably a lot easier than you imagine.

One of the first ways to start planning your own earth friendly wedding is by eliminating waste and duplication, and wherever possible, eliminate disposable materials. Now what do I mean by disposable materials? I mean anything that’s made of thin plastic or paper and designed to be used once and then discarded into a landfill, things such as plastic knives, forks, and spoons, plastic serving spoons and ladles, plastic cups, plates, and serving platters. Are you starting to get the general idea? Earth friendly means being friendly to the earth!

Some other things to avoid when planning your green wedding are disposable paper products such as napkins, paper towels, and tablecloths. However, personally, I think it’s okay to use disposable paper products under certain circumstances, for example if you purchase only paper products that are manufactured from unbleached, recycled paper. To me, this is the only acceptable use of paper products. So, to make certain that you have the ultimate earth friendly wedding, you need to apply this same philosophy to every paper product you use. Oh, and other way to make your wedding more earth friendly is by making sure that you use only garbage bags that are made from recycled plastic, and if you can find garbage bags that are made from recycled plastic and are also biodegradable, even better. That way, even your trash can be made more earth friendly.

Another great way to make your wedding more earth friendly, and more socially conscious at the same time, is to be sure that all of the leftover food is packaged up and given to the homeless or to a food pantry in your area. I know I’d enjoy a fancy wedding feast a lot more knowing that the leftovers wouldn’t go to waste and would later be providing a nice meal for someone who’d really appreciate it. You see, being green doesn’t just mean cutting corners and doing without, it means thinking through all of the processes you go through to ensure that they’re as environmentally correct and socially responsible as possible. Face it folks, big, expensive, wasteful weddings are out. We are now in the era of the earth friendly wedding.

Why Not Have an Earth Friendly Wedding Today?

A wedding is an important event and also a decision that a couple makes to fully live together and be recognized by the society as husband and wife. It is very significant for a couple’s life but it need not be expensive. This is where the concept of an earth friendly wedding enters.

A lot of couples these days pay for almost 30 percent of the total expense on their weddings. To come up with your typical wedding with all the “necessary” items and services, you will need about $19,000 at the least! Not a lot of couples have that kind of money and prefer having that special day at Las Vegas or in Turkey where they are said to hold around 166,000 weddings per year!

The concept of holding an earth friendly wedding not only stays but continues to give a lasting impression of compassion and mostly, practicality. Who would not want to be practical these days? Nowadays, the world produces a lot more than what we actually need. More production, more waste; thus making our environment turn on the bad side. In weddings alone, the average couple purchases items and avails for services that are actually unnecessary, only to make an elegant impression and feel for their guests. Having an earth friendly wedding does not mean that your wedding will not have style and elegance. It all sums up to the creativity, resourcefulness and love you and your partner can offer. An earth friendly wedding is a sensible and compassionate way to unite one another in matrimony. It does not need all the commercial additives you usually find in the market. An earth friendly wedding is more personal and unique.

As like any wedding, you as a couple will soon discuss who to invite and send out these invites soon. Along with completing your cherished guest list, you form place cards and tags for giveaways. Instead of spending around $300 on paper, printing and cutting, why not personalize our invites, place cards and tags by purchasing natural, organic papers that are easily purchased in craft and paper stores. You and your partner can write the contents by hand or can have beautiful and rustic stamps to do the content of your invites. If you think that cutting would be time consuming, there are among dozens of ready made blank cards made from organic materials. Along with your early wedding preparation, you will soon find a place for your wedding ceremony, your wedding reception and also your green honeymoon.

Most couples exchange “I dos” in a church, chapel or synagogue, while their reception are usually held at hotels or resorts; of course there are fees to be paid with the use of these locations. Why not pay for one location to hold to important events that happen one after the other? Doing this not only cuts the costs of rental fees but also gives time for your guest to enjoy without worrying of road construction and traffic. You and your family can have a beautiful garden wedding and enjoy the foliage and natural beauty nature has to offer.

Having an earth friendly wedding does not necessarily mean that the food served has to be like what they would serve at a vegetarian wedding. Of course, it can if you like. There are caterers in the market who serve certified organic menus. They may cost a bit more but their flavors are great and can even impress some of your guests. Organic dishes are packed with freshness and flavors that are sumptuous to both the palate and the eye. Also inform your chosen caterer that you are having an earth friendly wedding so that they can adjust and avoid using “styro-foam” based products and can have recycled dishes, eclectic glasses that come in wonderful and vibrant colors. Influence responsibility to your caterer and have them dispose and recycle the garbage right after your reception. Excess food and flowers may be donated to a nearby senior citizens home or a local shelter for the homeless. Your giveaways can be 100 percent environment friendly by using all organic materials or by recycling old jars, crafting them up a bit and placing organic or home-made cookies or jams. Doing the organic way means having your gowns and suits in earth friendly materials.

By deciding to hold a practical and unique wedding event, you and your partner did more than just save cash, you pledged your love to each other and showed your guests that the love extends farther, all the way to the environment, by having an earth friendly wedding.