green wedding ideas

Environmental concerns continue to dominate the news, affecting everything from people's travel plans to what foods they buy and what kind of car they drive. More and more couples are now planning "green weddings" and they require different sorts of planning than any other kind of wedding. For one thing, modern, green-conscious couples must figure out the size of the carbon footprint they'll be generating with everything from their honeymoon travel plans, to the menu for their wedding reception, to the size of the venue they'll need for their green dream wedding.


Weddings have traditionally been joyous occasions with feasting, music, dancing, and a celebration of both the newly minted married couple and the way that life on our beautiful Earth continues and renews itself each day. To me, having a green wedding is a great way to celebrate both your new union and your connection to the world that we all share. If you want to make your wedding truly green, here are some suggestions for ways to start: keep the size of your wedding manageable. Don't feel like you have to invite absolutely everybody in both families. Having a smaller affair allows you to make it more intimate, and uses a lot less resources. Keeping your wedding smaller also allows you to spend more time with your spouse and your guests. Trust me, planning a smaller wedding is not only green, it's far less stressful. I think it's really a shame when people feel like they have to stage big weddings for whatever reason and then they can't enjoy their special day because they're so stressed out about keeping their gargantuan wedding running smoothly. Smaller is better all the way around. You'll be happier, your guests will be happier and you'll be heading out for your honeymoon as you should be, relaxed, happy, and looking forward to the future.


Along the lines of greenness and simplicity, keep your wedding reception menu simple. There's no law that states you have to feed everyone a big meal. Why not give them trays of appetizers, salads, fresh fruit, and a cheese plate instead. If you get your food from a green wedding caterer and make sure that all of the food you serve is from locally-grown sources, then you're well on the way to making your wedding greener all ready. And when it comes to music, if you use a DJ playing recorded music instead of live musicians, then you're eliminating the need for the musicians to travel there, and that will reduce your wedding's carbon footprint even further.


So, as you can see from the suggestions that I laid out above, with careful planning you can have a green wedding and still make everyone happy and comfortable, and isn't that what you really want?