As you prepare for your wedding, you will be faced with a multitude of choices about everything from which kind of paper to use for your invitations to what type of food you want served at your reception. Each decision brings with it the opportunity to make an environmentally-informed choice and to minimize your impact on the environment. To help you get started, here is a list of the most important things to keep in mind as you proceed with your eco-friendly wedding. Depending on your budget or wedding location, it may be difficult to achieve sustainable perfection. Always remember that any steps you take to make your wedding less energy and resource intensive will have a positive impact on the environment. Good luck!

1. Minimize Travel Emissions
Global warming emissions, air pollution, surface run-off from roads, and land lost to roads all combine to make driving our cars the single most destructive thing that we do*. And flying is even worse! Per mile, air travel emits twice as many emissions as an automobile would. Given these sobering facts, the most important decisions you can make about your wedding relate to transportation.

• Wedding Location: Choose a beautiful outdoor location that is close to your guests and is able to accommodate both the ceremony and the reception. This will reduce travel costs, emissions, and the need for decoration.
  State Park Weddings: www.parks.ca.gov
• Carpooling: Encourage guests to carpool or charter a bus to take them to and from the ceremony and reception.
• Fuel-Efficient Cars: Instead of renting a limousine to whisk you away after the event, consider renting a hybrid or just using your own fuel-efficient vehicle. Ask your out-of-town-guests to rent environmentally friendly vehicles at the airport.
  EV Rental Cars: www.evrental.com
• Hotels: Find accommodations that strive to lower their environmental impact by conserving resources, water, and energy.
  Best Green Hotels: www.bestgreenhotels.com
  CA Green Lodging: www.ciwmb.ca.gov
  Green Hotels Association: www.greenhotels.com
• Ecotourism: To minimize your own travel-related emissions, consider taking a local trip by car, camping instead of staying in hotels, or visiting an eco lodge that supports the local economy and preserves the natural environment.
  Travel Agent: www.betterworldclub.com
  National Parks: www.nps.gov
  Responsible Travel: www.responsibletravel.com
  Eco Lodges: ecoclub.com
  Ecotourism Society: www.ecotourism.org
• Carbon Offsets: Inexpensively offset the carbon emissions caused by your guests’ travels, your honeymoon, and the electricity you use during your event.
  Tree Planting: www.treesftf.org
  Comprehensive Carbon Offsets: www.carbonfund.org
   

• Eat Lower on the Food Chain: Meat production uses many times the resources and energy as growing vegetables. Consider reducing the emphasis on meat in your reception spread. Also, be sure that any seafood you buy is not from threatened or over-fished populations.
  Pasture-Fed Meat: www.eatwild.com
  Monterey Seafood Guide: www.mbayaq.org
• Buy Organic/Fair Trade: Organic production eliminates destructive farming and animal husbandry practices and reduces pollution and soil erosion. Fair Trade-certified products (coffee, tea, chocolate, bananas) ensure a decent living for the farmers in the developing world who grow the product.
  Organic Links: www.allorganiclinks.com
• Choose Seasonal/Local Produce: Much of the negative environmental impact of food results from its transport across the country. Support local farmers by buying produce that is in season in your area.
  Local Harvest: www.localharvest.org

• Stationery: Design an attractive yet inexpensive save-the-date card and send it as a PDF via email. Also, make your invitation and response card double-sided and dispense with unnecessary paper and envelopes.
• Photography: Digital photography has evolved to the point where it matches conventional photography in quality. Yet you can take and unlimited number of photos and review all of them without an ounce of processing chemicals or film.
• Attire: Instead of buying dresses and suits for the wedding party, ask your friends to wear similar attire and buy them matching scarves or ties.
• Registry: If you’re ready to cut yourself free of the pleasures of consumption, consider having a gift-free wedding or asking guests to donate to charitable organizations. If you can’t do without all those wonderful gifts, have guests order presents at a local store so you can avoid shipping or sign up at an eco registry.
  I Do Foundation: www.idofoundation.org
  Branch Home: www.branchhome.com
  Eco Express: www.ecoexpress.com
  Gaiam: www.gaiam.com
  Green Culture: www.greenculture.com
  Green Feet: www.greenfeet.com
  Greener Lifestyles: www.greenerlifestyles.com
  Green Nest: www.greennest.com
  3R Living: www.3rliving.com
  Re:modern: www.re-modern.com
  Viva Terra: www.vivaterra.com
  Vivavi: www.vivavi.com
   

• Tableware: Instead of disposable place settings, ask for metal utensils, real plates and glasses, and cloth napkins and tablecloths.
• Recycling/Composting: Work with your caterer to set up composting and recycling receptacles at the reception and ask you guests to sort their trash.
• Donate/Reuse: When all the fun is over, have the caterer take extra food to a homeless shelter and ask friends to take flowers and other decorations to a senior center or their own homes.
  Food Donations: www.foodrunners.org

• Ring: Mining diamonds and precious metals causes tremendous environmental degradation and in some cases promotes political conflict. Choose heirloom or recycled jewelry or make sure your diamond is conflict-free.
  Green Karat: www.greenkarat.com
  No Dirty Gold Campaign: www.nodirtygold.org
  Diamonds: www.phrusa.org
• Stationery: Make sure all your stationary is made from recycled or tree-free paper and printed with soy-based inks.
  Paper: www.ecolivingcenter.com
• Attire: Choose a vintage dress or one made from hemp or silk and have it altered after the wedding so you can wear it again. For the guy, consider renting a tuxedo or buying a nice suit that will serve many uses after the wedding.
  Pre-Owned Dresses: www.preownedweddingdresses.com
  Donate: www.idofoundation.org
  Brides Against Cancer: www.weddingbasics.com
• Favors: Instead of useless trinkets, make your favors useful or memorable items or consider donating to a charity on behalf of your guests or present them with a seedling to plant when they go home.
  Evergreen Memories: www.evergreenmemories.ca
  Heavenly Herbs: www.lavendergreen.com
  Personalized Products: www.signaturemarketing.com
  Charitable Donation: www.idofoundation.org
• Flowers: Most flowers are imported from South America and sprayed with numerous pesticides (some of which are banned in the US due to their toxicity). Make sure your florist is using organic, and/or local flowers and consider potted or silk plants that can be used again and taken home by guests.
  Organic Bouquet: www.organicbouquet.com
  Local Flowers: www.localharvest.org
• Music: A live band will eliminate the need for electricity and musicians from a local school or orchestra may save you money as well.