Turn Your White Wedding 'Green'

There is such a wide variety of distinctive companies which offer green alternatives for your special day, that you can rest easy knowing that your wedding can be kind to the environment without compromising on style and quality. The modern, eco-conscious bride and groom can treat their guests to a fantastic day full of unique and thoughtful elements…

‘An Eco-Chic Wedding’

Hold your ceremony and reception at the same venue, to cut down on guests traveling between locations. You could even ask guests if they could possibly car-share or use public transport to get there. Use a venue which has green policies (eg: recycling, etc) and that is able to source local and/or organic produce for the wedding breakfast.

Buy ready-made recycled stationery or have a designer create bespoke invitations and other stationery, using recycled and natural materials.

Enclose with your invitations details of your wedding gift list - choose a charitable gift list or one which offers eco-friendly, organic or fair trade products.

For the bridal party’s outfits and accessories, hire the men’s outfits; try to use a company who uses an eco dry cleaning service. The bride and bridesmaids’ dresses can be fashioned by a designer, using organic silk, or buy second hand and have them eco dry-cleaned. The tiaras and jewellery are available from companies who recycle vintage jewellery into new modern pieces. As for the wedding rings try to ensure that the jeweller uses fair trade metals and conflict free diamonds.

Arrange seasonal, eco-friendly bridal bouquets and venue decoration by using a florist who is able to source locally grown organic flowers; you could even use silk flowers which can look just as good and will last for a long time to come.

Arrive at the ceremony in style, by romantic horse and carriage or for a truly unique experience be chauffeured in a rickshaw. If you prefer to stick with cars, there are now firms who use luxury vehicles fitted with hybrid technology or that use fuels which are kinder to the environment.

During the drinks reception have a romantic, acoustic string quartet, pianist or even a jazz band playing in the background. Guests will love the entertainment whilst the photo session is taking place. If your venue doesn’t supply organic or fair trade wines and champagne, ask about their corkage charge so that you can supply your own; a number of quality companies offer a great range of beverages at reasonable prices which are organic, fair trade or vegan.

For the photography stick with digital service providers to cut the use of traditional film and unnecessary photo development. You should also be able to view your photos online (or on Cd Rom) before choosing which ones you would like developed.

Choose a cake maker who will use organic and fair trade ingredients and free- range eggs.

Buy favours made from recycled and natural materials or give a specially grown tree seedling to each guest to plant and enjoy for many years to come. Some businesses supply these personalised so you could even use them as place settings.

The evening reception can also be planned with ‘green’ in mind. The entertainment could be a live acoustic band with many offering a wide variety of music to suit all tastes. Ask the venue if they are able to supply a buffet using locally sourced and organic produce. If arranging your own catering, such as for a marquee wedding, there are a number of excellent private caterers who only use locally produced and organic foods.

After all the excitement of the big day is over you can enjoy an eco-friendly honeymoon in the UK with many establishments offering the ideal ‘get away’ location; if traveling abroad consider trains, ferries and coaches. Choose somewhere which has green policies in place and which is committed to conserving the surrounding environment.

Visit http://www.eco-friendlyweddings.co.uk for a whole host of ideas, advice, information and wedding suppliers who offer green or ethical services.

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