Your wedding is one of the most important days of your life, but according to Climate Care (link), an organisation that offsets harmful carbon dioxide emissions, the average wedding emits around 14.5 tonnes of CO2, and this is compared to an average person’s emissions of just over 12 tonnes a year. That is taking into account a multitude of things; including guests flying in from other cities or countries, your honeymoon trip, and much more. Your wedding may not be that toxic to the environment, but it still has an environmental impact. If you want to go green and keep in mind sustainability of the environment you may want to make an extra effort to have a green wedding.

 

 

Dress
In the beginning it’s all about the dress, the princess, the fairytale, the one darn day that you get to dress up completely feminine and gorgeous. The dress of our childhood dreams can cost thousands of dollars and make us feel like a million, but it may not be doing any good for our planet. If you take into consideration that many wedding dresses are made in pretty horrendous working conditions in factories in the far East, and then add in the air miles and CO2 emissions that result in getting those dresses here, the environmental picture (not to mention the human cost) is much too high a price to pay.

A fabric of choice for many brides is a beautiful bridal silk either a 'real' or synthetic polyester silk. Polyester, which is the basis of most silk and satin wedding alternatives, is made from petrochemicals. It is non-biodegradable and involves an intensive use of energy and water in its production. True silk is a natural fabric and would appear to be an environmentally friendly one - however, the silk worm is often boiled alive or electrocuted in order to extract the silk from the cocoon. There are beautiful silks available now that are produced through what is known as wild-crafting. This involves the collection of the silk threads naturally without harming silkworms. There is also a product called Soy Silk, which is made from the fibres left over from producing tofu, available.

To find more about natural and organic fibres, visit TreeHugger online (link) or take a look at The Green Guide, also online (link). On these sites you will find information on textiles made from stinging nettles, corn, wood pulp, cloth from cork or even tree-bark. The latest environmentally friendly fabric is bamboo cloth made from the pulp of the bamboo tree.

Look for organic or non-bleached products as the bleaching process is quite toxic to the environment. The same goes for cotton fabric - look for organic or naturally dyed cottons. Other earth-friendly fabrics include hemp, organic cottons, and fabrics made from wood pulp and fibre.

Don’t forget to "shop with a conscience" by referring to Sweatshop Watch’s site (link), or to "discover the good, the bad and the ugly behind the products you buy" by searching the company name in a responsible shopper guide.

For the man in your life, and all the men in the wedding party, it's traditional to re-use tuxes as most men rent them for the wedding day. Try to confirm with the rental company what their cleaning practices are. Be sure to confirm that they use non-toxic and environmentally friendly cleaning solvents, or don’t be shy to ask for a discount if you have the garments cleaned at an eco-friendly establishment before returning them. You can find green Canadian dry cleaners on the Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention’s directory website (link).

Rings
Over the past few years, it has come to the public’s attention that mining for gold and gems is an unsustainable, destructive practice and that it releases poisonous chemicals into the environment. Blood diamonds and the social injustice perpetuated by the monopolistic mining industry have made consumers stand up and demand a halt to conflict mined jewels. To take a stand, look at greenKarat (link) for rings made from synthetic diamonds and recycled gold. Or, choose a stunning wooden ring from Canadian craftspeople David and Nicola Finch at Touch Wood Rings (link). These rings are outstandingly beautiful and individually handcrafted - no two are alike. Consider taking a collection of old gold, perhaps using pieces from both of your families, and having rings made from the combination of family treasures. This way you get to design an individual and meaningful piece for your wedding service and it becomes a true symbol of two people joining their families together and creating a new history.

Invitations
The obvious point here is to use recycled papers to create your wedding invitations. If you don’t need to mail out invites, create a wedding website and email your guests the site information along with their invitation. Websites like InviteSite.com (link) sells 'tree-free' invitations. Their specialty is eco or green wedding stationery. They create the invitations for you but you print them on your desktop printer. You can also create your own invitations using kits from craft stores. Or, make your own paper for your invites and take a calligraphy class so that you may handwrite the most inspiring message for your guests. Check out Greenpeace's website (link) for more information on environmentally friendly paper sources and explanations.

Flowers
Flowers for the bride to carry and flowers for decorating the ceremony and reception locations can be as complicated and as expensive as your budget can manage. If you must have tropical blooms or out-of-season flowers, you could cough up tonnes of cash and emissions to get them here. Plus, most flowers come from countries where pesticide usage isn't as regulated as it is in Canada. In Latin America, the labourers on flower farms are mostly women of reproductive age, and exposure to pesticides can be very harmful to them. Instead, source seasonal flowers from a local organic grower, who could probably even grow specific flowers to order for your big day. Choose local wildflowers that you can harvest by hand, or choose berries, twigs and leaves that have fallen naturally. For the décor, why not use natural and found objects? Twine grapevine with tulle and twinkle lights using energy efficient LCD lights. Look into battery operated lights for areas without power, or even solar lanterns to guide an outdoor evening wedding and reception. Candles are always beautiful for an evening event, but make sure your heritage venue will allow them - most do as long as they are protected by hurricane glass. Use reproduction lanterns that are solar powered for centrepieces, surrounded by wild flowers or autumn leaves in the fall months. Eco-Flora specializes in fair trade and organic flowers, even their cellophane wrapping is compostable. They are based in Toronto.

Ceremony
Location, location, location is what holds true for real estate, but it also applies to your wedding ceremony. A critical planning aspect of a green wedding is seeking out a ceremony location tied to nature, or to look for locations that are heritage based. Search out local historic sites, as these properties love to host weddings and receptions and the money will support and maintain heritage buildings further. If an outdoor ceremony is what you dream of, look for local conservation areas. Most of them have several locations in which you could have both the ceremony and reception. Check them out for some amazing photography potential as well - a natural setting provides backdrops you will never get in an urban or downtown area. Take a look at country estates, pioneer villages or local museums. Many of these have large 'green-spaces' areas that are perfect for holding an outdoor ceremony and a romantic tented reception. Seek out the unusual for your reception - how about a children’s museum, a First Nations village, a beach lighthouse or a historic train station? The options can be limitless when you think outside the box. Keep in mind you want to support locally owned and operated businesses or not-for-profit organizations in order  to sustain your community.

As the ceremony is a key part of the wedding, consider incorporating ancient traditions. Jumping the broom, hand-fastening, First Nations traditions, non-denominational services, unity candles, sand ceremonies or writing your own vows are all ways to get creative with your ceremony. It also allows you to incorporate anything and everything that you want to. Including kids, pets and entire families are possibilities. Perhaps you would like to incorporate family or historic traditions that celebrate differing cultures or beliefs? Modern ceremonies include meaningful religious traditions and work to combine these traditions and cultures; Native and Baptist, Buddhist and Jewish, Hindu and Catholic are combinations that allow for endless options for the service.

• Jumping the broom and other symbols that are important in African culture may be included as part of the wedding ceremony. The twelve symbols of life are wine, wheat, pepper, salt, bitter herbs, water, a pot and spoon, a broom, honey, a spear, a shield, and a copy of the Bible or the Koran. Each one represents a different aspect of the love and strength which unites two families.
• In Japan, purple is the colour of love and often a Japanese bride will wear a kimono embroidered with the Iris.
• In China red is worn to symbolize luck and fire-crackers are used to scare away evil spirits.
• In India, the couple hold in their hands grains of rice and oats and green leaves, signifying wealth, good health and happiness.
• It was in Italy that the wedding 'cake' became a tradition as the cake was to be broken over the bride’s head to ensure fertility.
• The traditional Irish bride often wears a blue wedding dress, rather than a white dress. This is because blue symbolized purity in ancient times. Lavender, a symbol of love, loyalty, devotion and luck is often mixed with the bride’s wedding flowers to help insure a happy and long-lasting union Another tradition is for the bride is to braid her hair for her wedding day. Braided hair is an ancient symbol of feminine power and luck. In Ireland horseshoes were always carried as a symbol of luck for the wedding day.
• First Nations' joining ceremonies will usually include a smudging ceremony to purify the participants.
• After the ceremony, the traditional throwing of confetti began as a tradition. Most confetti is not biodegradable and rice can choke birds and wildlife there are options. Choose birdseed, or bubbles you can also find biodegradable rice paper petals, or real use real petals collected from your garden. lavender buds are also a beautifully fragrant and lucky way to celebrate.

Reception
Going green is about supporting locally sustainable businesses. For outdoor functions, look at picnics with recyclable paper goods and use picnic tables instead of plastic chairs. You can also find biodegradable knives and forks made from corn or potato. Forget about the 100 bottles of water, opt for a filtered container and save some plastic from the landfill. Or treat yourself to a local caterer who specializes in organic food and wine. Go with raw food, vegan, vegetarian or use organically raised meats, local cheeses and breads. Another popular option these days is the '100 Mile Menu', which means working with a caterer who only purchases and prepares locally grown (within a 100 miles) food from meats to fruits and vegetables. Check out local Farmer’s Markets for seasonal produce and make sure that anything imported has a minimal environmental impact. These days even weddings cakes can be made without eggs and dairy so that they are vegan-friendly. Don’t forget the fair-trade coffees and teas. Choose natural hemp or linen tablecloths, and use washable cutlery and tableware. If there is leftover food, ask about donating it to a local shelter or food-bank.

At the celebration after dinner, take care of how you use the grid to power up for dancing. DJs with modern, computerized equipment will consume much less power than a live band. However, an acoustic band trumps all – there is no power required. Dance on the green amidst torchlight or solar powered lights. Create your own musical CDs and use a small CD player to conserve on energy. If you want candles on the tables for lighting and ambience, choose soy based candles instead of the cheaper paraffin, and you can even have the guest take them home as favours.

Favours
The greenest thing you can do is to forget about favours. But if you would like to stick to tradition, how about giving the guests a little package of seeds or a bulb to plant when they get home? Months ahead of the wedding, pick up some of the tiny terracotta pots and plant some seeds so that by the your wedding, the seeds will be in full bloom. Not only will you decorate the table with the little pots, but your guests have a favour to take home with them. Tree saplings make a great favour, or better yet, donate $1 or $2 to your favourite environmental group and let your guests know where their 'favour' is. Let your guests take home any soy-based candles you used for lighting. Another idea is to bake your own organic cookies, or hand-craft natural soaps, or place lavender buds in small hemp bags for sachets.

Gifts
With so many of us choosing to live together before marriage, much of the traditional bridal registry has gone by the wayside. However, things from tools to Tupperware can be registered for at places like Canadian Tire. Why not make a difference? Instead of wine glasses, get your friends and family to contribute to World Vision Canada (link), and donate water, goats or chickens to a village in need. Sponsor a child in a developing country before you have your own kids. Say goodbye to electric appliances and fondues that you will only use once and ask for gardening things to green up your new environment. Ask for a composter for the new yard, or a bike for getting to work on, or garden tools to harvest your own vegetables.

PlanetFriendly.net (link) lists companies such as Grass Roots Environmental Products (link), which stock a variety of green wedding gifts that can be enjoyed at home - such as beauty products, clothes and household items - and all of which are environmentally friendly and fair-trade.

Honeymoon
Finally, the honeymoon - a single long-haul flight could undo all of your green wedding work. But if you do want to go all the way, why not make a meaningful trip? Panda conservations in China and orphanage projects in Sri Lanka are options, or volunteer with Habitat for Humanity building houses. Air travel accounts for approximately 2% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that by 2050, emissions from global air travel will account for 5% of the total human climate change impact.

Air travel causes the release of more than 600 million tonnes of the world's major greenhouse gas CO2 into the atmosphere each year. Many travel companies now offer 'offset coupons' that can be purchased to help offset the carbon emissions generated by your travel. Why not stay in Canada and take an romantic trip to old Quebec City or to Montreal for a real taste of Europe at home? Or, take off for Banff and the West coast where alternative life styles and active outdoor activities thrive. All Canadian provinces offer a host of backpacking and camping adventures, or wonderfully romantic and cozy B&Bs in some of our country's most beautiful natural areas.

As Kermit says, "it ain't easy being green," but a little thought goes a long way and can substantially reduce your harmful environmental footprint and, as an added bonus, is a meaningful support of your local community.

Faith Coates is the Event Coordinator for London Regional Children's Museum, Museum of Ontario Archaeology & Fanshawe Pioneer Village.