Tri-State Green Report - Weddings

Theres no doubt a wedding can be very expensive. When planning your big day you might want to think about the cost to the environment as well as your pocket. Guests may take flights to the ceremony. Others may drive long distances. Even the flowers you choose could travel from halfway around the world. Andy and Teresa Coleman knew they wanted a "green" wedding. "We try to do everything green the best we can, so the wedding just seemed fitting to try to go along with the way we try to live." In fact, the planning process started with a recycling project, of sorts. "I bought one bride magazine and said, well, that was a waste of paper because thats not what I want to do." Thats right, the magazine ended up in the recycling bin. And Teresa started looking for new ideas. "I didnt want a big, fancy dress, I didnt want to spend a bunch of money on decorations that were going to be used once and then thrown away. A lot of things I would look at and think, do we really need that, is that part of us, does that describe who we are? In thinking do we really need that, I would re-think some things and be like, wed save money, wed also save wear on the environment. So thats kind of how it came about to be pretty simple." Those on the short guest list got their invitations on recycled paper.Teresa bought a sun dress. She chose flowers that were minimal, and native to the region. "All-natural lighting and seating! It was such a beautiful, natural setting, there was no need for decorations there...Its wouldve looked ridiculous." The simple ceremony led to a truly different reception. "We actually had it at a campground, so everybody that came down camped out after the wedding and we had a big barbecue. It was a lot of fun."" We minimized the paper products that we used, and the ones that we did use, we tried to go with recycled paper products and we did a lot of things like bulk containers of drinks instead of everyone having their own container and wasting lots of plastic, and we recycled what we did use." The Colemans say it ended up being the perfect wedding for them.They hope their evening in the woods will inspire their friends and family. "It showed what we care about and getting all of our family into that natural setting, I feel like that will stir in them awareness and encourage them to be more eco-friendly, too." Teresa Coleman even has a "recycled" wedding ring. Andy took the diamond from his mothers ring, and had it re-set.