Tips for an Eco-Friendly Fall Wedding

Planning your wedding can be one of the most daunting, though gratifying, tasks you'll ever face. For most, getting married ranks first or second on the list of life's grand mileposts, so it's important to make sure that the big day is as perfect as possible while working within time and budgetary constraints AND while trying to maintain your sanity. If you're also interested in making your nuptials as environmentally friendly as possible, then you can add this to your list of constraints. Fortunately, though, there are some common sense approaches that can keep your wedding "green" while helping you to create a beautiful day that you will always cherish. With summer just around the corner, now is the perfect time to plan your eco-friendly fall wedding. Here are some tips and ideas to help you along your way.

Send E-Invitations

Probably the two biggest environmental offenders associated with a typical wedding are the use fossil fuels (gasoline and diesel) in transporting people and items of all ilk and the large amount of paper and packaging churned through during the process. Sending electronic wedding invitations by email rather than sending traditional invitations by snail mail will reduce considerably the carbon footprint of your pending ceremony. By now, most of your intended guests probably have email accounts that they check regularly, so it's likely you can reach everyone that you need to via this method. The great thing about the electronic invitation is that you can create one (or pay someone else to create one) that is exactly the way you want it to be, and if, for some reason, you need or want to have a hard copy, a printout is just a mouse click away.

Register Online

Online gift registration also addresses the issue of excessive fuel usage. When you register online, make sure that you go with a retailer that also offers online shopping so that your guests don't need to make a trip to the store in order to purchase your gift. You might consider also, at least for part of your gift list, including items and services that don't need to be physically delivered. Examples might include contributions to a PayPal account, ITunes credits, utility company credits, online stock purchases, or event tickets that can be printed out from your computer.

Use Digital Photography

Cut down on paper and ink usage, as well as cost, by employing digital, rather than conventional ,photography, on your big day. Like the electronic invitations, digital photography provides great flexibility and also makes hard copies of your pictures readily available.

Create a Wedding Website

As you can see from many of these suggestions, the digital age offers you many opportunities for cost savings in conjunction with producing a more environmentally friendly wedding. By launching a web site dedicated to your wedding, you create an online home to which all of your friends and family can congregate when they need important information and a living monument to your nuptials. By organizing your electronic activities and making them accessible, you increase the chances that your guests will use them as intended and keep your wedding "green".

Time Your Nuptials and Head Outside

Autumn can provide some awesome weather, and you should do your best to take advantage of what nature has to offer in order to keep things eco-friendly. With some planning and a little flexibility, you should be able to schedule your wedding and reception outdoors when the skies are clear and the temperatures are neither too cool nor too warm. Goodbye air conditioning and/or heating!

Keep It Local

Most of your invited guests will probably live in the same general area, so make every attempt to hold your wedding and reception in centrally located venues to reduce travel and gas usage. If you have people who might come from long distances, consider adding a video feed to your web site to offer the option of attending remotely (we're squarely in the 21^st Century!).

Make Use of Seasonal Delights

In addition to the crisp weather, fall offers many distinct seasonal treats, and you can make liberal use of these with an eye toward reusing them later. For instance, use pumpkins for table center pieces and then use them for Jack-o-Lanterns or pumpkin pies later in the season. Or string up colorful leaves to use in place of streamers or banners. If bride and groom are both football fans, create a team-themed reception and reuse the decorations for game parties later on. Your only limit here is your imagination.

Can The Rice

According to Snopes.com , throwing rice at weddings doesn't pose a threat to the health of birds, but it's not very seasonal as far as fall goes. Neither are bubbles, which is why you might consider these alternatives: diced dried tree leaves, dried corn kernels, pine needles. All are season-appropriate and harmless to the environment.

Tour The Scenery

If you've taken the plunge and decided to hold your reception outdoors, try to take advantage of the scenery that the season offers. One fun, eco-friendly way to do this is to offer horse-drawn hay rides through the local country side. These rides can be playful, romantic, and exciting, and they always leave a lasting impression.

Plant a Tree

If you are holding your ceremony or reception on your own property, tree planting can be a poignant symbol of your new love while helping to improve air quality and local scenery. Autumn is the perfect time for planting, and a keepsake tree will be a family focal point for years to come and can serve as an anchor for future plantings.

Use these suggestions as food for fodder to get your creative juices flowing, and then get cracking on planning your "green" fall wedding. Best of luck, and congratulations on your big day.

Sources:
Snopes, "Against the Grain", Snopes.com