How To Have a Green Wedding
Recently, people have become more interested in sustainability. It is not surprising to see that people want to incorporate environmentally friendly options into vintage weddings since it’s so easy to turn a vintage wedding into a green wedding, too!
Ethical Wedding Rings
Before deciding on an engagement ring and wedding bands, take this into consideration! Diamonds and other gemstone mining has left behind a negative history in its wake. Thousands of people have been negatively impacted due to the greed of diamond mining labors. That is why choosing an ethical and sustainable ring is the first step to a green wedding. There are many ways you can get around this, there are diamonds that are scientifically grown in labs. There is also the option of buying second-hand rings or even antique rings! It will give the sense of a unique vintage vibe.
Paper and Plastic
For the reception, people will always want to go with the cheapest options to save money on a long list of wedding expenses. However, it is not environmentally friendly to supply your reception with styrofoam or plastic cups, plastic utensils and paper plates. All of these things may end up in a landfill. You can avoid this by looking into more sustainable options such as reusable dishware like metal silverware with glass cups and glass plates. You can also consider compostable items that are made to disintegrate at a fast rate that doesn’t have harsh chemicals that will affect the earth.
Renting
When it comes to dishes and linens, the first thoughts are “where are you going to buy these things at the cheapest price possible?” The best thing to do is to rent dishes and linens. The linens such as napkins, tablecloths and chair covers are things you should rent. You can use these multiple times for example your rehearsal dinner, wedding reception and brunch for the day after the wedding. If you were to go out of your way and buy them it will cost you time and money. By the time that the wedding is done and over with you will want to find a way to get rid of them. However, even if you try to resell them, you won’t be able to get any prices close to what you had originally bought it for. Or it may just end up being donated or thrown into a landfill. This is also a similar outcome if you were to buy dishes and other glassware.
Donating or Compost
With every wedding, there will always be people who back out at the last minute or just don’t show up at all. There is almost always large amounts of food and party favors left over, so the best thing to do if you don’t want to take it home is to donate it! By donating it you are able to prevent even more wasted food from ending up in a landfill. You could also consider composting certain foods. You can also take this into consideration with flowers as well. You may have dozens of flowers and bouquets as decoration that will eventually go to waste. You can also compost the flowers along with the food. Or you can also donate your flowers to people who will be able to enjoy it before they die. A good organization to donate them to is “Random Acts of Flowers” which send the flowers to people in health care facilities.
Caterers and Local Farmers
It is just as important to get your food from sustainable sources. Eating local is perfect, not only do your guests get to dine on the local delicacies from your area, but you are also helping out local farmers in the long run. By using caterers who get their food from local farmers it is the perfect way to add to your green wedding! Not only does it help your local economy but also reduce carbon emissions that are involved with shipping food across the country.