Going Green, Step I: The Venue

It's our wedding day, and we want it to reflect US in every way. It's how it should be, right? Well, that means that among other things, it'll be as "green" as we can make it! We're already very environmentally-conscious in our everyday lives--we recycle everything we can, use reusable bags to grocery-shop, rent zipcars, turn off appliances, etc. We won't be able to make every aspect of the wedding green, but we'll do what we can and what makes sense.

Even before the engagement, we knew we wanted to have our ceremony and reception at the same location. Both weddings I've been to were all at one location and it was really convenient not to have to drive from one venue to the other. It helps that neither of us want to get married in a church. BUT, it's also better for the environment because with nobody traveling between venues, we'll cut down on carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

Our location is right next to a hotel so Steve and I (and our wedding party) will stay there the night before the wedding. This also serves a dual purpose: 1) Since we're having an afternoon wedding, we'll be able to wake up and get ready first thing, allowing us more time for photos. And 2) we won't need a limo. Everything will be in the same place, so we won't need to transport the wedding party anywhere. We'll all just walk! Steve and I think we'll also stay at the hotel the night of the wedding, so we can relax and head to our honeymoon the next morning.

It may seem like a little thing to make our wedding green, but it really makes a difference. And, like I said, we want this wedding to have US written all over it. We care about the environment, so it only makes sense that our wedding reflect that, too.

Other things to "green-ify": save-the-dates/invites, centerpieces, place-cards, favors...

I better get started reading some green wedding blogs!