Reduce Your Wedding’s Carbon Footprint (and Budget)
All that travel, all that food, all that electricity. Even modest weddings have a big impact. But you can help save the environment—and your dollars—by making conscious decisions to yield less waste at your event.
Some things have become common practice in our green state: Choose local food. Buy vintage rings and donated dresses. Register for charitable contributions. Purchase carbon offsets. Here, local vendors who serve up conscious wedding details. —Vanessa Nix Anthony
INVITES Go DIY using recycled or plantable paper and help from downtown Portland’s Independent Publishing Resource Center. “Couples handprint their invitations here all the time,” says Justin Hocking, the executive director at IPRC. “The letterpress is pretty low impact, and a portion of our electricity runs on solar power.”
FLOWERS “Locally-sourced [blooms] cut down on carbon emissions and are usually more cost-effective and long lasting,” says eco-florist Hilary Holmes of North Portland’s Emerald Petals (see more of her work on page 86). “I advise brides to try and stay seasonal with a variety of flowers, foliage, berries and moss.”
TRANSPORTATION Portland’s EcoShuttle uses carbon-friendly and biodegradable fuels to run their vehicles. Of course, pedicabs and bikes use only leg power!
FAVORS Encourage guests to reduce their own carbon footprint—give them a tree. With customized seals and nine kinds of trees to choose from, Tree in a Box favors, made in Portland, let your guests plant a tree in honor of your nuptials.
All that travel, all that food, all that electricity. Even modest weddings have a big impact. But you can help save the environment—and your dollars—by making conscious decisions to yield less waste at your event.
Some things have become common practice in our green state: Choose local food. Buy vintage rings and donated dresses. Register for charitable contributions. Purchase carbon offsets. Here, local vendors who serve up conscious wedding details.