A Green Wedding Series
Is it possible on a budget?
The wedding bands, florals, catering, linens, decorations, the wedding attire; you want them all to showcase who you are as a couple. And you are the kind of person where being eco conscious is a must. Keeping your day personal while focusing on low impact choices is truly daunting. Known tips to combat single use wedding items are; to thrift or buy high quality and reusable goods for guests. Find catering companies who offer compost. Your gift registry is all donation options for trust worthy organizations who do incredible work. All are amazing options... for those that can afford it.
Having the wedding of your dreams with as little impact as possible costs a lot of money. Like a lot a lot. As well, some of those above pointers wont even be an option to you due local resource limitations. So what options do you have? I took a deep dive and have put together some strategies for making a budget conscious wedding that makes as little less of an impact on the planet.
Make A List
Oh or even an Excel table. If you are anything like me you will enjoy this part. envision your wedding. Now write it down. Every piece of decor, the outfits including shoes, jewelry, and hair and suit accessories. The color themes, food drinks, guest stops I.E. cafe bar or a photo booth. Truly every item. Now after about a week of updating and organizing this list this is where the work comes in.
Take stock in what you already have access to. You, friends, family, neighbors, that one coworker of your mom, who's super into carpentry. What do you already have that can make this inherent shopping list a little easier? Don’t forget some of these things you can alter! Trim, dye, attach get crafty. That old table cloth that’s the perfect size fore your head table? It’s suddenly the perfect fit with some Rit fabric dye.
Can I get it for free?
This one is self explanatory. When looking for accessories or decor you can’t go wrong with Facebook market place filtering for free items. There are also other apps like “ButNothing” that are independent from social media. With first hand experience myself, these kinds of apps really are welcoming with friendly conversations and a community focused approach. Also You can never go wrong with curb hunting! Got my living room rug that way. After a few deep cleanings that is.
Keep it local, keep it in Season
This advice isn’t just for your color scheme. Foods are an amazingly large part of your day and the bill can add up fast. Instead of getting imported fruits and vegetables for your winter wedding find what kinds of foods are in season and cater a menu around your pallet. Less imported ingredients mean less energy needed to import and a lot of times easier on the wallet. Some catering companies or venues that cater will even use local farms for supplies!
Florals keeping in season keeps resources more attainable, and like food it keeps travel lower for said resources. try to stay away from premade fabric bouquets as they are one time use and will inevitably end up in a box in the garage. After your ceremony many people have had their bouquets dried or donated to certain organizations. Unfortunately the latter is very region specific.
The Rings
I hadn’t thought about wedding rings and bands before researching the topic. It’s obvious now with the sourcing of precious metals and gem stones being what it is. I took a step back and looked at my own ring. While it has no stones, it’s gold had to come from somewhere. Thankfully in recent years options have become much more abundant.
Going to pawn or thrift shops is always a good option, but to some the need their own unique vision is a must. Reclaimed materials and lab made diamonds are all the rage for custom bands. They are also much more affordable. Some couples forgo the rings altogether and commemorate their love with tattoos. Don’t feel stifled by tradition.
A hard stop is needed as I could keep going... and I will in part two!
