Weddingbee boards

I'm planning an environmentally-conscious wedding and I know there is one Bee (Mrs. Radish) who planned an enviromentally sustainable wedding! I'm curious if anyone else is planning a green wedding... right now I'm trying to balance my beliefs and traditions/ expectations of weddings (at least within my family & family friends). I'm pretty sure that every suggestion/ idea I come up with that my mother & sister roll their eyes...

At this point my ideas are: 100% post-consumer recycled paper invitations, living centerpieces (bulb flowers or something like that) where people can replant them and possibly having enough on each table where they can act as the favors, or for favors, passing out saplings or seeds. I'm sure there are more but I can't seem to think of them!

The hotel states that they are "environmentally responsible" but honestly, I don't know at this time exactly what they mean by that. I would hope that the produce they purchase is locally grown... The rehearsal dinner, ceremony/ reception & hotel are all at the same place so the only travel is to the actual site & home again.

Any ideas or suggestions would be great!

for christmas, my siblings and i exchanged eco-friendly gifts.  my sister sent us all "seed" cards - it was a gorgeous greeting card and on the back, it explained that you could plant the card and it would grow flowers!  coolest thing ever.  i forget the company name though.

there are very cool recycled sea glass vases and china you could use for centerpieces, but very expensive.  your programs/menu/seating cards could all be recycled/plantable as well. 

Thanks! I'm thinking that I might skip the menu, or print one up on posterboard and put it on an easel. I'm thinking of using either rocks or possibly shells for the seating cards... not sure about that yet!

I've seen those vases! They are awesome but expensive. www.uncommongoods.com has some great recycled vases and bowls. They make great gifts though :) And I looked into invitations with seeds in them as well... also a great possibility :)

I helped a friend of mine plan an outdoor wedding, and potted plants work great!! We used it first to line the edges of aisle, and then after the ceremony, carried it to the reception where we placed them on the tables as centerpieces. Then the guests took them home to plant. It was a great triple duty idea!

Here's some pics to give you an idea:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fubabee/2197215521/ 

i'm trying to incorporate green ideas into my wedding too. it's hard to keep everything green for the wedding but i've tried to do my best with what i have and spent already.  so for centerpieces, i'm collecting glass jars and wine bottles and using those for vaes.  for my save the dates, i ordered plantable seeded paper that grow into wildflowers.  also, i have tons of fabric collected throughout the years, i plan to use for tote bags for my bridal party that they can reuse as grocery bags or anything.  i selected dresses they can definitely wear again.  for my wedding dress, I am wearing my mother's dress and for my reception dress I bought a sample dress.

 For the cake I went with an up and coming cake designer who is willing to use organic ingredients for the cake.  For food, we are going through a friend and asked if he can use mostly organic ingredients too.  We're having our ceremony at a historic landmark, so the fees we pay will help up keep the building.

For the wine glasses, I will tag them with the guests names so they stick to one glass.

For transportation to the ceremony to reception site, we're shuttling our guests. so try to encourage carpooling to the wedding so less gas and cars are used.

Invitations, programs etc.. I'm making sure I use recycled paper on most items if not then print on the back to recycle the paper. 

Good Luck!