| 1) Sadly,
most hotels and reception venues do not recycle:
I (David) have worked in dozens of hotels, restaurants and
resorts in many different states. I was always shocked and
dismayed at how much waste was involved with running a business,
especially one that deals with food, beverage, and weddings.
At almost every place I have worked, there was absolutely
no effort at all to recycle bottles, cardboard, newspaper
or food. I remember seeing the aftermath of a wedding reception,
and the bags upon bags of empty bottles that would end up
in the dumpster. It was kind of an irony in many cases,
since some of these places were in breathtaking natural
locations such as the Rocky Mountains, or the Southwestern
Deserts (i.e. Moab, Tucson and Sedona). These towns usually
have very environmentally conscious and active residents,
but unfortunately, 'behind the scenes' it was a different
story. There is usually little or no enforcement or incentive
to recycle.
Another observation I made was that most catering
and banquet kitchens prepare food well over the amount that
would be actually needed for an event. Of course they do
this in fear of not having enough for the event (which would
be embarrassing to say the least), which is understandable.
What I could never understand is why good food at the end
of an event would end up in the garbage. Wedding events
are usually staffed by young folks who don't have a well
balanced diet, and who usually skip meals while they are
on their shift. For some unknown reason, either the bride,
groom, or hotel would not allow leftover food to be enjoyed
by the staff after the event was over. I am not talking
about taking off of other people's plate. I am talking about
leftover food still in the kitchen that has never been touched,
and is still very fresh.
I found the 'green' practices of most of the
places that I worked to be pretty non-existent. However,
there were a few locations that were changing the way they
did business, and were making some concrete steps to become
a role-model for earth friendly business. I have to say
that Vail
Resorts in Colorado, at the time that I worked there,
made some very admirable steps toward recycling. There was
even a recycling manager/coordinator for the food service
operation, which I found to be impressive. Obviously, Vail
Associates had to pay this person a salary to do this job
- not something most hotels or resorts would try to fit
into their budgets.
What you can do: If you are
in the process of selecting a wedding venue or location,
ask the manager if they recycle! Although they are in the
minority, there are hotels and restaurants that have aggressive
recycling programs, and will be very happy to share that
information with you if asked. Also, if you are having a
catered event, you can instruct the owner or manager of
the catering/banquets staff that they are welcome to distribute
any leftover food to their staff after the event. Believe
me, most of these workers will be thrilled to have a nice
meal after a shift. Unfortunately, leftover food may not
be given to homeless shelters, since there are health concerns
an liabilities, but it is usually ok for the staff to share
in the 'bounty' as long as the food does not leave the premises.
You can also request that bottled water not be offered,
and that tap water be offered by request only.
Reward 'environmentally friendly' hotels,
restaurants and weddings with your business!
2) Instead of wedding gifts, ask that
a small donation be made to your favorite charity - Wedding
gifts are responsible for a tremendous amount of waste.
Often times, newly married couples receive gifts that they
don't need or want, and they just end up sitting in a basement,
storage, or on a shelf somewhere. Most often, these gifts
are wrapped in an enormous amount of paper and cardboard,
which is almost never recycled.
When Joelle and I got engaged, we decided
to ask our wedding guests to not "do" wedding
gifts for us. Instead, if they wished to offer a small donation
to a charity of our choosing or theirs, we would be thrilled
with that. We posted a webpage with several charities that
we like, and instructions for donating. Everyone was thrilled
with this idea, and most everyone donated.
We had the satisfaction of knowing that we
didn't waste a bunch of paper and we didn't clutter our
house with a lot of "stuff" from our wedding.
Most importantly, we felt great that our special day helped
someone else in need.
3) Rings - I know that rings
are a tradition, and a symbol of the union between man and
woman, but the process of creating a ring is very destructive
to our environment. It is no secret that diamond mining
rips up mountains, and is very dangerous. Mining of any
kind is a destructive practice, whether it is gold, diamonds,
silver or copper.
I know of several couples who have decided
against doing any sort of rings for their wedding or engagement.
I applaud those couples whose relationships are strong enough
that they do not need material symbols to declare their
commitment to each other. However, I also realize that this
is an important item to many couples, and often times tradition
wins over.
What you can do: If you are not comfortable
"not doing" wedding rings, perhaps look for used
rings. Who will possibly know the difference but you? You'll
have the satisfaction of knowing that you are recycling
an important item. Or, perhaps you can "go small"
and try to get the most basic of rings or bands.
4) Wear a 'Used" Dress or Suit
- It's a shame that a wedding dress, or a tuxedo,
or a bridesmaid dress will probably only be worn once. Most
people have a hard time with the idea of a used dress or
suit for a wedding, and understandably so. However, if an
item has not been worn more than once, chances are it will
be in perfect condition for your wedding. Who will know
the difference? There are plenty of places to find a used
wedding dress, and tuxedos and suits can be rented very
easily.
5) Do away with paper invitations
- Paper invitations are nice. Often times they
are made from expensive paper and inks that can't be broken
down naturally once they are thrown away. Why not have all
of your invitations be electronic?
I personally don't know anyone that doesn't
have an email address and a computer. My wife and I decided
to make online invitations through a webpage on one of our
personal sites. We simply emailed the link to everyone we
wanted to come to our wedding, and the link then went to
a very beautifully laid out webpage with instructions, the
date of the wedding, and how to contribute to a charitable
cause in lieu of wedding gifts. It worked perfectly.
If you aren't a "web-jock" and don't
know enough about web design to create your own page - don't
worry. There are plenty of sites out there that help you
to create a free wedding page, or may charge you a small
fee. You could even post a page on myspace!
5) Dropping the ego - Weddings
are a lot about ego. Many brides and grooms want to have
the biggest wedding, recieve the most expensive gifts, and
have the biggest rock on their finger at the end of the
day. Unfortunately, ego can equate to harming the environment.
By shifting your idea of what is really important (i.e.
setting a good example, helping the environment and those
in need), your wedding will have a much deeper meaning and
might result in a greater sense of satisfaction. Joelle
and I truly believe that with an earth friendly wedding,
less is more. The only way to accomplish that is by keeping
your wedding ego in check.
6) Consider a family-only wedding
or a smaller wedding - Fewer people means less
travel, less gas consumed, and fewer bottles and napkins
thrown out. In my experience, most people will tell you
that going to a wedding is not something they look forward
to unless they are the best friend(s) or immediate family.
Extended, long-lost friends and family members who you have
only met once will probably be just as happy looking through
your photos after the wedding.
7) Do it only once. It is
no secret that about half of all weddings end up in divorce.
Many of these folks marry a second time. Easier said than
done, we understand, but a little soul-searching up front
to decide if your future mate can go the distance might
b e a good thing to do!
Green
Weddings are gaining in popularity, and hopefully you
can make your wedding an eco-friendly event!
Green 'Earth Friendly'
Weddings
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