Go green for your wedding

How many Trini brides seriously consider having a stylish yet eco-friendly wedding? Perhaps not many and that’s unfortunate, more so because there are so many simple and sustainable ideas out there. It’s also critical because weddings by and large, generate substantial amounts of waste with food, paper goods, packaging, ribbons, favours, wrapping paper, decorations and stationery that are tossed in the trash after the reception or soon after. Here are some tips that can help you have an environmentally-friendly wedding:

Food
• Donate leftover food to a shelter or soup kitchen or have boxes available for guests to take some of the eats home with them.

Fashion & beauty
• For your dress, use one or a combination of: remnant lace and fabrics, organic cotton, hemp and silk blends or vegetable-dyed fabric.
• Select organic or mineral products that are not tested on animals, for your make-up.
• Go to the “Bridal Classifieds” page on www.trinidadweddings.com (under the “Shop” menu tab) to see if anyone is selling a used or new wedding gown or selling centrepieces they no longer need.
• Upcycle bridesmaid dresses that won’t be worn again into decorative throw pillows or window treatments. You can also donate the dresses to someone who will use them.

Invitations & stationery
• Use post-consumer recycled paper.
•  If you have open seating for the reception, this can reduce your paper needs, with doing away of place cards. Also, you can do one tented programme (printed on both sides) per table, to reduce the need for every guest having a paper programme.
• Create custom invitations or “thank you” cards by hand or try utilising hand-painting or stamping on your invitations, to save on printing costs.
•  If you want to go entirely paperless, invite guests via e-cards or telephone.

Décor & favours
• Use organic décor materials like: bamboo, coconut shells, hemp, pressed flowers/leaves, burlap, jute or raffia.
• Make use of organic or fair trade items, for your food and favours.
•  Create a local favour instead of one that’s already pre-packaged and full of unnecessary plastic packaging. Wrap your paper in biodegradable bags or in hand-made paper.
•  For centrepieces, choose containers you can use again in your new home and perhaps fill with fruit that you or your guests can eat!
•  Choose a florist who uses locally-grown flowers.

Reception
• Have an outdoor wedding to save on day-time electricity costs. The options are endless: a park, at the beach, a private garden, courtyard, ranch or nature reserve.
• Use cloth napkins as much as possible, versus paper napkins.
• Plan your ceremony and wedding reception in the same place, to save energy costs and emissions from transportation.

Registry
• If you already own household items, perhaps you can ask guests to contribute to a wildlife conservatory, animal shelter, a recycling initiative or a charitable cause, in lieu of favours/ wedding gifts.
• Ask the store that is hosting your bridal registry, not to gift wrap your wedding gifts.