Green Weddings

It has never been more stylish to be ‘green.’ Topics such as recycling, sustainable materials and socially responsible buying used to be left to hemp-wearing, dreadlocked hippies. Now they are part of our every day lives. We are all told to be aware of our ‘carbon footprint’, we sort our rubbish into different bins, and we consider options such as ‘fair trade’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ when making a purchase. It seems like we are becoming more ‘green’ in all of our decisions, including the ones surrounding a wedding.

‘Green Weddings’ have been a hot topic in wedding glossies for months, and there lots of options to make your wedding a bit more environmentally friendly or socially responsible, starting with the invitations. Picking invitations printed on recycled paper is a start, so is eliminated unnecessary envelopes and protective tissue or sleeves. You can also add cute ‘Please recycle me’ stickers to the back of your invitations to encourage your guests to be greener. Or you could eliminate paper invitations altogether. Companies such as sendomatic.com offer an e-vite service. You can design and send your invitations to your guests via email. While it may seem unconventional, as well as reducing waste, this service has the added bonus of being able to track who has read their invite, keeping up to date on who is coming, and sharing new information about the event with your guests.

Gifts are another area where there is a great opportunity to make a little difference in the world. If you already have everything you need to start your life with your partner (i.e. toasters, towels and glassware) then give a thought to those who have very little. A simple option is to choose a charity that you and your fiancé feel strongly about, and ask that instead of buying a gift, guests make a donation in your name. You can even set up your own fundraising page at www.justgiving.com to see how much has been donated. Alternatively, at www.caregifts.org.uk your guests can buy poor families gifts on your behalf that will make a lasting improvement to their lives. Not only is this a great social effort, but it makes writing the dreaded thank you notes (or emails) much more interesting…‘Dear Aunty Sue, thank you so much for our goat.’

And then we have the wedding gown. I often feel a bit sad when I think of the millions of wedding dresses getting mouldy and moth eaten in cupboards around the world. Elaborate gowns, worn once and then hidden away. It is one of the greatest areas of waste in a wedding. Buying a new wedding dress is often the highlight of a bride’s wedding experience (apart from the wedding itself, of course!) However, why not take an afternoon to drag out your mother or grandmother wedding dress and see if it can be restyled into something you would wear. There is something deeply sentimental about wearing a dress that has been passed down a generation or two, and a talented dressmaker may be able to alter the gown to a more modern style. Of course, with retro fashions, it may only need tailored to you to look perfect. Vintage wedding gowns can be found in specialist boutiques, or online. You may even find the exact gown that you have your eye on, for hundreds less, on Ebay. And if the description says ‘only ever worn once’ you can be pretty sure that’s true.

And if you need an extra incentive to make the effort to go green, then imagine what luck and fortune will come your way in your married life if Karma exists!