by Betsy Nordlander
Make no mistake; planning your own wedding is tough. Sure it is a magical and exciting process but few newlyweds would report that the road was easy. On a logistical level most of us are way out of our league. Unless you’re an event planner or have a small wedding in the works, chances are you’ve never coordinated anything on quite the same scale as your wedding. You’ll find along the way that family and friends have strong ideas that may clash with our own. At some point you are likely to hurt someone’s feelings without knowing it. You’ll reach for your checkbook in your sleep the action will become so familiar and you may want to avoid your bank or credit card statements all together. Amidst all of this you may find that your relationship is temporarily strained under all of the pressure. And the stakes could hardly be higher because, as plenty of magazines, books and online resources remind us, this is a once in a life-time event (we all hope!). Many of us want the big day or weekend to be perfect and are tempted to indulge as many wedding fantasies as our pocket books or credit cards will allow.
If you think that all of this is a lot to think about, you are right. Add to the growing list of things to consider, the potentially harmful environmental and humanitarian consequences of your wedding and you might feel that you’ve reached your edge. Before you walk away consider that in the US alone there are an estimated 6200 weddings a day, each one releasing an average of14.5 tons of CO2 or Carbon Dioxide. That is more than the average person emits over the course of a full year. That’s close to 90,000 tons of damaging greenhouse gases released in the United States daily in the name of love. All of this from the country responsible for the greatest carbon emission worldwide; the United States produces close to 23% of all carbon dioxide emitted globally.
If these numbers scare you, you are not alone. There are many factors that influence how your wedding might contribute to these numbers. The distance that the average guest travels to get to your wedding site and whether your flowers were grown locally or were transported, as they often are, from South America are two examples. On top of this, if you flowers are flown in from some place like Ecuador, they have often been treated with pesticides and chemicals toxic to the people that are harvesting them and making it so that the flowers can’t be composted. Instead they are often simply thrown away. Paper plates and plastic utensils from BBQs and receptions often make their way to the landfill also along with decorations, favors, disposable cameras and leftover food.
If contending with all of this sounds daunting it needn’t. There are more and more resources for couples that want to be mindful of what some call their “wedding footprint”. The idea of a wedding footprint is the measure of how much waste or harm results from the choices that you make for your big day. Though the term takes its cue from the notion of a carbon footprint, the idea of a wedding footprint needn’t apply only to the measure of harmful greenhouse gases released over the course of your wedding celebrations. Many people who care about the environmental impact of their weddings have other concerns as well. They may worry about the well being of the people involved in the production of their wedding goods. They may be uncomfortable with their money going to big overseas companies with questionable labor practices. Others are concerned that their wedding and engagement rings may help fund corrupt governments or militias in other countries where such things as diamonds and gold are mined.
Thankfully there are choices that couples can make that actually help local communities or even do good for the environment instead of harm it. These choices according to the footprint model help to offset the potentially harmful impact of other choices. More and more couples are forgoing the idea of a fairy tale wedding for a more modest wedding that is ultimately more in tune with their values.
The perfect centerpiece for some may not be exotic flowers flown in from afar but may instead be a potted plant that guests can take with them. Couples may visit their local farmers market and talk to someone who grows flowers in the area. Maybe this same flower grower will want the flowers when the bride and groom are done as organic matter for their compost bin. Instead of plastic toys or heart-shaped candy dishes, many brides and grooms are sending their guests home with seeds that will foster new plant life.
Some brides are conscious of the amount of petroleum used to make the synthetic fabrics of many wedding gowns and are electing instead to buy a used gown or a gown made from hemp or organic cotton. There are environmentally friendly options for dressing the groom as well. Online companies sell renewable hemp suits and organic cotton shirts. Even the flower girl and ring bearer can be decked out in earth friendly dresses and suits.
I mentioned air travel as an example of one factor that can influence your overall wedding footprint. Unfortunately airplanes are big contributors to carbon dioxide emissions. For this reason some couples are choosing to have their weddings closer to where most guests live to cut down in the amount of greenhouses gasses emitted by airplane and car exhaust. Others are encouraging guests to carpool and if they need a car, to rent a hybrid.
Another popular choice is to pick a venue like a botanical garden or a vineyard where decorations can be kept to a minimum if they are needed at all. When couples are decorating with flowers, more and more they are choosing organic flowers. Organic food grown locally is also popular. These are good choices so that again, there are minimal emissions from transporting these things from the source to the destination. Some couples are planning their weddings around when their favorite foods are in season. Couples are talking to prospective caterers to see whether they have programs set up to donate food prepared in excess to local food banks. They are using biodegradable plates and silverware or renting tableware that will be reused. They are forgoing gifts and suggesting that guests plant a tree and / or donate money through websites designed to neutralize one’s carbon footprint.
Regardless of what your vision is for your big day, there are many simple choices that can lessen your wedding footprint that don’t take any more effort than more traditional choices. Though there certainly are couples that opt for a carbon neutral wedding, this may not be for everyone. Other couples decide to pick their battles. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of a big white gown so you indulge in this but you ask your guests to take public transportation to the ceremony site and you hire a fleet of Pedi cab operators to take people from there to the reception. Perhaps you ask your guests to make donations to your favorite charities in lieu of gifts. There are many options and many great resources. If you have just starting planning your own wedding, get off on the right foot and learn about green and socially responsible options now. Armed with the right tools it is possible to make your wedding a truly special day without abandoning the values that you want to live by everyday.
General reference & articles
organicwedding.com
portovert.com
greeneleganceweddings.com
carbonfootprint.com
nytimes.com
treehugger.com
ecomall.com
Environmentally friendly and gently used wedding-wear
getconscious.com
bollorganic.com
bridalgarden.org
wholly-jo.co.uk
downbound.com
Floral resources
Click on your state to find a listing of farmer’s markets
Eco Friendly and socially responsible gift sources
greenfeet.com
worldofgood.com
gxonlinestore
Favors and party supplies
ecoparti.com
Sources and articles about conflict free and recycled wedding jewelry
brilliantearth.com
greenkarat.com
diamondfacts.org
And finally, calculate the environmental impact of your wedding here. Once you’ve done this, the site invites you to make donations to offset your wedding’s carbon footprint.
