Environmentally Friendly Wedding: Ways to Make Your Wedding Greener

Environmental awareness is rising across the country, and many people are beginning to take a more active role in promoting sustainability. This is becoming more common in several aspects of life. Including weddings. Here are some simple things you can do to make your wedding greener:

Invitations

This one is pretty obvious. Invitations printed on recycled paper, and printed with soy ink are great choices. Include a small reminder on the bottom of the invitation to recycle it. Or, go completely paperless and issue email invitations. It might take more work to get the email addresses of your entire guest list.

Gift registry

There are many shops and online stores that sell environmentally friendly products. You can register for gifts there. Or, if you are interested in ensuring that your green wedding leaves no carbon footprint, you can encourage the purchase of carbon offsets in lieu of gifts. Ask guests to put the offsets in your name, ensuring that they are purchased on your behalf. Programs allowing guests to plant a tree in your honor can also be a good way to reduce your carbon footprint. Another socially conscious gift idea is for guests to invest a small amount in a micro loan on your behalf.

Food

Many cities have organic food shops and caterers that serve organically grown and environmentally produced foods. Order as locally as possible to cut down on transport.

Flowers

Silk flowers, or locally grown, pesticide free flowers can make great options. Silk flowers can be re-used. You can give away your flowers, either silk or locally grown, as wedding favors to guests.

Pictures

Many photographers offer digital services. Try to hire locally, and make it clear that you want to choose the photos on a computer before proofs are printed out. By getting only the photos you want printed, you can cut down on wasted paper, as well as reduce the amount of harmful chemicals used. Digital photo frames and digital scrapbooking can allow you to display pictures and allow you to share memories without ever printing out a single picture.

Honeymoon

Eco-travel is another trend gaining in popularity. And it can be applied to your honeymoon. There are several Web sites that can help you plan an eco-friendly honeymoon. Or, if you truly want to spare the environment, you can stay a little closer to home. Consider sequestering yourself in a bed and breakfast within 100 miles of your location. If you are the outdoors type, camping can make a very romantic honeymoon -- it doesn't have to be all theme rooms and fancy dining.

Even following just one or two suggestions on this list can improve the eco-friendly nature of your wedding. And all of the options are simple enough that you can usually find it easy to make your wedding a little greener.