A Green Earth-Friendly Wedding

The buzz nowadays is all about being GREEN. Not with envy, but with earth-friendly, good-natured, tree-hugging happiness.

I recently read an article by Reno News and Review about having a Green Wedding. I thought it was kind of funny, considering that most wedding chapels are VERY green, compared to your average wedding location.

I'm going to use the Antique Angel Wedding Chapel in Reno, Nevada as an example:

Decorations

Ok, if you had an outdoor wedding in your parent's backyard, or a wedding in a church, you're going to have to come up with some decorations. These may include any number of non-renewable resources; balloons, crepe paper, banners, paper or vinyl tablecloths, and much much more.

At a wedding chapel, the rooms are already perfectly decorated with silk floral arrangements, framed art, romantic lighting, and more. The reception area is decorated with painted murals, floral arrangements, linen tablecloths, and tasteful decor.

The Dress you only wear Once

Why buy a dress you're only going to wear once? What a waste!! By renting a gown you get to dress your best for a fraction of the cost of buying a brand-new dress. Further, you don't have to hassle with caring for the dress before and after the event. The Antique Angel also offers an assortment of dresses for mothers of the bride, and bridesmaids. And, of course, make your man look his best in a tux!

Wedding Bouquets

Anything that ends up in the trash is not green. Items that take few and renewable resources to create are green. So, let's look at the typical wedding flower situation. You drive to a nearby florist to figure out what flowers you want for your wedding. Then you drive home. The florist, meanwhile, waits for the flowers to arrive by truck. When the flowers are done they are either delivered to you, your wedding site, or they're picked up by the wedding party. The flowers are oooh and ahhhed over during the ceremony, a bouquet is tossed at the reception, and then they're thrown in the trash after a week of attempted drying and preserving of the petals.

Here's another way to do it: Call the Antique Angel Wedding Chapel and consult with the on-site florist. Choose either silk or fresh. Historically, fresh flowers have been pretty popular, but it's becoming more and more realistic to opt for silk. If you do choose fresh, know that you're eliminating a lot of driving time by making a phone call, and by working with on-site florists. If you choose silk bouquets, either pick out a bouquet that is on display, or have one custom made. Either way, choose a wedding bouquet that will match the decor in your home. And then plan on keeping the bouquet 'til death do you part!

Assigning Jobs at your Wedding

The wedding party is done and you're ready to fly away to your honeymoon, and GUESS WHAT! Your guestbook is in the pile of things you need to take home. But it's still wrapped in plastic. It was never opened, much less SIGNED! eeek!

Don't let this happen to you!!

It's important to give jobs to your bridal party. A bridesmaid and/or groomsmen should have no problem making sure the guestbook is passed around (with a pen) and collected at the end of the reception and returned to you.

Jobs that need assigning are the ones that no one will notice until it's too late. Big things like "serving the cake" will not be forgotten, because... well... it's the cake. No one will let the party end without the cake!! As you purchase special items for your wedding (the garter, a gift for the moms, the guestbook, etc.) post a note, explaining whose job it will be to make sure THIS happens, along with a short bit of instructions. You can tell your main coordinator that there are notes on everything--if someone forgets to do their job, the coordinator should be able to get it done from the note.

Other important jobs:
-Make sure the Father-Daughter Dance happens
-Hand out the favors! Whether it's bird seed, bubbles, or candies--these take a lot of time to prepare, so it's a major bummer if they're forgotten
-Toasts: best man, groom, maid of honor, father of the bride (those are the MUSTS)

AVOID plastic grocery bags. This is a common way to transport wedding accessories, but it's an easy way for them to go unnoticed! Use large crates or short, long cardboard boxes. Easier to see everything!

You can also specify a box for, "Never mind, we're not going to use this" stuff. Some brides get concerned about their budget a little late in the process. It's ok to return the unused candles and spools of ribbon. Just make sure your coordinator and bridal party know not to mess with the returns!

NOTE: If you do happen to forget to hand out your party favors, don't stress! There are probably a lot of people who were unable to make it to your wedding. Keep favors on hand (in your purse, glovebox, etc.) to give to people when they apologize profusely for not coming to the wedding.

Congratulations!! Have fun! It's your wedding!