Green Wedding

A green wedding is an eco-friendly and conscious consumption of resources that would otherwise be used in a traditional wedding.^[2] Green wedding is a new lifestyle. Compared with the extravagance and waste of traditional weddings, today's green weddings are more economical and environmentally friendly. This can include recycling waste, choosing a sustainable venue, and even neglecting to participate in traditional practices that could be considered unsustainable, such as buying unethical source rings.^[3] Many people who live sustainably believe it is necessary to continue the lifestyle by making sure their weddings are also sustainable. Others choose green weddings to raise awareness about how sustainability is important in daily activities and celebrations. The largest factor that contributes to the growing number of green weddings is the impact wedding celebrations can have on the environment. Many argue that without being conscious of practices and items used, the average wedding can generate a large amount of waste.^[4]

^{One key concept for keeping a wedding eco-friendly is to ensure that the items being used will not quickly become waste, mainly one-time disposable items such as hosiery, plates, cups, ornaments, or wedding favors. Many green weddings have instead opted for borrowed or recycled items. Another option chosen is to rent items needed for the wedding instead of buying all new equipment/decorations to control the amount of waste that could be created.[5] In planning a green wedding, the main basis is to prevent or reduce all harmful impacts, either directly or indirectly, on the environment. The traditional wedding produces an average 400 lbs of garbage and 63 tons of CO2.[6] Together, American weddings are equivalent to 8.3 million cars driving on the road for a year. This can include flowers, paper (invitations), textiles (dress, suits), wedding favors, gas emissions (transportation), and everything else that can occur from the wedding.[7]}

^{Another important factor of a green wedding is the picking of flowers. Flowers can add a huge impact on the environment due to fertilizers used and gas emissions that are released to transport the flowers. Many green wedding planners opt to have their flowers supplied by organic florist or even to grow their own. Another common practice is to consider what to do with the flowers after the wedding. Some weddings have had flowers that are replanted after the big day to minimize waste and allow the flowers to continue to grow afterward.[8] Some people decorate wedding halls with potted plants without picking flowers. If they give the plant to the guests as a gift, they can grow flowers while thinking about the bride and groom.[9]}