Wear White, Go Green!
An elegant aisle, a lush bouquet, and a stunning white dress. Just a couple of the details most women have dreamed about their whole lives. While all these traditions may have stayed the same, one color appears to be sneaking its way into the wedding industry, green!
That is to say environmentally green!
Weddings are a blast but, can rack up quite a bit of waste. Unfortunately, there seems to always be a stigma that eco-friendly products and practices aren’t quite as refined and elegant as the tried and true. We are here to let you know you truly can have the best of both worlds! Let’s get married in white and green!
Let’s talk food
In recent years, food has become more and more of an important detail to nail, for aesthetic purposes and for the grumbling tummies of your guests! Thinking eco-conscious when thinking Hors D’oeuvres can actually make for the yummiest meals your wedding guests will experience!
When contacting caterers, choose hyper-local vendors within a short drive to your venue. This lowers your gas footprint (less mileage = less emissions)! Choose vendors who place value in purchasing and preparing food sourced locally and seasonally. Because, let’s be honest, farm to table is HOT for a reason – it’s delicious! If you’re planning your eco-friendly wedding in the Reno-Tahoe region, Liberty Food and Wine declares their eco-goals outright in their manifesto! Want to kick it up a notch and show off your efforts, ask the caterer where they source their main ingredients and include that in your menus!
The invitation
Speaking of menus and other paper goods, there is nothing we love more than a gorgeous invite spread! Ugh, no matter how gorgeous, who really needs all that paper and how much of it will just end up in a landfill! A couple of key tips and tricks ahead for you!
Research, research, research who you choose to create your invites! You may have found your dream company, but ask the big questions. Do you have post-consumer recycled options? Do you use soy-based or vegetable-based inks? Better yet, can they calligraph it all for you!
Now onto the what. Do your guests really need four plus sheets accompanying your beautiful invitation? Narrow that baby down to essential information only and list your cutesie wedding website they can navigate to and find ALL the information! On the topic of unnecessary paper, the invitations for the wedding showers, bachelorette parties, welcome dinners, etc. can all be handled electronically. Between email, Facebook events, and the endless e-vite sites, not only would it cut down on so much waste, talk about money and time savings galore!
Okay, but let’s talk about sourcing locally once more…
Flowers
You’ve decided on a Tahoe destination wedding and you’ve fallen in love with an LA-based florist and you have your heart SET on a specific floral design. Well girl, let’s refocus that brain! Just like produce, flowers have seasons. And if your heart is set on a big bushel of sunflowers in the beginning of spring, you’d be disappointed to hear the miles they would rack up shipping them all the way up to Tahoe. You heard it here first… sunflowers are not a spring flower. Find a local florist who has connections to local flower farms. Begin a conversation about timing and what will be in season in your color palette. Curate a seasonally appropriate spread and earn the pride that you and your florist were able to hand pick each stem!
And even more
If this wasn’t enough for you, the ways that you can go green on your big day don’t end here. Find a fair-trade bridal gown company. Consciously pick your wedding favors, something your guests will actually use and sourced from companies that care. Look out for eco-jewelry companies, yup they do exist! Who needs excess escort cards when you can have one big beautiful sign! Did you know there are services that will help you recycle and donate your wedding flowers? AMAZING!
Looking for the perfect cozy lounge area, hello rentals! Local rental companies are a gift to the wedding industry, they decrease travel footprints and limit what goes in a landfill post-wedding. And one more for you, if you don’t want to go the rental route. Three words. Bamboo. Table. Settings. And hook up with your caterer and ensure your wedding is the compost event of the year!
Phew, that’s a lot of information! But in the end, as you wrap up your stunning wedding and the sun sets in majestic yellows, oranges, and reds — that time, research, and thought that has gone into protecting that sunset and beautiful environment surrounding your big day!
Have any more questions about how to go a little more green, don’t hesitate to give us a call. Living in one of the most beautiful settings on the west coast has given everyone at Red Carpet a bit of the eco-conscious bug!
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