- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
A lot of people end up donating their flowers to an assisted living or nursing home, which can brighten up a lot of people's days!
Wow. It sounds like you a really committed in your regular life--good for you. I try to eat organic and things like that but I have no patience for second-hand stores.
Anyway, on to your question:
1. Venure--We are getting married at an aquarium which has all sorts of feel-good benefits to it. A portion of our fee is a donation to the aquarium, they emphasize organic and sustainable food (in particular, sustainable fisheries), and they have composting and a rain collection system. They'll also have interpreters there during cocktail hour to talk to anyone who's interested about marine life.
2. Caterer--our caterer is included but our emphasis all along was on finding an organic caterer that specialized in local, seasonal ingredients. Or at the very least, a regular caterer would would do that for us.
3. Favors--don't have them. No one takes them home and it is extremely wasteful. If you want to do something, make a donation to a charity that is important to you. (That said, we will have favors. I didn't want to, but my mom wanted to make jam. It's a very sweet gesture and it is cute. Plus it is huckleberry jam so it is something particular to our region.)
4. Stationery--I hope to find some great recycled stationery. I've also heard of people using paper from alternative materials (elephant dung, anyone?) but for our wedding, which is pretty formal, I don't think we are likely to find anything that looks right.
5. Flowers--get whatever is local (this will also save you money). Also, consider only having personal flowers (bouquets, etc) and doing non-floral centerpieces.
6. Vendors--hire vendors that give back--either through donating their services or money. For example, our photographers give 1% of profit to the american breast cancer foundation. I'm also planning on going to a charity auction for brides-to-be and hope to get a lot of the vendors (or at least extras) that I am less picky about there.
Those are the main ones that I've thought about. Good luck.
very inspiring! i'm also trying to be environmentally friendly when it comes to the wedding, but it is tough (and sometimes pricey). so far we only have the venue, which is a museum and the fee is really just a large donation...
I think you should also think about the full cycle of your wedding. Everything I choose for our wedding I made/bought/created because I loved it. (Yes, I say "I" b/c my DH couldn't have cared). If I was going to purchase something it was either going to be used already (rummage sales lots of times) and/or I had an end use post-wedding in mind.
For example there is a fabric I really wanted to use for my runners which I have always loved. Yes, it's weaverly, no, there is no environmental positive outcome for me buying this fabric. BUT it created a lasting memory. I have already created pillow cases, place mats, and fabric covered cards which will always serve as a reminder of our wedding day, and bring the day into the present and future.
To be honest I don't know of many 'do good' wedding focused companies. I think if you want to 'do good' while still planning a wedding it's to reuse before and after. Don't newly purchase, repurpose. Best of luck! Hope you find some 'wedding good' out there!
We didn't do too much but just some things we did do:
-grew our flowers
-collected jars & vases from local sales
-local food
-create carpools to reception
-no gift wrap on registry items
Oh, and you might want to read Mrs. Veggie's blog posts if you haven't already as she was very eco-supportive in her wedding planning.
You can definitely buy your dress on consignment - I did. Also buy decor on craigslist and resell.
We suggested places people could donate instead of giving us a material present.
Buy local - flowers from a local farmers market, caterer who buys from a local organic farm. Our favors were lip balm from local bees.
Thanks so much guys!!! All of the help is really wonderful!
Things we are already doing -
- Our venue is a family owned business. My Fiance's family owns it. They build post and beam, early New England style homes. We are getting married at the model home. So that is both saving money and is very close to home for everyone. (check out our venue at www.earlynewenglandhomes.com it is the red house)
- Our ceremony and reception are at the same site so no traveling between events, saving on emissions and time.
- The brides maids flowers are actually vines that I have grown from a plant that my teacher gave me way back in middle school. I am debating on adding in some picked cotton or maybe some other flowers. I will carry a bible with ribbons and some of that same vine strung through it. It is a family tradition for the bride to carry a bible.
- Our favors are that same vine. As soon as we got engaged I split the plant into 200 pieces and have been growing them every since. I recently started making hypertufa pots for all of the plants. They are made of cement, perlite and peat moss. They are much more environmentally friendly than buying some made from who knows what or even worse, plastic. They are also most of the rustic look that we are going for, and are A LOT cheaper.
- Because these will be all over the table and look great we are not going to do center pieces. We will have a small picture holder that will have the table number but that is about it. And all of that we already own.
- I am trying to buy my dress second hand but just can’t find what I want. Plus I think I have fallen in love with the Oleg Cassini dress CWG352, at Davids Bridal. I REALLY don’t want to buy a dress there, but so far that is my favorite…
- I am wearing the Toms heels for wedding shoes
- My fiance is wearing a suit that he will keep for years to come, and we are both in love with. It is also made of pure cotton - so that is an easily renewable resource.
- Our caterer is really wonderful. I also work for them part time. They donate to good causes. Many of the workers work in the nonprofit sector the rest of the time. They recycle EVERYTHING. They get there food locally and they are going to do as much all natural as possible. They are willing to dump all un eaten food into a compost bucket for us that we will take home and add to our compost.
- Our registry is an alternative registry through www.myregistry.com. This allows us to be able to register for eco friendly things that you couldn’t get on a normal registry. Now I am defiantly going to add the note that we would prefer things not to be gift wrapped. Thank you for that suggestion!!!
Things I’m looking for -
- Somewhere to get materials for table runners that is a good company. Somewhere that donates some of the profit, or is fair trade, or is at least organic. If anyone knows anywhere I would love to know!
- A especially eco friendly ways to do rentals - such as a tent, tables, cups and such..
- Any way that you know of the cut the energy use for the day. With DJ, everyone traveling there and lighting. Do you have any creative suggestions?
- Anyway to get eco friendly photos? I know it is a lot of chemicals to get photos. Does anyone know other options or where they might do it in an environmentally conscious way?
- Invitations. Anyone know any eco friendly and affordable Invitation maker that they like? I know I can get recycled paper, or cotton, or locally made. If anyone knows any one group that they found were great I would love to know where.
I am getting all my wine from http://www.onehopewine.com/
@peacegrl099: I could be wrong, but check out Mrs. Pencil's posts. I think she was able to find plantable paper that was created by a non-profit organization. Here's her post http://www.weddingbee.com/2010/02/26/pencils-plantable-invitations-the-final-product/
Also, I don't know if you mentioned this but you can look into getting your wedding rings from Brililant Earth or Diamonds for a Cure.
Oh and I just found out about Middle Sister Wine. They donate at least 10,000 to charities that help sisters. They donate to Dress for success and Wine, Women and Shoes.
The site Global Girlfriend has a ton of great stuff for BMs gifts! I also got luggage tags from there for our honeymoon luggage :).
This is a great thread, I'm glad it was revived!
Macy's allowed us to link our registry to a charity of our choice. If your gifts are purchased through a certain link, they donate a percentage.
We chose the ASPCA, as animal causes are very dear to our heart. Every dog I have ever owned has been a shelter dog. My avatar pic is our puppy, Toby. We adopted him in 2008 and he is the best dog in the world :-)
@jo.lee: that is awesome! I will be checking that out for sure!
@Lindsay12.31.2010: that is really nice. We are using and alternative registry so we can get things that we really want no matter what store they are from, but it is great that Macy’s does that! Ours is from www.myregistry.com I love it! It is so easy to use for us and for the guests.
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 |
|---|---|
| MissBoPeep | 48 |
| rachgirl82 | 39 |
| pengoala | 38 |
| Sunfire | 23 |
| Beckster329 | 22 |
| Future Army Wife | 20 |
| Mrs. Meowerson | 19 |
| KatNYC2011 | 18 |
| couawilou | 18 |
| beargoose | 18 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| MissBoPeep | 34 |
| Mrs. Meowerson | 17 |
| hisgoosiegirl | 15 |
| KatNYC2011 | 12 |
| pengoala | 11 |
| sweetpea87 | 11 |
| beargoose | 10 |
| DaneLady | 8 |
| akp0702 | 7 |
| pineapplelove | 5 |
Do you know of any wedding products that do good? For instance, in my real life I try not to buy anything unless it helps something else. Like Toms shoes (www.toms.com) - they give a pair of shoes to children who don’t have them for every pair you buy. I buy my Christmas cards from our local Habitat for Humanity Chapter - they sell them as a fundraiser each year. I don’t buy clothes often but when I do I try my best to buy them second hand as it helps reduce consumption and is better for the environment. As you can see I am a bit of a hippy and definitely a humanitarian. So we are trying very hard to carry this mentality into our wedding, but we are finding it VERY difficult while staying on budget.
Do you have any suggestions? What are you doing to help others for your day? What are you doing to reduce your waste for the day? Any input would be great!!!