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!

Make a Difference with an Eco Friendly Wedding

Ever wondered how it is to end up “happily ever after” these days? Well, in today’s modern day settings and fast paced lifestyles, getting to be “happily ever after” is quite simple as long as you have the cash to fuel it through. Weddings are one of the most expensive events a person or even a couple can give themselves. In the U.S. alone, over $2.3 billion is spent for weddings every year and those weddings have about an average of $20,000 for basic expenses. Truly, the wedding industry has proven itself to be one of the fastest growing industries even in third world countries! With all the services wedding institutions and expos offer, nothing is more practical and more realistic than having an eco friendly wedding.

Weddings are usually characterized as a devoted and lasting unification, and that union need not slash the limits of your bank account! Having an eco friendly wedding not only minimizes the total cost of your special day but also addresses pressing issues on the environment and promotes responsibility and conservation. Various services offer so many items that only make a short impression, but purchasing these items will make a lasting effect on your money. Eco friendly weddings are more sensible in many ways. As a couple, you will start to discuss the wedding date and where you would want the wedding to actually take place. According to studies, 80 percent of the couples in the U.S. prefer to hold their wedding ceremonies in their local churches or synagogues. With this, a couple is required to pay at least $200 for church fees. They usually take about 30 to 45 minutes before they transfer to the hotel or resort of their choice, making them pay about $7,600 for function room rentals and food. Instead of having to go over these figures, you can opt to have your wedding ceremony and your reception at one place. If you and your family strictly remain on having the ceremony at the church, you can have your reception at the church’s garden or at an eco friendly park near the area. In that way, you can lessen the time and effort consumed by traveling and also lessens the fuel consumption from private transports belonging to your guests. Or to have your guest enjoy the city, contact your city’s tour guide and arrange for a quick tour on the way to the park or place you chose to have your reception at.

For the wedding invites you will be giving out before the date, try to put a little personal touch and create or craft your own invites. Several craft stores in the country offer a wide variety of organic and environmentally friendly fibers and parchments that are wonderful for invitations, tags and even place cards. You can either have them hand written or stamped making you save on printing costs. Your invites will not only look special but will be unique as well. For an effectively planned eco friendly wedding, there are dozens and dozens of online sources where you can purchase organic items like organic flowers, small organic plants that are great for your guest to take home, organic jam, cookies for additional souvenirs and even organic cloth for your wedding dresses and suits.

Remember that an eco friendly wedding does more than just care for the environment; it makes you and your partner give a promise of lasting love and responsibility to each other and also the place where you plan to spend the rest of your life in, the Earth. So have a wonderful, eco friendly wedding today and make a difference.