So about five seconds ago I came to a realization: I think I am actually going to miss blogging. Our generation has grown rather accustomed to it, but there is something powerful in writing down our thoughts and posting it on a platform for all the world to see. (As an experiment, I typed "project green my wedding" into Google and I came up as number four in the list.) I have gotten some good feedback from classmates, some saying that they have referred friends to my blog or plan to use some of my ideas for their own weddings. I even got an offer to borrow a wedding dress. (Thanks again, Laura!) I put a tremendous amount of time into doing research for this project, and I am pretty pleased with the results. In this final blog, I will discuss some of the main things I learned along the way.
Lesson #1: Weddings are extremely complicated.
So I wasn't completely oblivious to this before, most of my friends have gotten married and I have seen plenty of movies, but holy cow are weddings ever complicated. There are so many things to do, organize, and consider, and then I am making it a green wedding on top of it! One of my books said that an average wedding takes about 250 hours to plan. I am a grad student; I don't exactly have a spare 250 hours lying around. So that has freaked me out a bit, and despite constant nagging from relatives, I moved the wedding to 2013.
Lesson #2: Green weddings are often cheaper but not always.
I was pleased to find that many of my green ideas such as for attire, invitations, and transportation will also save me money. Since we are also trying to make this a budget-friendly wedding, these ideas are pretty exciting to me. However, I did discover areas that will end up being more expensive because of my environmental requirements. The location at the Green Bay Botanical Garden is beautiful and has a ceremony and reception site all in one place, but it costs a pretty penny. We are saving a bit of money by having the ceremony on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. That way we get a pretty heavy discount and people will have both Saturday and Monday to travel. Food is also another area where I will be paying more. The cheaper food tends to be at places that disregard sustainability. In addition to being more expensive, finding these elements of the wedding are much more difficult. Even for the dress, instead of being able to go to a store and try on many dresses until I find the right one, I have been monitoring Craigslist for a dress I like it and that is in my right size. I don't know how realistic it is to assume that some day there will be one in the size and style I want. (I'm looking for an ivory lace dress in a size six in case someone can magically hook me up.)
Lesson #3: There is more than one way to do everything.
First of all, I am of the firm belief that people should not design their weddings based on the way you are "supposed" to do it. I have been to far to many cookie cutter weddings where the bride was panicking because she didn't know if the groom's grandparents or the bride's grandparents were supposed to enter first. It is your own wedding! Spice things up! Put your own spin on it! I'm curious to hear how people will react when they find out Cory and I will each be walking up from the sides, and *gasp* I won't be given away by my father. It is the biggest party I ever throw and I am excited to get creative with it.
I was pleased during my research to see just how many different ways you can do a green wedding. I included several options for each category but the lists could go on and on. There are also degrees of greenness (greenocity? greenaliciousness?). It is often difficult to take the green theme to the extreme because of limited resources and because sometimes there are things that you just aren't willing to compromise. I was disappointed to find that my hometown is not on the sustainability train, which means my options are really quite limited.
Lesson #4: Communicate what you are doing and why you are doing it.
Over this semester, when I have described my green wedding goals to relatives and non-SPEA friends, I'm met with a bit of confusion. Not everyone understands this whole environmental impact thing. Your wedding is probably the most attention you will ever receive in your life; use it as an opportunity to educate your guests and help them decide to make changes in their own lives, or at least try to convince them that you are not a crazy person. Going with the advice in the community-based social marketing book we read this semester, I plan to inform my guests of my goals and throughout the wedding demonstrate ways to benefit the environment. I will make acting easy for them by providing trees and seeds as favors and perhaps provide coupons for green items at local stores. On my wedding website I will provide simple ways they can improve their habits at home and encourage engagement by asking people to submit their own ideas.
It is also important that you communicate your vision with your vendors. They may have more ideas for you or may willing to make a long-term environmental investment based on your suggestions. If they do not know you are going for green, they may unknowingly mess things up for you. The author of "The Green Bride Guide" included in her book that she had ordered a bio-diesel bus to transport the wedding party on her wedding day. Thinking that they had ordered the bus as a way to save money, the transportation company generously sent a Hummer SUV complete with leopard-print upholstery. Imagine how many times you'd be called a hypocrite pulling up to your green wedding in that thing.
Lesson #5: There is a community for green brides (and grooms).
I was amazed with all the information I was able to easily find for planning my green wedding. There are books dedicated to the subject, websites, online stores, you name it. Some websites connect brides and allow them to share ideas and pass on wedding items once they are done with them. I truly feel like I have joined a community, and I am glad we all share such a wonderful vision.
