It's a great day for a green wedding

Hello long lost readers -- or maybe just hello out there! 

My fiance, T-bird (for the sake of anonymity), and I are currently planning our wedding. First, YAY! we're going public with this commitment, baby! woo hoo! Let's IPO this company! There is a wealth of information out there on the range of weddings, handfasting, and all that. With a little effort, you can even find information on having a wedding that's a bit more minimalist while still having a traditional feel of formality and ceremony that I and T-bird crave. 

While there are a lot of sites out there, we tend to think that we are just a few years early for having the tools necessary for a wedding that encompasses our environmental beliefs while not limiting us to the personal equivalent of a web meeting. As a result, some days I feel like I am so close to finding all the answers, and some days I feel like there is no information out there for green weddings whatsoever. My mood fluctuates a lot, too, on this matter. I don't want that to come through though -- I don't want my next few posts to be negative -- but instead, hopeful, and helpful. I want them to join an increasing chorus of couples that want to celebrate their union with friends and family in a somewhat traditional way, but don't want to go way glitzy or way crunchy. 

So, for the next few posts, I'm going to report on my findings for putting together an event that suits the tastes of a couple that is trying to be environmentally and socially responsible. Oh, I should list our priorities for the event, so you know, and so that I remember when I start to get too into details and lose the magic of the event. 

0) the beginning of the marriage part of our relationship - this is the point of the ceremony, so it should be, at least in an ancillary way, kept in mind. :)

1) the food -- this should be really, really tasty. 

2) the wine -- we fell in love over wine -- and we were sober for it! 

3) the guests -- that's right, you come in third -- BUT! you benefit significantly from 1 and 2, and possibly 0, depending on your perspective. Also - we went back and forth on you -- it was not a given that we'd have a bunch of people around -- when really we could just say we are committed (we have) and it would be done. This is bigger though - this is about seeing our guests, inviting them to celebrate with us and show their support for our union. Also, there aren't many happy times to gather friends and family - I'd be damned if I voluntarily missed one. I'm just trying to say that we take your participation very seriously and we think about it a lot. 

4) the site - we both wanted something representing the home we love, Colorado, and the life we love and strive for, of simplicity and grace. 

Okay, so there is the baseline - -that's what we have discussed and want for the wedding. After that it gets complicated - but everything comes back to it. Over the next few months, I hope I can pop in with success stories of finding responsible items and events for the wedding, and I hope some of them can lend to the ongoing green shift in American ceremony and events.  

 

Talk to you soon :)