Planning a Green Wedding in 5 Easy Steps

Step 1: What is eco-friendly?

Sure, you recycle, but how does the term apply to planning your big day? Going green entails the following provisions: renewable, reusable, recyclable, biodegradable, handmade, and generally not harmful to the environment. This can relate to your wedding plans in ways you didn’t even dream of. And now that you know what to look for…

Step 2: Get connected… go online.

Forget the wedding planner, you can do it yourself! There are tons of websites available to help you get your green wedding. At sites like www.greatgreenwedding.com, www.green-wedding.net, and wedding.theknot.com, you can find great ideas and advice to get the ball rolling, along with links to products and services. From locations to cakes and favors to fashion, this step is absolutely essential to any girl who wants to go green.

Step 3: Start simple.

With a wealth of information to sift through, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But all of us understand the concept of recycled paper, so invitations are a good place to begin. You’ll probably want to look for something that is 100% PCW (post-consumer waste, meaning it was already used and recycled). But if you really want to go for the wow factor, choose a seeded paper that does double duty in a planter (that’s right, your guests can plant their invitations and watch them grow… just like your love… awww-some!).

Step 4: Decide how far you want to go.

This can get a bit complicated. For example, you like the idea of giving handmade soaps or candles as wedding favors, but are you really willing to ditch the destination wedding for a hometown shindig just to cut down on emissions? Only you can decide just how dedicated you are to the eco-friendly cause. Just keep in mind that by choosing to go green, you have already done a lot more than most brides, so don’t feel guilty about making a few decisions that are not totally earth-loving. You don’t need to go overboard. Just make sure your wedding day is patently YOU! Otherwise you might end up resenting the whole affair.

Step 5: Have fun!

Wedding planning can get pretty stressful, especially if you’re doing a lot of the leg-work. Just remind yourself that your wedding day is going to be beautiful and special because of all the hard work you are doing, and sleep secure in the knowledge that because of your eco-friendly efforts, you can renew your vows in twenty years on the same beach where you say “I do”.

Guest post by Sarah Harris, of Zen College Life, the premier directory for online degrees. Find out more information about a psychology degree.

Image Credit

Wedding Dress For Happy Couple in Love courtesy of Flickr epSos.de user published under the CC license.