GO GREEN, and Save Green

by Rev. Dr. Michael Caldwell, Partnership Center of Vermont

Your Wedding Your Way

Can a “green” wedding save you some green? Absolutely. Environmentally conscious engaged couples sometimes miss the opportunity to bring their socially responsible awareness to their wedding. But when you consider that a green mindset can also save thousands of dollars, the incentives add up.

Marjorie and Matthew wanted an elegant destination wedding in Vermont for a guest list of one hundred. But they were also determined to keep their commitment to being earth friendly as a couple and bring those values to planning their wedding. They brought up the challenge with their wedding coach and officiant.

Rings? Rings, especially. Diamonds, gold, and platinum are notoriously unethically produced. Miners of these raw substances often work in unsafe conditions and mining itself can damage local ecosystems and watersheds, according to sustainable jewelers like Leber Jeweler, GreenKarat, and Sumiche. Add to that the fact that the diamond mining industry exploits child labor and you have one place to really make a statement. Contact those jewelers and explore it for yourselves. The other thing that some couples do is recycle old gold or silver jewelry from previous generations to make their own rings.

Marjorie and Matthew got inspired by the session. As they began to list the ways they actually could make a difference and save money, they got more excited about their wedding. Michelle Kozin’s book encouraged them even more: Organic Weddings: Balancing Ecology, Style, and Tradition (New Society Publishers, 2003). Kozin’s related website is www.OrganicWeddings.com.

A summary of ways this couple
planned their green wedding:

They chose recycled and tree-free paper options for invitations.

Instead of a tuxedo rental, the groom bought a suit he could use for formal occasions beyond the wedding. The bride was able to wear her mother’s wedding dress and fantasized about passing it on to her daughter some day. They didn’t have ushers and bridesmaids in their ceremony but had friends who’d been to a wedding where the wedding party intentionally wore diverse formal clothing instead of matching suits and gowns.

Wines for the rehearsal dinner and reception were selected from local Vermont wineries.

They selected a caterer for the wedding feast who used Vermont’s “Farm to Table” program so that most of the ingredients were not only local but organic where possible.

Aware that some florists use flowers flown in from South America, they intentionally chose wedding flowers from a Vermont florist whose greenhouse was instate.

Honeymooning would be a tour of New England meaderies, sampling the locally crafted beverage (mead-honey wine) from which the word “honeymoon” derives its name. Compared with their original idea of a Caribbean vacation, this honeymoon saved thousands.

Marjorie and Matthew’s original dilemma had turned into a fabulous adventure. They saved enough money for a downpayment for their first home, had fun doing it, and also made a statement about their concerns for the environment with their guests and families.

 

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