The Eco-Friendly Wedding

Though you've probably already chosen your wedding colors, and I suspect your dress will be white, there's one more color you may want to consider when planning your wedding: green. Sustainability, conservation, and general awareness of environmental issues are all the rage these days, even in the world of event planning, where waste is often seen as the inevitable result of celebratory excess. Of course, careful planning can help you avoid that waste, and a little bit of work can make your wedding a lot greener.

From conflict-free diamonds to bamboo fiber dresses to invitations printed on recycled paper, there are plenty of ways to green-ify every aspect of your wedding, but I'm (for obvious reasons!) going to talk most about the flowers. If you're curious about other actions you can take to make your wedding more sustainable, I recommend doing some research in your local bookstore or library, or at green-minded blogs like Treehugger.com, which has a fantastic weddings guide.

The easiest of eco-friendly actions is one you may already be unknowingly planning on: using VeriFlora™ certified flowers. Why do I think you're already planning on it? Because all of the tulips (and many of the other flowers) that Flowerbud sells are VeriFlora certified. This means that they were grown in keeping with a strict set of standards that govern not just pesticide use but also worker wages and conditions, protection of local ecosystems, energy efficiency and waste management.

In addition to using VeriFlora certified flowers, you may want to consider minimizing the number of flowers you use by re-using the same flowers for different parts of the ceremony. Just ask a few of your wedding attendants or other helpers to transport bouquets from the ceremony to the reception hall. This way, you won't have to make as many arrangements, and you'll save money and time, too.

Another easy way to green your wedding is to substitute flowers for manufactured goods wherever possible. Use potted plants (like the potted orchids we're about to start offering in bulk) for table decorations and favors, send out invitations on paper embedded with wildflower seeds, along with instructions telling guests to plant the invitation in their yard or garden, and climb into the (hybrid, of course!) limo under a shower of fragrant rose petals, instead of confetti or rice.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions, about this newsletter or just about wedding flowers in general. In addition to the resources mentioned above, you might also want to browse our Wedding Newsletter Archive. If that doesn't help, just give me a call. I'm here all day Monday – Friday, and I'm always happy to hear from brides or grooms-to-be!

Best Wishes,

Andrea Ashmore
andrea@flowerbud.com
Event Flower Specialist
Flowerbud.com