If you’re thinking of staging an earth friendly wedding you’ve probably already figured out that you need to ban disposable products from your wedding plans, so that means no plastic silverware, cups, disposable napkins, etc.
So where does that leave you if you still want to plan a beautiful, comfortable and elegant wedding.
Well, for starters, you need to think about renting or borrowing whatever you need to stage your wedding.
Employing reusable materials like metal silverware, ceramic plates, cloth napkins and tablecloths, folding banquet tables, metal or wood candelabras, glass vases for flowers and so on.
Renting everything may not be the cheapest way to stage your earth friendly wedding and its accompanying reception, but it’s certainly one of the most intelligent ways to solve a variety of problems.
Remember, rental companies are in the business of supplying plates, silverware, glasses, napkins and so for a variety of different types of events, so you should have no problem finding place settings, linens and everything else you need to fit the theme you’re establishing for your wedding, no matter how simple or elaborate you want it to be.
Of course, for an earth friendly wedding I recommend simplicity in all things.
Big, elaborate, ornate weddings are wasteful and selfish and need to be relegated to the past, just like leisure suits, disco music, and non-recyclable materials.
So, rent or borrow whatever you can.
Employ reusable materials like metal silverware and crystal glasses that can be used for your wedding and then cleaned and reused again and again.
Plan what you will do with any leftover food.
I think it’s a great idea to have it packaged up and distributed to the homeless in your area, or send it to a food pantry or soup kitchen near where you live so it won’t have to travel very far.
Another aspect of your earth friendly wedding is to buy local.
This is not only socially responsible it’s good for the economy in whatever area where you live.
It’s also the most earth friendly way to get the food, flowers, wine, and other consumables you’ll need for your wedding.
The farther anything has to travel by air, rail, truck or car, the larger its carbon footprint.
And since the whole goal of staging an earth friendly wedding is to create as small a carbon footprint as possible, then it only makes sense to buy local produce, local flowers, and even locally-produced candles.
Getting your candles made by a vendor who’s local makes sense in other ways, too, since you’re more likely to get candles that are designed and manufactured to match a particular theme or color scheme that you’ve planned for your wedding.
