How green is your wedding?

My mother sent me this article from the National Geographic. I especially loved how she used the subject as a play on a John Ford's movie of sentimental human drama.

Before we discuss how Green is my wedding I’d like to complain about the article in general.

“Once regarded as barefoot-hippie fests, *earth-friendly weddings are finally coming into their own. "Many couples are looking for ways to incorporate their values and consciousness into their big event," says Corina Beczner, founder of Vibrant Events, an eco event-planning company in San Francisco. But there are a lot of shades of green, she adds. "It's really up to the couple how far they want to go, based on what's most important to them."

So this means weddings in general aren’t Earth friendly? I’m not saying tin cans and shoes on cars, throwing rice, killing flowers (for sport), eating frosting by the fistful and getting your groove on are environmentally minded, but I don’t think they’ve been undermining mother earth. Also I always find statements such as "… based on what's most important to them" abrasive and challenging. Perhaps that says more about me than the speaker.

Alright on to the critique

The Bling Thing. I did well here using Great Grandmothers wedding set. Even if mining practices of the early 1900’s were atrocious and probably involved child labor… I believe we can say it’s not a conflict diamond and I’m recycling.

Save-the-date…. Save the world?
If you haven’t gotten your save the date, you probably aren’t invited. R set up a website for RSVP’s and directions…. Saving trees. But we’ll probably blow that by sending out actual invitations on top of the save the dates.

Location, location, location.
The wedding IS in a backyard that’s green right? No center pieces, local cooks and bartender (I rented my oldest friend from the local swank Bistro) for the wedding.
The reception is all rental (reuse) and we’re too cheep to pay for buffet (and my family can EAT) so there will be no waste there. But it will not be *ORGANIC. Yes we are having 2 venues but that will cut down on travel “come to what you are closest to”. Okay, we didn’t actually plan it that way to save the environment.

So how did I do?
Well, I'm sure it will leave a "footprint" of some kind. Even if it's just the mess drunken jubilant guests make of the backyard.

*Grrr. I’m actually getting tired of the organic thing. How about we just go back to “simple and healthful and close to nature”. Grow the food, cook the food eat the food. When did that start meaning “organic” only. Suddenly we have to watch out for ordinary farmers and ranchers or they’ll get us?