eco-friendly ideas for your wedding

In honor of Earth Day... we'd like to share a few eco-friendly ideas for your wedding.

Attire:
- Choose pieces in hemp silk & organic cotton (try olivia luca)
- Allow bridal party to wear items they already own (who doesn't have a little black dress?)
- Select jewelry that has been reconstructed/repurposed or vintage jewelry
- Borrow a veil, headpiece, comb, necklace from a friend or family member (it can be your something borrowed as well!)
- Buy your dress from a consignment store, ebay, preownedweddingdresses.com or from Brides Against Breast Cancer.
- Find a vintage dress to wear or find a seamstress to modify the vintage gown into something even more beautiful.
- Repurpose your dress into a christening or baptismal gown or even pillows when you are finished or donate it to a charity.

Paper Products:
- Look for recycled paper products & those printed in a soy or other environmentally friendly ink
- Plantable invitations that are embedded with seeds. Guests can plant them after the wedding!
- Go paper free for the save the dates - send out an email with your wedding website.
- Use a wedding website or a toll free number for RSVPs instead of a paper piece

Decor/Flowers:
- Choose locally grown in-season flowers for your bouquet. Your florist can let you know what is available.
- Collect vases, jars & lanterns from thrift shops, flea markets & yard sales or buy recycled glass vases (alisha & lee's reception was amazing!)
- Donate floral arrangements to local nursing homes or hospitals
- Grow your own herbs in a terracotta pot & use as a centerpiece - then give to your guests to take home (check out cynthia & eric's reception)
- Use vintage wallpaper as an overlay - simply cut out various sized circles and place on top of the fabric tablecloths. (once again check out cynthia & eric's page)
- Opt for dried or silk flowers instead of the real thing (check out lindsay & phil's flowers)
- Use candles for ambiance lighting

Misc.
- Rent a shuttle for your guests from the hotel to the church to the reception & back. It will reduce emissions by "carpooling" and your guests will appreciate the gesture.
- Use cloth napkins instead of having hundreds of custom printed cocktail napkins to waste. If you must have cocktail napkins, choose recycled paper ones
- opt for a vegetarian meal instead of the traditional meat options (alisha & lee had fabulous food!)

There are a ton of other ideas out there... please share yours!