My big fat green wedding

Want to help save the planet, but also want your wedding to be memorable?  The following is a great article written by SUE LEONARD of the Irish Independent on how to make that special day environmentally friendly

We’re all worried these days about global warming. We want to protect our environment and we do our bit to recycle and reuse. When it comes to weddings, though, we tend to throw green ethics aside.

We don’t care if the flowers were flown in from Africa, provided they match the bridesmaids’ dresses; it doesn’t matter that the vintage Bentley guzzles petrol, if it looks right for the day. And we think nothing of flying to the sun for hen weekend or honeymoon.

In Britain, however, it’s no longer trendy to be lavish. The eco-friendly wedding is starting to spread. And that doesn’t mean the bride wears hessian and the guests eat lentils – it’s about avoiding carbon emissions and sourcing local flowers and food.

In Ireland, weddings are still pretty extravagant. But there are small signs that brides’ attitudes have started to change.

“Brides do not, in my experience, want to go ‘all green’,” says Julie Cobbe, commercial manager of the website www.simplyweddings.com. “But nowadays they are more aware of the environment, and try, even in a small way, to make their contribution. Many, for example, give seeds or bulbs to guests as wedding favours instead of chocolates.”

Some couples are eschewing traditional gifts. If they’re in their thirties when they’re getting married, they have all the saucepans and salad servers they need, and they may suggest that their guests donate to a charity. Oxfam have introduced a catalogue called Oxfam Unwrapped. There’s a bridal section from which guests buy in order to help Oxfam with its overseas work.

Oxfam is also selling wedding dresses. In Britain it’s doing a roaring trade, as brides want cut price for ethical reasons. And the idea is starting to catch on in Ireland as well.

“We have a year-on-year increase in our Occasions bridal store at the George’s Street shop,” says Maeve McNamara, Oxfam’s district retail manager. “These are brides who are short of money, who are practical, or want something a bit different.”

Many of the dresses are samples coming from weddings stores, but there is a second-hand element too.

“It’s a good way for people to give,” says Maeve. “We can get €350 for a dress; the dress is reused, and it’s a kick back against high street fashion. We’re currently looking for dresses; and we would, particularly like vintage dresses from the 1960s and ’70s. Those are selling really well.”

When Sarah Traynor

started

researching for her new book, How to Have a Champagne Wedding on a Buck’s Fizz Budget, she had budgeting on her mind. Very soon, it became evident that if you think ethical, you can often save money as well. So she includes innumerable tips for the bride who wants to go green.

“It is a great way to save money, even if you are not 100% behind the green movement,” she says.

When Sarah married back in 2004, she made every effort to avoid food waste.

“I’ve been a waitress for loads of weddings so I’m aware of the amount of food that gets thrown away,” she says. “We asked people to say if they wanted the meat or fish option when they RSVP’d; that saves money and food.”

It’s a good idea, too, to use the cake as a dessert.

“That saves waste,” says Sarah. “Or you can get a Sheridans’ cake [from Sheridans Cheesemongers in Dublin and Galway] made from different hard and soft cheeses. It’s layered, like a traditional cake, and decorated with grapes. It’s beautiful and can be used as the cheese course.”

Invitees to the wedding of Natasha and Bryan Mann last June were surprised to see Wellington boots listed under the dress code. But had it rained, guests would have needed them to walk through the woods from the field where they parked their cars to the ruined 12th century church in Co Kildare. “Furness Church in Johnstown is at the back of the house owned by Patrick and Louise Guinness,” Natasha explains. “It has no roof, and it’s in the middle of the woods.”

The couple decided to marry there because they love the outdoors, and hated the idea of a conventional church wedding and hotel reception. “We’re not particularly religious, and swearing to love someone for the rest of your life to someone you don’t believe in didn’t feel right,” Natasha says.

“We got married, the day before, in a registry office. We then had a humanist service. It was more empowering. We had poetry like Love is a Temporary Madness from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. We wrote the vows ourselves and had a ring exchange.”

Natasha’s brother Oliver, then 15, sang as Natasha entered the church, to the guitar playing of his friend Celeste Guinness. “There was no more music, but it was 7pm and the birds were in full song. We could not have paid for better. It was perfect.”

The church didn’t need decoration, and the marquee, attached to the courtyard, was decorated with mayflower plucked from bushes, and flowers gathered from the garden.

“We bought in just a few flowers for some centrepieces,” says Natasha. “My father, who lives in the wing of Furness House, is a caterer.

“He made these amazing canapés, and we ate those with champagne for two or three hours. Then we had a barbecue with sausages. We had lots of bonfires and some heaters, and everyone stayed outside.”

Natasha opted for an evening dress, rather than traditional bridal garb. And at €650, it was a much cheaper option. She’s currently having the turquoise and cream dress altered to wear again.

There were no wedding cars; Natasha and Bryan walked, ahead of their guests, back through the woods to the marquee. And everyone stayed overnight in tents in the fields, negating the need for hotels and B&Bs.

The couple made sure that they had the wedding they really wanted, and because they are both environmentally aware, it was certainly an ethical one.

“That matters to us,” says Natasha. “Bryan is a tree surgeon. We bothcare about the environment. And we were saving money.

“That mattered terribly, because we did not wantto start married life indebt.

“We wanted to have as many friends as possible. We had 200, and that’s why we decided against a sit-down meal.

“So many friends offered to help.

“One, a photographer, offered to do the photos; another, a graphic designer, designed the invitations.”

The couple haven’t yet had a honeymoon. They’d planned one to away at Christmas, but by then Natasha was eight months pregnant with her daughter Molly.

“I was three months pregnant at the wedding. Not being able to drink means I can remember it all, every minute,” she says. “And it was really, really amazing.”

Top tips for an ethical wedding

CARS

If you want to avoid carbon emissions, have your reception close to the church. Then you can walk. You’ll save a fortune on cars, too. (A standard price for a wedding car is €500.) If this isn’t possible hire buses to take guests to the reception.

DRESS

Let your dress live again. Donate it to Oxfam; not only will you help another bride, the money will be passed on to those in need.

FAVOURS

Gather acorns and plant them individually for guests so they can plant their own tree. Or give a bar of fair-trade chocolate. One bride sourced shiny black stones, and wrote each guest’s name on them in silver. These doubled as place settings and favours. If you want to donate to charity instead of giving favours, give guests a token – such as a paw pin from an animal charity – rather than just a card telling them you have donated.

FLOWERS

Order locally grown seasonal flowers for your wedding. The less transport, the less carbon miles. And look for flowers grown without pesticides. Use potted plants and trees instead, or you could grow your own flowers.

After the wedding, aska friend to take displaysor bouquets to a nursing home for someone else to enjoy.

FOOD

Choose locally grown seasonal produce to help negate artificial heating in glasshouses. Avoid waste by requesting that guest choose their main course in advance.

HONEYMOON

Honeymoon in Ireland. There are still wonderfully unspoilt places for a romantic getaway.

And forsaking the stress of flying will be good for your nerves as well as the environment.

INVITATIONS

Use recycled paper. Or use none, by emailing invitations.

PHOTOS

To save the paper and printing of a wedding album, go for a ‘disc only’ option.

(Available from www.roscphotography.com.) You’ll get 120 pictures for €750, and you only print the ones you really love.

RINGS

Buy an antique ring or wooden wedding rings.

via: www.independent.ie