With your wedding day coming up, you’ve got a lot to plan: finding the right wedding gown, approving a dinner menu, locating a skilled photographer and selecting just the right music.
If you’re passionate about something else — protecting our environment — the good news is there are a lot of ways to incorporate your concerns for the environment with your big day. In fact, eco-friendly weddings are increasingly popular, and there are actually some very creative ways to hold one.
How Can You Have a Green Wedding?
Today, so many of us are all for helping the earth, which means a green wedding is something that’s likely to be appreciated by your guests as well. And the good news is that having a green wedding can be done without putting any new burdens on your budget.
As a simple example, think about the benefits of a sustainable wedding. We all know that while weddings can be spectacular events and one of the most special days of your life, like all big celebrations it can produce a lot of waste, including:
- Excess food
- Paper products
- Leftover flowers
- Cups
Arranging to have these items recycled rather than tossed out en masse is one way to contribute to sustainability.
And planning for an eco-friendly wedding doesn’t have to be any more complicated than planning one that makes no attempt to help the environment. There are actually plenty of eco-friendly wedding decorations on the market and green options that can be applied to everything from your food to your wedding invitations. Some creative ideas include:
Sending Out Eco-Friendly Invites
Try creating invitations printed on recycled paper. Find stationery companies that contribute to the environment. Look for companies that can print up everything from invites to menus on biodegradable material.
Or go in the opposite direction: instead of printing up a lot of invitations, cards, and menus, reduce the amount of paper you use altogether by creating a website for your wedding that includes invitations, dates, and location of the wedding, directions to the venue, and other pertinent information your guests can access with ease.
Eco-Friendly Flowers
What’s a wedding without flowers? Your commitment to the environment is the perfect time to select organic and locally grown flowers for your ceremony. Another nice idea is to select plants that your guests can take home at the end of the wedding day and replant them in their yards. You can also arrange to donate your flowers to someone else for their continued use.
Green Wedding Dress
The concept of going green can certainly be applied to your wedding dress, and you have different options here. They include:
- Recycling a dress, meaning re-wearing one, perhaps the one used by your mother, an older sister, or an older relative
- Renting a pre-worn gown
- Visiting consignment shops and finding a vintage gown to wear
- Finding a dress specifically made with organic fabrics
- Finding designers who make sustainable gowns
Fully aware of the trend toward green weddings these days, there are designers today using natural fabrics like organic cotton and hemp silk in place of synthetic material.
Green Catering
You have a wide selection of fine catering options to pick from, including chefs who use organic and locally grown food, or who support local growers. You can also arrange to have your caterer provide any leftover food at the wedding to local shelters.
There’s no question that going green on your wedding day is going to make a positive impact on the earth, and you’re going to set a great example for others. So while you’re thinking about ways to have an eco-friendly wedding, let the team of wedding planners at Windows on the Water handle all the larger details for you, including:
- Event management
- Valet parking
- Themed decor
- Unique furniture
- Uplighting
- Menu planning
As a couple using our location for your eco-friendly wedding, you can opt for a few or all of these features, letting you and your guests simply relax and enjoy this special day.
Enjoy Your Eco-Friendly Wedding at Windows on the Water
At Windows on the Water, we’re delighted to host your eco-friendly wedding. We know that your wedding venue is one of the most important decisions related to your wedding and your married life, so we strive to make your day unique because you deserve the wedding of your dreams.
Come visit Windows on the Water and see what makes it one of the most popular wedding venues in Central Jersey. As you tour the breathtaking grounds, you’ll see why so many brides and grooms choose us as the backdrop of their declaration of love.
Start planning your Central Jersey winter wedding, contact us today at 609-208-9475 or online for our Windows Wedding Packet that includes menus, event pricing and everything in between.