10 Tips for a "Green" Wedding in Greensboro

Conserving resources doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of the wedding of your dreams. Greensboro now serves as a local sanctuary for brides and grooms looking to be sustainably fashionable. Going “green” is not only becoming an important value to many brides and grooms, it is also becoming and economical solution. Here are the top 10 ways to have an eco-friendly wedding in Greensboro without losing your personality or style.

1. Think about the numbers
Let’s face it, the more guests you invite to your Greensboro wedding, the more people that will be traveling and consuming food and beverages at your event. To have a low impact on the environment, do the best you can to keep your guest list at a minimum.

2. Location, location, location
Travel costs have the most ecological impact for your guests on the environment. Choose a Greensboro wedding venue that is most convenient to the majority of your guests. Consider also having a shuttle to and from the hotel to the wedding site. It will lessen your transportation impact, create convenience for your guests and also prevent any drunk driving.

3. Print with a Purpose
Save-the-Dates and Invitations are first impressions of your special day. Try printing postcard invitations on recycled paper using soy ink. You can also save money and paper by using a wedding website to take the place of multi-enveloped notes to give your guests information about local activities, registry information, and more.

4. Dress Vintage
The runways are swarmed with vintage styles with a modern twist. Buying a vintage wedding dress will save enormous cost and show exquisite uniqueness. Make a dress modern by jazzing it up with borrowed accessories. Greensboro has its own vintage dress shops where you can find items that range from the 1920s through the 1950s.

5. Pay the Rent
Rent real glassware, stemware, dishes, and linens. They are reused for many years. Disposable products have a costly impact on the environment.

6. Eat, Drink, and be Merry!
Think local when it comes to food and beverages. For alcohol, instead of importing your favorite ale, try a local microbrewery as an option. You can also ask your Greensboro caterer about use organically grown ingredients at your event.

7. Floral Haven
Flowers are often the most important aspect of a wedding to many brides and grooms. When designing your perfect day, source flowers that are locally grown and in season. You will also save money doing this! Instead of confetti, your guests can throw native wild flower seeds as you walk down the aisle as husband and wife.

8. Favor your guests
Although time and cost can go into the perfect wedding favor, these wonderful little items often go to waste. Instead of giving out individual favors to each guest, put a sign at the entrance that says you have made a donation in their honor to your favorite charity.

9. Register for your gifts
Register at stores in the Triad area that offer local, organic, and eco-friendly items.

10. Honeymoon Locally
There are ways to have an eco-friendly honeymoon. Consider going somewhere near where you live. Or if they idea of the destination honeymoon is too enticing, consider offsetting the cost or going to a places like Thailand that needs volunteers.

There are many ways to have a “green” wedding in Greensboro without compromising the vision of what you see your dream day to be. When thinking green, there is only one rule: only do what you are comfortable doing and every little bit helps!

Kelly Parker is a design and planning consultant for Bella Wedding and Event Planning in Greensboro.