Green Weddings & Events, More Clients, Less Impact

WOW ! Did you know that approximately 400 lbs of garbage are associated with each wedding?

Prior to the Association of Bridal Consultants Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, I thought I knew what a Green Wedding actually was. However, after attending the session by Kate Harrison, author of the Green Bride Guide, I found I knew very little.   Her book  The Green Bride Guide: How to plan an Earth Friendly Wedding on any budget, is a best selling wedding book.  She has now created the country's first green wedding professional certification class with the Wedding Planning Institute to help wedding planners learn about eco-friendly alternatives. 

In 2010, green weddings were the number five wedding trend globally, with 46% of couples looking to include eco-friendly elements to their wedding day plans.  The book offers dozens of tips and tricks to green a wedding day on any budget, without sacrificing style.  Some of the topics include:

• The environmental impacts of traditional weddings and the importance of going green.
• Ways to green any wedding or event just by making simple substitutions.
• Tips and tricks to green your wedding business.
• Techniques for incorporating the green message into your marketing materials. 

After attending this session, I feel that I have a better understanding of the environmental impact of each part of the wedding, from invitations to favors, to food and flowers.   I will be telling my clients about business associates that I work with that are environmentally conscious and assist my clients in finding eco friendly alternatives throughout their planning process. 

I plan to commit ways to make my own business greener, and look for more ways to use ideas and market them to others. 

Here are some links that could be helpful:

GreenBrideGuide.com
RecycledBride.com
SmartBrideBoutique.com

I will offer some green solutions in future blogs and welcome any green weddings that you have done that you would like to see featured here.   We can all be part of a Global Solution.  Let's give it a try.