- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
I have nothing to contribute to your already amazing ideas, but kudos for this type of celebration! I like your ideas.
Here's we got our cardstock from. A lot of the places I looked called the paper recycled but only had a small part of recycled paper whereas some of these are 100%
Here are a couple things I can think of:
Soy candles
grow your own flowers
Borrow/ rent linens
use local beer, wine, & alcohol to cut down on travel
I'm sure others will have much better ideas.. Also, read Ms Veggies posts!
@PrairieGirl: For your carpooling idea if there are large groups coming from out of town you could select certain "contact" people and note them on your wedding website. Or set up a google doc type of editable document that could have cars listed and people could signup for them.
Instead of carrying flowers you could have bridesmaids carrying clutches/something else. There are lots of posts around on this. Also I've heard Brides say they didn't have a boquet and didn't miss it, they just held they're dad with 2 hands and did just fine!
Great thoughts so far, best wishes!
You could ask for donations to charities instead of gifts if you're really selfless :)
I read that some couples are donating left over food and cake to local homeless shelters.
Check for reception venues that are "green." You might be surprised, I found out our hotel had a "green" rating without looking eco-friendly.
We're having flower seed packets as wedding favors.
I'm not sure how necessarily green it is, but making things yourself guarantees that it wasn't made in an overseas sweatshop.
Definitely the best way to go is to consume less by getting things second-hand!
There is also "eco-fetti" for tossing, in case you're interested.
I would go for beeswax over soy candles, there's very little American soy that isn't GMO to be round-up ready, which makes it a pesticide/fertilizer/gas intensive process.
I would go with ecofetti rather than birdseed. It's biodigradable, and not as wasteful. And you don't get any sunflowers popping up where they shouldn't be!
and about soy candles...they go bad! They rot, and it's really icky. Beeswax all the way.
Maybe on your website you could have some "reduce you wedding footprint" sort of page or tips, so you could recommend the carpooling.
I am in Minnesota, so a pretty similar climate to Winnipeg, and with an august wedding, you'd have a long growing season if you really wanted to go for it and grow your own flowers. It's a huge commitment, but can be really rewarding!
Oh my gosh, I am so jealous of your venue. It sounds fantastic! I wanna get married there! :P
Some places also rent wedding gowns, or so I hear, if you're having trouble with second hand. You might also be able to borrow from someone (I think my mom's wedding dress is pretty cool and has a nice vintage vibe to it).
My friend's wedding favours were recycled paper cards letting the guests know that a charity donation had been made in their honour. Everyone loved it because, really, who really ever remembers the wedding favours?
Are there any farmer's markets outside of the city (Baeusjour[sp?]/St.Anne??) I live just over the MB border in ON, and there are MAD amounts of flower sellers at the farmer's markets in Kenora/Dryden, so I think that could definitely be an option for you in/around the Winnipeg area, just a matter of asking around maybe? Don't forget to check around the village (Osbourne), there may be local florists there (or hippies) that know of places to get some farmer flowers. Farmer's markets usually season from april to september, so you should be good in that respect.
As for dresses if you can't find anything vintage/used/rental that you like look into eco fabrics. There's a bit of a catch 22 on that though, the fabric is eco friendly, but transporting often isn't. :/
As for other things, what about fabric napkins (no waste), and avoiding things that can't be reused (i.e.: plastics/synthetics in decor or foodwares).
@troubled, really glad you brought up the soy GMO thing, 'cos I was definitely going to jump all over that.
Awesome guys! Thanks for the tips on candles, paper and ecofetti!! And I wasn't going to do a website, but I'm starting to think that it may be really useful.
@ILikePink: I actually hadn't thought of growning my own flowers - but now I'm starting to consider it! It would definitely be a lot of work - but might be really cool!
Thanks for the ideas and support Bees! This is the venue in case anyone is interested : www.fortwhyte.org
i LOVE your venue. Makes me miss Winnipeg. I'm sure many know about this cutlery. I love it and it adds to the look.
http://www.ecowareproducts.com/biodegradable-wooden-cutlery.html
@missmouse29
Thanks for the flower market idea! I just had a look at the St. Norbert Farmer's Market website and there are several vendors who do local/non-greenhouse cut flowers. Very cool. Would probably be less work than growning my own!!
we are trying to "go green" as much as possible too. our venue is actually the only certified organic event center in the US! they are also zero-waste.
one thing that we are doing is asking for no gift wrapping. here is what we put on our website: "In order to keep our wedding as green and waste-free as possible, we prefer no gift wrapping or special boxes."
i'm trying to get my fiance to let our "getaway car" be a toyota prius, instead of a limo or old car.
we are also not doing things like 'special printed napkins" or anything like that--cloth napkins are mainly what we're using (but i think the venue uses some recycled napkins for the appetizers).
would renting a bus/van be an option for your guests? it might be better than carpooling since it's only one vehicle. what about setting up an RSVP thing on your website too?
I forgot my favorite thing. http://www.marxfoods.com/products/Eco-Friendly-Plates
I know a girl on another wedding website that grew all her own flowers and it turned out great. I know a lot of people grow their own wheatgrass for centerpieces too. It's pretty cute.
Instead of favors, we're carbon offsetting our wedding. www.carbonfund.org has a tool especially for weddings (it only calculates emissions from travel, but you could just add in a little more for the actual event).
Can you please keep us updated on how you're being environmentally conscious in your wedding planning? I had high hopes for this when we started planning but unfortunately, none of my family or friends have been heeding my calls for sustainability.
best of luck and congrats!
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| aussiebee | 10 |
| MrsOliveBird | 8 |
| janetsnakehole | 8 |
| j_jaye | 5 |
| Rivendeler | 5 |
| simpleandchic | 4 |
| MabelleBliss | 3 |
| Adalita | 3 |
| bonkeyball3 | 3 |
| JenRoses | 3 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| mcgoo | 1 |
| anyday | 1 |
Our wedding is going to be more or less nature-themed and we're going to try to be as environmentally conscious as possible. Our venue is an environmental education centre that is a not for profit - so all the profits the venue makes go to fund conservation and education. We're feeling really good about that - but we'd like to do more!
Here are some things that we're doing - but I'd like some more ideas!
- Invitations: I toyed with doing e-vites, but I'm really crafty and would like to make invites. So we'll be using recycled paper and we'll ask guests to email or call in their RSVP as opposed to return cards (to save on paper)
- Centrepieces: we'll be using some kind of perrenial - either a shrub or tree or other plant. So guests can take them home and plant them!
- Bird seed instead of confetti: our venue has a ban on confetti (due to the wildlife they have on site)
- Food: the restaurant at the venue caters all weddings. Their food is all local and/or organic. Most of the fruits/vegetables they use is grown at an onsite farm so that's about as local as you can get! The meat is all local and free-range.
- Clothing: I'm considering buying a used dress, getting used dresses for my attendant.
- Carpooling: The venue isn't accessible by bus routes - but I'd like to encourage carpooling. Not sure how to get the message across to guests? Ceremony and reception are also in one place - so no extra driving.
- Flowers: I haven't looked into it much yet - but I know that buying locally grown & in-season flowers can be an option. I'm not sure if this kind of thing is available in my area or not...
That's pretty much what we've come up with so far. I know that in generally weddings can be a little wasteful - and we've just got to accept it. By committing to making changes in our every day lives we'll make much more of an impact than making eco-choices for just one day. But I would still like to be as green as possible! How are you guys being eco-conscious on your wedding day? I'd love to hear some more ideas!