On being a green bride - A guest blog by Erin Steele

This Monday's post comes from Erin Steele of Eco-Conscious Weddings for the Modern Bride. Erin herself is a green bride-to-be, and has some great tips for all you other green brides out there.
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Hello everyone! I'm Erin from Ecoconsciousweddings.com. My Wedding Workbook is kind enough to let me guest blog here today, and let me just say how excited I am to do so!

About 2 minutes after my boyfriend proposed marriage last September, and once the fog of joy had lifted a little and I had stopped screaming, "Oh my God," it hit me that I had to plan a wedding. And not just any wedding. I had to plan my own wedding. That's huge for someone like me. I really don't plan parties; I just attend them. So, after I took a great big breath, and realized that yes, I had to do this because neither of us were willing to elope, I made the decision that our wedding was not only going to be the event of the year, it was also going to be as sensitive to the environment as possible. I'm not a "hippie" by any means. But, as a woman who works for an environmental non-profit and has undergraduate degree in geology and a Masters in environmental management, I have a personal goal to be as "green" as I possibly can. I recycle, compost, reduce, and reuse- why wouldn't I do the same things on biggest day of my life?

Honestly, it's very difficult to have a green wedding. Very difficult. Weddings are supposed to be about the marriage of two people, but they are also an opportunity to celebrate with your nearest and dearest, and that means food, drinks, and decorations. That also means waste, waste, and more waste. We realized early on that a 100% waste-free, GHG-emission free, recycled wedding would not happen--not unless we walked or biked to City Hall, video-record our nuptials, and email blasted it to the world. Not ideal.

But I'm inspired by those brides are able to come close to achieving a green wedding. I've researched weddings for months now, and I've found many brides who've done a few things here and there for their own weddings that are not a burden on our planet, their wallets, or everyone's sanity. From those tricks, I'm creating my ideal green, cost efficient wedding. Curious about what you can do yourself? Here are a few suggestions for you eco-conscious brides out there:

1) First and foremost- do your research. Take the time to find legitimate, eco-friendly venders. Spend a few hours on the Internet after work each night and really find the best of the best, within your budget of course. Say you've found a caterer that you like. They claim to use organic foods, but you are not sure if they really do or if they are just jumping on the "green" bandwagon. Try searching on reviewer websites like Yelp.com and see what people are saying about them. If you see good things, call them up and see if you can get a list of their own suppliers; and if you have time, go and meet with them. For example, my caterer offered to set up an appointment for me with his vegetable supplier, a local farm about 20 miles away, just so I could see for myself how the produce for my wedding was going to be grown. We're going to check them out in a few weeks.

2) Make the decision to go DIY on a few decorations/wedding items. Seriously. We are all busy people (I work over 40 hrs a week myself), but DIY means that you can cut costs, be involved in your wedding in a very personal way, and really control what products you're using. Some ideas include using recycled paper for your paper products (invitations, menus, programs), or using your I-pod for your reception music; it not only saves on DJ/band costs, but also eliminates carbon emissions from any vehicles they may use driving to and from your venue. There are many blogs out there that have tons of DIY projects, from reception table decorations to alter decorations. Check them out!

3) Buy your dress used. Used dresses are a great way to recycle something incredibly beautiful and save a ton of money. Many designer dresses start at $2,000. Who has that kind of money these days? So, if you are really stuck on buying that Melissa Sweet dress of your dreams, go online and check out the multitude of online used wedding dress retailers. Often you can get a great deal and find a dress that will need very little alteration to fit you. Trust me, if I can find one, you can too.

4) One last trick? Have fun with your planning. There are tons of blogs, magazines, and other resources for you to use to help plan, inspire, and execute your big day.

Good luck!