|
 Green
Is the New White
Saving
the environment one wedding at a time
By
Jayne Keedle
Some
little girls grow up dreaming of a white wedding. Annmarie
Gianni, 30, wanted hers to be green. She and husband, Kevin,
work together as personal trainers and nutritionists in Danbury,
Conn. Kevin adheres to a raw food diet, and the couple’s monthly
bills include paying for carbon credits to offset their global
warming footprint. In short, they recycle, reuse and reduce
their environmental impact in every way possible. So it was
natural for them to want a wedding that reflected their lifestyle.
“I’ve
been to so many weddings that are over the top,” says Gianni.
“We wanted it to be how we live our everyday life. The food
was the biggest thing. We wanted all organic: That’s how we
eat, that’s how we live. My husband is pretty much all raw
[food], so that was a challenge.”
There was one other hitch, too. “My parents were paying for
the wedding, so they had their say and wanted something more
traditional,” says Gianni, who comes from a large Italian
family. “My dad was like, ‘What do you mean [there’s] not
a pasta station?’”
The wedding was a compromise that didn’t force anyone to sacrifice
their ideals. The couple relented on their “no red meat” rule
to include a carving station. Creative salads of locally grown
organic beets and leafy greens appealed to everyone. Instead
of a traditional wedding cake, they had fruit-filled pies
with raw almond and date crusts—everyone loves pie.
Like many couples looking to have a green wedding, the Giannis
tied the knot outdoors. To reduce vehicle use, they held the
ceremony and reception in the same place. The groom wore a
linen suit. The bride wore an organic cotton dress. “I tried
on the big poof for my mom,” Gianni says, “but my dress wasn’t
even a typical wedding dress. It was off-white and just perfect.”
The Giannis’ wedding might not have been typical, but it wasn’t
as unusual as it sounds. In these environmentally conscious
times, green weddings are becoming quite trendy. At its core,
says Emily Anderson, author of Eco-Chic Weddings, a
green wedding “is about simplifying and paring down and not
going crazy. It’s about conserving resources, the environment,
and your time.”
A former event planner for Martha Stewart, Anderson wrote
her book in reaction to what she saw as a trend toward ever
larger, showier and more elaborate weddings. Anderson’s own
wedding was a simple, elegant and organic affair. Her aim
in writing the book was to let people know they could make
similar choices. “I’m not a green expert. I’m the average
bride,” says Anderson. “If I can do it, you can do it.”
Carol Byer-Alcorace, executive chef for New Morning Natural
and Organic in Woodbury, Conn., received her first of many
requests for a green wedding about four years ago. Organic
and all-natural food is one of the main features of a green
wedding. In most cases, that means buying local produce. Byer-Alcorace
buys from local organic farms, which means her catering menus
are seasonal. With enough advance notice, she says, local
farmers will also plant additional crops such as asparagus
or garlic for her, and a hydroponic farm in Hamden helps keep
her in leafy greens and edible flowers year round. Even so,
the Northeast growing season requires some creative catering.
Byer-Alcorace uses local bakers to provide natural and organic
pies, pastries and breads. She can also direct people to organic
wine producers. All of that, however, comes at a price. “One
of the biggest challenges is the cost,” says Byer- Alcorace,
“because the product line has a tendency to cost more.”
An organic menu can add 10 percent to the price of the wedding.
Using recycled and compostable plates, flatware and napkins
is also more expensive—and a bit risky. “There are probably
lots of stories about forks that melted and spoons that, when
dipped in the soup, became a straight line,” says Byer-Alcorace,
who tests all the products she uses ahead of time.
Finding a location is another big challenge. The natural choice
for many people is to hold the wedding outdoors, which cuts
down on heating and air conditioning needs, but can be a logistical
nightmare. Kate Harrison, author of The Green Bride Guide,
lives in New Haven but chose to have her wedding in the Hudson
River Valley to minimize travel for family members coming
in from Philadelphia. She and her husband, Barry Muchnick,
didn’t want to truck in food or flowers either.
“It
was very important to choose a place that had access to [a]
garden and organic flowers,” says Harrison. “The biggest thing
we had to compromise on was the number of guests.” The couple
settled on 150 guests and provided buses to cut down their
carbon footprint. They tried to find biodiesel buses, but
ultimately gave up on the idea.
Many couples suggest that guests buy carbon credits, which
support low carbon energy projects, instead of gifts. (There’s
a Web site that helps green wedding planners do that at terrapass.com.)
The Giannis offset their wedding’s carbon footprint by donating
money they would have spent on party favors to the Fruit Tree
Planting Foundation (ftpf.org), which plants fruit trees in
needy communities.
Organic flowers are pretty hard to come by. “In 2003, when
I would ask a florist about organic flowers, they would look
at me as if I was from outer space,” says Anderson. Although
organic flowers are more available now, most cut flowers are
imported, typically from South America where pesticides and
unfair labor conditions are commonplace. Because flowers are
particularly perishable, the floral industry also relies heavily
on preservatives. Some couples skip the cut flowers and opt
for potted plants that guests can take home. Another way to
solve the problem is to hold the wedding outdoors when gardens
are in bloom.
For brides, it’s all about the dress. The typical bridal gown,
however, is hardly environmentally friendly, with yards of
silk, satin, synthetic fabrics, plastic beads and sequins.
Some designers make wedding dresses in organic cotton or hemp,
but the selection remains comparatively limited. “It’s difficult
to find [green] wedding gowns that are actually what the typical
bride would like to wear, so the wedding dress is one of the
challenging aspects,” says Anderson.
Anderson opted for a traditional gown, but donated it to a
charity after the wedding. Harrison bought a damaged gown
and had it tailored to suit her tastes. After the wedding,
she donated it to Brides Against Breast Cancer. She also made
sure all her bridesmaids had dresses they would want to wear
again. For the groom, a linen suit or a rented tuxedo is a
good solution. Renting from a store that uses a green dry
cleaning service is even better.
Wedding invitations are great tree killers, but Emily Post,
no doubt, frowns on wedding e-vites. Luckily, there are a
wide variety of elegant invitations printed on recycled paper
that use organic or soy ink. Some consist of one sheet of
paper, which folds to become an envelope and includes a tear-off
RSVP. Directing guests to the Internet for directions or to
RSVP is another way to cut down on paper, and most people
find their friends aren’t offended by an electronic invitation
to a bachelor party or bridal shower. “If the only thing you
do is choose recyclable paper, that’s fantastic,” says Anderson.
If you’re wondering what to get for the green couple who has
everything, here’s a hint: Make a donation. Like many couples
who opt for a green wedding, Harrison and her husband suggested
that guests make charitable donations in lieu of gifts. Others
find a gift registry that supports a cause. “The I Do Foundation
allows you to use a regular registry with Amazon and 10 percent
goes to the charity of your choice,” says Harrison.
Honeymoon registries are also quite popular, and even those
can be green. Some couples combine travel with volunteer work.
Others focus on destinations that support the environment
in some way, such as staying at a safari park that supports
conservation efforts or a beach resort that supports reef
protection.
“For
me, it’s not about having a green-themed wedding,” says Anderson.
“It’s about applying your beliefs to every aspect of your
life.”
Jayne
Keedle is a freelance writer who first published this story
in the New Haven (Conn.) Advocate.
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