I have the privilege of participating in The Sustainable Wedding on September 5th 2009 and being the first certified green florist in the Twin City area! Tonight I attended my first Green Wedding Training Course at the Live Green Live Smart Institute. I didn't know exactly what to expect, but was very please and impressed with the whole concept.
The 2,200,000 weddings held in the US this year will account for the greatest CO2 footprint and largest single source of waste for any type of event held by individuals in 2009. A one-day wedding can create the same amount of CO2 produced by a family of four during a five year period (outside of the US), will send to landfills up to 1/4 tons of trash, waste up to 38% of the food served and thru the selection of jewelry and clothing inadvertently causes the deaths of 3 or more individuals in 3rd world countries.
Scary and sobering details! To be honest, it kind of freaked me out a bit and was overwhelming... How in the world do we even begin to combat this? I expected the answer to be a drastic "debbie downer"-weddings can't be fun, they can't be pretty and the bride has to wear hemp... I was so wrong!
The main message I took away from tonight was; you don't have to say no to things, this is still a celebration-just rethink things and be responsible! There are many subtle (and some not so subtle) things you can do to help your wedding or event be sustainable. First and foremost, seek out "green" vendors. Because of the efforts of this organization there will be local options for green certified vendors in all areas of event planning. Feel free to email me or visit http://www.livegreenlivesmart.org/ for more information on how you can make your event green!
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