06/04/2005

Billy Idol may have sung about it being a "nice day for a white wedding" but why not follow some tips to make it a nice day for a green wedding?

With the sound of wedding bells chiming this spring, the Environment Agency is encouraging happy couples to take environmentally friendly steps to minimise their impact and to make the big day a cheery one for the environment too.

With mother-in-laws and bank managers to keep happy, you could take some respite in the fact that at least your planning would please the environment.

Love is in the air, but how about keeping down the your CO2 emissions with the bride and groom arriving at the church in a horse drawn carriage rather than an over-sized Limo? You could make invitations out of recycled paper and have natural table decorations such as leaves and pinecones rather than plastic.

And if you source local seasonal flowers rather than imported flowers you'll help limit the travel required and also reduce the chemical intervention needed to keep them fresh. Encourage guests to use biodegradable confetti or blow bubbles instead. You could even consider having an alternative stag and hen do planting trees rather than pranks – you'll feel a lot better the morning after! And to top it off choose an eco-friendly holiday for a honeymoon.

Other tips to minimise the environmental impact of your wedding include:

preparations that don't cost the earth

• The ring – To save resources, choose an antique ring to reduce environmental impact.
• Hen/stag party - Contribute to BTCV or National Trust weekend.
• Wedding invites - Use recycled paper for invitations, order of service and place names at the venue. Use a single sheet for the invitation and email invitations where possible.
• Booking the venue - Choose a venue that uses green energy or have an outdoor wedding at a beach or botanical garden to cut down on use of electricity for light. Choose the venue for the wedding and reception in close proximity to each other to reduce travelling or use the same building if possible!
• Ordering the flowers - Use fair trade flowers or local seasonal flowers so they don't have to be imported and thereby reduce travel and chemical intervention. Re-use flowers by donating them to a hospice, hospital or nursing home.
• Wedding gifts – Use an ethical wedding gift list such as at Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) or other eco-friendly suppliers. Ethical gifts could include ceramics, linens, or glassware made from recycled bottles. Give good quality gifts that will have a long and useful life rather than end up as waste.

• Wedding dress - Choose suits and garments made from natural fibres, eg. hemp silk, cotton. Reuse your mum's wedding dress for something borrowed!
• Cosmetics - Make sure your make-up and skincare products are all from sustainable sources. Go organic!
• Transport – Bride and groom to travel to wedding by horse drawn carriage rather than by car. Have the wedding party walk or go by public transport to the ceremony and between venues.
• Confetti – Make sure confetti is biodegradable, such as dried flower petals, blow bubbles, throw bird seed, use bird-friendly rice (normal rice is bad for birds).
• Food and Drink - Source food locally for the wedding breakfast to support local economy and reduce food miles. Buy from a local farmers' market and serve local speciality dishes, e.g. local cheese, cider, real ale.
• Decorations - Limit plastic decorations by having natural table decorations such as leaves and pinecones. Use natural candles to provide light rather than electricity. Use shrubs or plants in pots for your decorations – they can be planted later.
• Wedding Favours - Give a packet of seeds with instructions to water and watch it grow!
• Entertainment - Hire a live acoustic band to keep electricity to a minimum. Support local musicians so the band doesn't have to travel far to reach the wedding.

• Eco Honeymoons - Choose a sustainable travel option, eg. train, boat. Off-set airplane travel by planting trees or giving to environmental projects. Consider a honeymoon where you can contribute to a project, e.g. measuring coral, recording turtle numbers or other 'working' holidays.
• A vow for the future - After sealing your wedding vows why not make a pledge to the environment for World Environment Day by visiting www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed