Project Green My Wedding: All Things Paper

Last week I went to the library and picked up some books to help me with this project. Two of the books are specifically about green weddings: "The Everything Green Wedding Book"

and "The Green Bride Guide." They are proving to be excellent resources. I also picked up a book called "Bridal Bargains" (which I am told by the cover was featured on Oprah) since I am definitely on a budget and often budget options go hand-in-hand with green options. My fourth book is for the purpose of this project only. It is called "The Everything Wedding Etiquette Book." I had quite a few laughs with that one; I felt like I should be reading it while sitting on my yacht and drinking tea with my pinky extended. (It seriously says that when picking a date for the wedding, consider such things as whether your parents plan to summer in Europe.) That book I will be using just to determine the "proper" way of doing things so that I can sort of measure how much I am lessening my impact.

This week I will be talking about paper. According to one of my books, every year 500,000 trees are cut down for paper items for weddings in the US alone. There are plenty of ways to cut down on paper usage, and I will be breaking paper items down into categories to describe my ideas for doing so.

Save the Date

I had completely forgotten about Save the Date cards until I read the etiquette book. Tradition dictates that at least six months in advance of the wedding, what is basically a pre-invitation should be sent out. It lets people know when the wedding will be so that they can make sure to get off of work or buy plane tickets. To me, the idea is silly. For myself, I plan to utilize my phone, Facebook, and word-of-mouth. Letting my relatives know will be easy. We have a system in my family: just tell the news to my very talkative aunt and everyone related to me will know by sundown. Most of our friends are on Facebook (plus, you know, I hang out with them), so I am really not worried about someone not finding out about the date. If there are any obscure relatives missed on Cory's side, I am sure they will find out from my future mother-in-law's Christmas letter.

Other options for Save the Date cards:

• send a postcard made from recycled paper
• send an e-card

Invitations

This category is the big paper hog for the wedding. Every year, approximately 350 million wedding invitations end up in an American landfill. The amount of paper in each invitation is ridiculous. Traditional etiquette dictates that the following should be included: the invitation itself, an RSVP card, a stamped envelope for the RSVP card, a reception information card, a map and directions card, a card with hotel information, a card listing where you are registered for gifts, an inner envelope (why?!), and an outer envelope. I was just a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding so she also included rehearsal information and an RSVP with envelope for the rehearsal dinner. On top of that there are usually ribbons and other doodads, and sometimes a bride will throw in a handful of confetti for good measure. "The Green Bride Guide" likens opening a wedding invitation to going on an archaeological dig.

I plan on making it much simpler. The most eco-friendly (and budget friendly) option

would be to do all invitations via the internet, but I like the idea of my guests having

something they can hold and put up on the refrigerator. The books I have and the websites

I have looked at sing the praises of a company called Twisted Limb Paperworks. They make handmade invitations from 100% recycled paper and embed seeds in them. When the guest is done with the invitation, they can actually plant it in their yard and flowers will grow. Cool, huh? And the best part is, I discovered much later that this famous company is actually based right here in Bloomington! So now, not only will I be supporting a local business, but there won't be any carbon impact from shipping them.

As far as the other parts of the traditional invitation, I am skipping them. There will be one envelope and the invitation and that's it. All other information will be located on a personalized website that I will create. There are many options out there with different levels of customization, but I have chosen weddingwire.com because it is free and because it offers a feature where guests can calculate their personal carbon impact from attending my wedding and donate to offset it. The site can also contain all the information (hotel info., maps, etc.) that would traditionally be included in paper form with the invitation. The best part about using a wedding website is that the guests can RSVP right on the site. That will save paper, carbon, and money by not having to include RSVPs to be returned by mail. Since even my Grandma is on Facebook these days, I am pretty confident an internet RSVP system will not be a problem, but I will include my phone number on the invitation just in case.

Other invitation options:

• use invitations made of recycled paper and ask guests to recycle the invitation when finished with it
• use paper made from bamboo, a very sustainable natural resource
• include a postcard RSVP which will reduce postage and paper
• send an electronic invitation from a site like evite.com
  
  

Thank You Cards

The same applies for thank you cards as for the two categories above. I think for my closest friends and family it would be nice to call them and thank them for coming to the wedding and for the gift. For other guests, I will send a personalized e-card.

Programs

This was another thing I had completely forgotten to consider until reading about it in the etiquette book. The programs are handed out at the ceremony to give a rundown of what is going to happen. Personally, I have never been at a wedding thinking, "Wow, I would have been really lost if they hadn't laid everything out for me." I was planning on just skipping it all together, but my mother-in-law-to-be told me that I need something to say who the members of the bridal part are, so I did a little searching and came up with an eco-friendly option. I will place chalk boards at the entrance saying "Welcome to our Wedding" and listing the bridal party.

Other options:

• print them on recycled paper and collect them at the end to recycle them
• make the program double-duty such as printing it on a collapsible fan for a wedding on a hot day

Name Cards

This is another thing I always thought was silly. I plan to let people sit where ever they want, so there will be no need for place cards.

Other options:

• print them on recycled paper and collect them at the end to recycle them (this one is pretty obvious at this point)
• use a marker to write names on natural object such as rocks, leaves, sticks or something seasonal like those little pumpkins (the guests could take those home)

Guest Book

A blank book for messages from guests is yet another silly thing in my opinion (especially when it is paired with one of those giant feather pens). Since I love to scrapbook and will be scrapbooking photos from our wedding, I will be putting blank sheets of 12x12 paper out for the guests to write messages which I can then incorporate into my scrapbook. This way the messages are much more likely to get viewed on a regular basis.

Other options:

• at my friend's recent wedding, she used a coffee table book of Ireland (where she will honeymoon) as her guestbook; guests could write anywhere inside, draw little pictures and give advice on places to visit
• someone could operate a digital video camera in a designated area where guests can go to record a message to the couple

Well, there you have it for all things paper. As you can probably tell, I am really enjoying this project! As always, suggestions are welcome!!!