Does anyone really need candles with your name tagged onto them? Consider less wasteful choices for bonbonniere or wedding favours, like:
• Carbon offsets. TerraPass has a wedding carbon footprint calculator, and can suggest a suitable offset purchase. Announce it on tiny cards printed on recycled, plantable paper.
• Seeds. A packet of native wildflower seeds provides beauty, as well as food for butterflies and bees.
• Baby trees. A tiny evergreen seedling in a species suited to your region makes a memorable favour.
6. Have a vegetarian reception dinner
You'll save yourself a bundle of cash, while enlightening relatives who've always resisted "new-fangled health-food hippie ideas"! A delicious menu of locally sourced produce may convert even the most ardent carnivore to trying eco-friendly eating choices more often.
If you want to include fish, refer to SeaChoice’s list of sustainable fish and seafood choices.
And if you include meat, select locally and humanely raised meat, preferably organic.
7. Use organic flowers for the bridal bouquet, boutonnieres and tabletops
Conventional flowers are grown using resource-gobbling irrigation and often-hazardous chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Fortunately, many major cities now have eco-minded florists specializing in organic or not-quite-organic, but environmentally responsible and sustainable growing practices.
Ask your florist if they carry eco-friendly VeriFlora, Florverde and FLP certified flowers.
In the Greater Toronto area, EcoFlora offers organic and fair-trade flowers and Whole Food Market has a limited selection of organic flowers, including roses.
In the Vancouver area, try Amoda Flowers for organic and locally grown blooms, and the Capers Community Market/Whole Foods chain for locally grown flowers.
In New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, go to the Canadian Sierra Eco website to find florists who sell flowers from socially responsible farms in South America.
If you can't find organics, don't despair. In-season, locally-grown flowers carry a much smaller carbon footprint than conventional imports. In most parts of Canada, local blooms can be sourced between May and October.
Read more:
• Eco-friendly wedding attire
• How to stay calm on your wedding day
• How to write the best wedding guest list
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