Wearing White, Going Green
-By LatterDayBride
April 15th 2009
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For Emily and Paul, living green is a way of life. Natives of New York and Chicago, the couple couldn’t resist the outdoors in the west and settled in Denver not long ago. Both love to backpack and ski and they take advantage of any spare time to explore the rugged landscape of Colorado.
So when it came down to planning their wedding, it didn’t take long to decide that “going green” was the natural direction to take. Emily is a vegetarian and conscious of the way her lifestyle affects the world around her. Paul’s parents had offered the use of their large piece of property at Wolf Creek Ranch outside of Park City, Utah for the celebration, and Paul wanted to use it in a way that respected the land he and his wife-to-be love.
To develop their idea for a green wedding, Emily and Paul turned to Colby Su, owner of C3 design and an expert at expanding ideas into workable plans. Together, they started with what guests would see first — the invitation. Except, rather than use hundreds of sheets of paper for printed invitations, Colby helped Emily and Paul develop a website that included an electronic invitation, RSVP option and printable maps. Later, a two-sided postcard made of post-consumer waste paper was sent to their guests, reminding them to “save the date” and check out the website. The idea was to keep carbon emissions as low as possible, saving on both product waste and air pollution caused by manufacturing and mail freighting. Emily and Paul forewent paper products for most of their wedding plans — all communication with guests and vendors was done via email, and, like the reminder notes before the wedding, the thank you notes were also two-sided post-consumer waste postcards.
Because Emily and Paul are from the eastern US, the big question on their minds was: “How do we keep our wedding green when our guests have to travel so far?” To cut fuel use and emissions as much as possible, once their family and friends arrived in Utah, Emily and Paul chartered buses for transport between Park City, where their guests were staying, and Wolf Creek Ranch. They scheduled early, middle and late bus runs to accommodate when their guests wanted to come and go. Emily and Paul also chose a Park City hotel with direct transport to and from the Salt Lake airport, so there was not a need for their guests to rent cars. In the spirit of “green,” Colby and the C-3 staff also carpooled to Park City and stayed overnight during the two-day celebration.
Recycling played a big part in Emily and Paul’s wedding, and not just in the traditional way. Although they requested their eco-friendly caterer, Culinary Crafts, recycle all glass products, Colby also helped Emily and Paul use reusable décor. Most items were rented and props were moved from one area of the celebration to another to save on waste. And most impressive was Emily and Paul’s main element of their décor. 10-foot Aspen trees served as their backdrop and were later planted on the property.
Colby says an environmentally-friendly wedding like Emily and Paul’s is possible anywhere. And it isn’t necessarily more expensive — in some ways it may even save money. “It’s like recycling,” says Colby. “It doesn’t cost you any more; it just takes the effort.”
Colby offers some simple ways to start “going green” with your wedding:
1. Buy locally
The closer to home things grow, the less they have to travel. Check out farmers markets and co-ops in your area to explore options for purchasing food and flowers locally. If your event is being catered, ask your caterer to use as many local in-season ingredients as possible. Most caterers will honor your request and prepare a menu to meet your needs.
2. Be flexible on flowers
If you can’t or don’t want to buy flowers locally, choose something that’s in season. That way, the flowers come from California or Florida instead of Holland or Brazil.
3. Recycle
Find out about your area’s local recycling program and place bins around your event site for glass and plastic collection. You can purchase attractive garbage cans for about $25 a piece at home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s. A word to the wise — line the cans with heavy-duty bags that won’t break on you.
You can also recycle your décor. Give centerpieces or table runners as bridesmaid gifts; use potted flowers that you can later plant instead of cut flowers; or donate floral arrangements to local hospitals and rest homes.
The great news, says Colby, is many people and companies are now making more of an effort to go green. Technology is available to cut down on paper waste, local growers are better equipped and programs are being developed to turn waste into working material. “You have to change your whole way of thinking,” Colby says, “but it’s so worth it.”
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