Green Weddings: Great Ways to Start a Marriage
By Lynda DeWitt

Not so very long ago, a green wedding would have been one in which the bridesmaids wore dresses of jade or sage, and moms would be in a complementary shade, perhaps mint or forest. No more. Green, as we know, is not as much a color as a movement, a bandwagon of sorts that nearly everyone—moved by the real threats of pesticide pollution, deforestation, and global warming—is piling on ... even those lavish party planners: brides, grooms, and their many handlers.

Darn good thing because the wedding industry is huge. Approximately 2.1 million couples tie the knot annually in the U.S., and according to the Association for Wedding Professionals, these couples spend approximately $86 billion, not including the honeymoon and gifts! So, how is this big expensive ship turning itself “green”? The answer is, in a thousand ways. 
     
Like in not handing out favors, those take-home parting gifts that can add to our consumption, emissions, and waste.
 
“We  didn’t want to create a lot of waste by handing out favors,” said Lara Rosa, ANS’s School Programs Coordinator, who married last fall, “so instead we gave money to a charity that means a lot to us. We let the guests know that in lieu of favors, we were donating to a breast cancer society in honor of my husband’s mom, Gladys Rosa.”
    
Like having wedding guests RSVP online rather than by returning those little cards in those little envelopes. (See image at left)
 
That’s what Cheryl Mackay and Corey Norton did for their wedding last fall. Not only did they save money on printing costs, they also reduced paper waste. “Some people may be afraid to do things differently or to not follow what might be considered proper etiquette,” said Mackay. “But asking our guests to RSVP online didn’t raise one eyebrow.”

Another one of the myriad ways couples are going green is by renting buses that run on natural gas if they need to shuttle guests from hotel to wedding hall. Another is to go vegetarian.
 
“We’re doing more vegetarian weddings than ever—and not because couples are vegetarian,” said Katie Martin, a wedding planner serving the greater D.C. area. She has seen a tremendous growth in couples seeking green products and services for their big day. People know that eating lower down on the food chain is more sustainable than eating red meat, Martin said, so many couples  are serving fish, fruits, and vegetables.
 
Eric Michael, owner of Occasions Caterers in Washington, D.C., also sees the green market grow­—and he's banking on it. His company purchases sustainable seafood and local organic foods whenever possible, and in six months, he expects to have a "full organic line, from hors d'oeuvres to dessert."

Floral designer Suzan Stotlemyer found similar interest in organic and unusual decorations. Stotlemyer has an office in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and is able to get “all kinds of organic flowers and unusual things, such as pods, vines, berries, and herbs." Couples who want to go organic have to be more flexible, she adds, and go with what's blooming. 
 
“I'm seeing couples ordering fewer fresh cut flowers and more potted plants, herbs, and spices to decorate,” added planner Martin, who includes in her services the safe delivery of leftover food to food kitchens and flowers to nursing homes.

Julie Gurnee, ANS’s naturalist at Rust Sanctuary in Virginia, and her husband, Jon Hunt, used a local organic source, Country Casuals, for all of the table decorations and other greenery. They married in the fall, so decorated with organic pumpkins and gave away tulip bulbs to guests. “The caterer also used organic greens and winter squash from Country Casuals,” said Gurnee, whose wedding took place in her parents’ Great Falls, Virginia, backyard. (See photo at right; © Dick Hunsche)

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“I consider all weddings here at Rust ‘green’ weddings,” said Jackie Moe, ANS rental director at our Leesburg Sanctuary.  That’s because all of the rental fees, after expenses, go toward our environmental education and conservation programs.
 
“Part of the rental cost, a full $1,000, is tax-deductible,” adds Rebecca Robinson, ANS rental director at Woodend Sanctuary, ANS’s headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. “That the rental fee goes toward a worthy cause surprises and pleases many people.”
 
It certainly was a factor when Jessica Feingold, daughter of the well-known U.S. senator, and Jeff Lieberson, recently scheduled their late summer wedding at Woodend.
 
“We want to go as green as possible,” said Feingold. The wedding, still in the early planning stages, will include locally grown hydrangeas and potted plants for decorations. Their chuppa, or Jewish marriage canopy, will be made of sticks and branches that will later be turned to mulch. And like ANS’s Rosa, Feingold plans to donate to multiple charities in lieu of handing out favors to guests.
     
“About 10 percent of my clients are going green,” said Aimee Dominick, another local event planner, “and I expect that percentage to increase as clients and vendors get educated.” But, she adds, going green usually means spending more money.

“Buying food that is organic and from sustainable sources will cost a premium,” she said. However, you can help offset a higher food bill by doing away with some printing, favors for guests, and using simpler decorations, such as jars of local wildflowers on tables rather than cut flowers from Holland in new vases. Dominick also tries to stick with local goods as much as possible.
 
“This includes sourcing local wine,” said Dominick. “Virginia has a ton of vineyards. But staying organic is important, too. While the distillation process usually kills any pesticide residues for the wine consumer, it is still important to protect land and workers from exposure to chemicals.”

Another wrinkle on the green horizon is weighing the pros and cons of dishwashing (water waste) vs. the use of biodegradable flatware and dishware. “While this is still up in the air,” said Dominick, “there are some great options now for biodegradable disposable products.” 
 
Someone else on the cutting edge of green weddings is Evan Reitmeyer, president of MyDeejay.com, Inc., who claims to run the nation’s first 100% carbon-neutral disc jockey company. (See photo at left)
   
“We offset 100% of our electricity use and our carbon emissions though the Vermont-based NativeEnergy, which invests in wind energy and methane reclamation projects,” said Reitmeyer. “All of our printing is done on 100% post-consumer stock, and all of our music is stored on laptops. No more plastic CDs.” All of these “green” efforts, Reitmeyer adds, “reinforce our commitment to the environment, and my hope is that others in the wedding industry will follow suit.”

It’s true that weddings reflect the kind of people we are, and as our concerns for the environment grow, we will eat, shop, wash, work—and wed—in increasingly eco-conscious ways.
   
Perhaps it would be better for the planet if bride and groom took mass transit to the courthouse, she in a pre-worn hemp dress, he in a suit that was not dry cleaned, but rather sprayed lightly with vinegar and water and hung outside to dry. The happy couple would pluck some street flowers along the way and have a witness videotape the whole affair, uploading it later on youtube.com, so friends and relatives could raise a glass (of organic wine) and share the magic from their own clustered homes without any VMTs (vehicle miles traveled). But that doesn’t sound like much fun. And weddings, if nothing else, should be a roaring good time.
   
Thankfully, good times come in a thousand shades of green.

Lynda DeWitt is editor of the Audubon Naturalist News. Her last cover story "Rock Creek BioBlitz" appeared in the August/September 2007 issue.