Archive for August, 2009

Love your partner, love the planet: Eco-weddings

August 14, 2009 · Filed under Sustainability, Tips · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

bridal-wedding-bouquetAs more people take steps to make green choices a normal part of their lifestyle, greening events is the logical next step. And what’s one of the biggest events to plan? A wedding. It’s also an event that is meant to reflect the couple – their love, commitment and shared values. So, if going green is part of your life, it makes sense to plan a wedding that reflects that.

I got married in September of last year and we tried to make our wedding as green as possible. Here’s what we did:

  • Before the wedding, there was the engagement. My fiance gave me a pink diamond from Green Karat, a sustainable jeweler. They use recycled and synthetic materials, thereby avoiding environmentally damaging mining practices and the purchase of “blood” or “conflict” diamonds.

  • Once we set the date, we had to spread the news! All of our communications – save the date, invites, info packets – were posted on our website and e-mailed to save paper. My hub-to-be designed our website and graphics, but there are a lot of options out there if that’s not your area of expertise, such as eWedding or the Wedding Channel.

  • We got married at a yoga retreat center in Guatemala. Throughout the wedding weekend, our guests enjoyed local, fresh vegetarian and vegan meals. (Learn more about how plant-based diets are good for the environment.)

  • We’ve purchased carbon offsets for our wedding and honeymoon flights. At Native Energy, we were able to offset our flights for $36 – money which goes towards renewable energy programs. (I chose the option that supported wind energy and “re-mooable energy” – methane.) I also found a wedding offset option on CarbonFund.org that allows you to calculate the impact of guests’ transportation and hotel stays.

  • Almost all of our gifts on our registry were from green companies and stores, such as GreenHome.com, Ten Thousand Villages and Global Exchange. We also asked for stuff that wasn’t “stuff”, such as tickets to the opera and our local theatre – these were some of our favorite gifts. Date nights for a year!

  • Our honeymoon was wonderful! We stayed at the beautiful eco-resort El Remanso in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, in the midst of one of the world’s most diverse rainforests. The area is very well preserved, and we spotted toucans, scarlet macaws and howler monkeys. El Remanso keeps it green by running on hydro-electric power from the nearby waterfalls and rivers, limiting construction to areas already naturally cleared (no logging), and, of course, recycling and composting. They’ve also partnered with neighboring resorts to preserve the land and create a biological corridor for local and migrating species.

There were definitely some challenging areas where we were not as green as I would have liked. Certainly the travel to and from Central America (for both us and our guests) has a high impact, regardless of the carbon offsets.

And, before the wedding planning started, I had this idea that I’d design some kind of custom gown made out of organic hemp silk or some other sustainable material. Then I realized that I didn’t really have the time, creativity or budget to get a custom designed dress. There are certainly eco-gowns out there (Conscious Clothing, Olivia Lucas, Natural Bridal Collection), but none of them were really my style. I wound up finding a local boutique outlet in San Francisco that sells designer samples and excess inventory for about half the price. Green-ish ;)

All in all though, I think we did a pretty good job, keeping within the limits of our timeframe, resources and budget. And, of course, the most important thing – everyone had a blast!

If you’re planning a wedding or big event, and want to keep it green, check out these resources. You may not be able to go 100% green on your big day, but every step makes a difference.

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Green party planning

August 14, 2009 · Filed under Sustainability, Tips · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Planning a party? Here are some simple steps to making it a fun, green affair:cocktail151

1. Get help. Don’t try to plan, throw and recover from a big bash all by yourself. Feeling the burden of doing practically everything could make you more likely to choose the easy, convenient and cheap eco-unfriendly way. Our system isn’t entirely green (yet), so you’ll have to take some additional measures to make your party green – get some support so it won’t feel like such a hassle.

2. Decorations. Try to avoid cheapo throwaways like paper streamers and the like. Instead, use flowers and plants (either your own, or perhaps purchased from an organic farmers’ market vendor), pictures, lights, cloth, soy or beeswax candles, etc. – items that are reusable, not disposable.

3. Invites. I love a cute card as much as the next person, but with everyone and their cousin online these days, virtual invites are much more nature-lovin. I’m really loving pingg.com, with their beautiful designs and RSVP tracking features.  (If it’s a more formal affair that necessitates a mailing, check out Green Paper Studio or Earthly Affair for invitations made from recycled paper and other eco-friendly options.)

4. Online organizing. Speaking of saving some trees – eschew the spiral notebooks and sticky notes for some Internet-based party prep. In addition to pingg, you can also check out BackPackit’s tools for organizing events (including to-do lists, file uploads and writeboards).

hors d'oeuvres5. Food. Of course, you’ll want to fill all your guests’ bellies with fresh, organic foods (with loads of vegetarian dishes). For casual get togethers, suggest a potluck. It’s fun to mingle recipes, and it’s more likely that reusable dishes, pots and pans will be used. You could even make the green angle part of the theme, asking everyone to bring their favorite cups and plates.

Fancier events may call for some catering – raw food, vegetarian Indian cuisine, or organic meals, for example. Watch out for a deluge of disposable utensils and plateware though. If you absolutely cannot use more permanent plateware, explore biodegradable and compostible options.

6. Drinks. Treat your guests to organic beers and wine. And choose containers that you know your locality recycles, such as glass bottles or aluminum cans instead of plastic bottles. Don’t forget water – and please, no plastic water bottles! Think about offering your own filtered tap water.

7. Entertainment. (This might be stretching it, but it’s worth mentioning.) Consider cutting down on that coal-generated electricity from your stereo, and take advantage of musician friends who love to play acoustic versions of their greatest hits. And while we’re getting back to our roots (you know – way back in the day when people talked and sang and danced and played instruments…?) – turn off the TV, the radio, the cellphones, etc., and play some games (I love me some old-fashioned charades!).

8. Transportation. Help your guests out – suggest carpooling (and link up guests who live close to each other) and offer public transit options that are nearby. Or, encourage them to neutralize their carbon emissions by calculating and offsetting them at DriveNeutral. Of course, neighbors can always walk or bike over!

9. Cleanup. Ooh…the fun part. Use eco-friendly cleaning products such as Seventh Generation with cloths and dust rags (rather than paper towels). To conserve water, instead of using the dishwasher, opt for handwashing the dishes with a good friend who you can gossip with about the party. Compost the organic waste, and recycle and reuse what you can. Hopefully, you’ll wind up with a near zero-waste event!

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