Dave Carpenter
Executive Editor
GREEN WEDDINGS
Many wedding planners offer green options to offset your wedding's carbon footprint. Waste not, want not.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Sillapere
Vibrant Events
Hannah Tai
Hotel Basico
I Do Foundation
Brilliant Earth
Green Karat
TheDressMarket.net
Drive/Live Neutral
LOHAS
REDUCE, RECYCLE, REINVENT / PAGE 1
WORDS DAVE CARPENTER
THE CONCEPT OF AN “ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE” WEDDING seems at first mention like a true contradiction in terms. The notion of sustainability brings to mind images of scaling back, of conservation, of constraint – a far cry from what most people envision for their wedding day. Would the average couple really sacrifice the day of their dreams for socially conscious ideals? Is it even possible to create an event as massive as a wedding – with the myriad moving parts, inevitable dramas and expense – while at the same time thinking about the Earth’s wellbeing?
“I'd say that fifty percent of our clients are asking us to incorporate as many sustainable ideas and practices into our design as possible,” says event designer Nicole Sillapere, founder of Sillapere, Inc., who for the past three years has designed weddings with conservation and reuse in mind. “It's becoming more and more sexy to be green.”
The emergence of green weddings, which Sillapere has seen expand over the past couple of years, has created a sizeable offshoot industry to the wedding trade: businesses that offer fresh solutions to the mounting issue of wedding-day waste.
Companies that have joined the green wedding surge range from high-end organic caterers, vintners and cake makers to registries that specialize in directing gift money to chosen charities or showcasing local artisan fare. You can buy or sell a secondhand designer wedding dress (used just once, of course); shop local markets for seasonal flowers; and have fine letterpress invitations produced using green-certified remnant cotton from the garment industry.
And on the “deeper green” side of sustainability are environmentally aware hotels for your wedding or honeymoon (eclectic accommodations that institute programs to reduce, recycle and reuse); programs for carbon emission offsetting that your guests’ airline flights produce; and recycled wedding bands made by environmentally and socially mindful jewelers. The list of green wedding resources today is expansive. And to organize it all, an environmentally sensitive wedding consultant can be at your every beck and call.
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