Weddings are a huge industry in the United States – with 2.4 million couples spending an average of $20,000 on their weddings, for a national annual total of $7.2 billion according to The Knot. With so many people sinking so much money into their nuptuals, I thought I’d track down some green wedding options for those looking to apply their eco-principles to this most important of days.

For an all-purpose site dedicated to supplying nearly-weds with eco-options, check out Portovert. Dubbed the “Gateway to Greener Weddings,” Portovert is packed with links to environmentally-friendly vendors for all-things wedding including attire, flowers, transportation, ceremonies, receptions and honeymoons. When I started looking around the site, I was focused on finding eco-dresses, and was impressed by the selection of different options available. If you’ve never looked up eco-wedding options before, I’d recommend you start at Portovert and go from there. You can also find out what’s new in eco-weddings by following the Portovert Blog.

Canvas & Clover is another all-purpose wedding blog that’s directed toward, “the green girl wearing white.” This blog provides a variety information about where to find eco-alternatives including beauty products, honeymoons, rings, food and fashion. While Canvas & Clover isn’t a guide per se, it is packed full of links to eco-vendors and helpful tips on how you can green your day.

Eco Chic Weddings is a blog and a book by author Emily Anderson. Anderson defines the need to plan a wedding according to your lifestyle, and states that her site is more about creating sustainable events than it is about living an “eco” life. I like the philosophy behind Anderson’s site – part of planning a wedding should include conserving resources (on every level), and not simply spending money, buying stuff or wasting time because it’s for your big day. Check out this blog if you want to learn more about throwing a sustainable wedding that matches your lifestyle.

My Eco Chic Wedding is a green resource for couples planning environmentally-friendly weddings, and offers a selection of planning tools and ideas to get any green couple started. Although their vendor directory is still relatively small, and the shopping section of the site is listed as “Coming Soon,” the site offers interactive tools and galleries that provide the kind of inspiration and motivation couples need to get their green ideas off the ground.

Ethical Weddings is a site for those looking to throw a fair trade, green, organic, local, eco-friendly, cruelty-free, recycled wedding! Couples looking to go green on their wedding days can ask experts for advice, explore real-life ethical weddings, and take in tips on how to pull off their own eco-events. Based in the UK, the suppliers listed on the site might not be what US couples are looking for, but the site offers a range of otherwise useful information to get the eco-conscious prepared for their big days.

Green Elegance Weddings is an, “up-to-date online resource for planning the environmentally and socially responsible green wedding of your dreams.” The site is packed full of useful tips and tools meant to help couples plan the green wedding of their dreams. With resources for helping people plan their ceremonies, select eco-invitations, find environmentally-friendly apparel, and book honeymoons that don’t hurt the Earth, this site contains a wealth of information for anyone looking to cut down on their carbon footprint.

The Green Bride Guide is a wedding site that provides advice, links to real-life green weddings and a comprehensive list of eco-retailers. Also available as a hard-copy resource guide, The Green Bride Guide (whose name I love, by the way) is filled with practical, usable advice to couples wanting to lesson their impact on the planet as they join together in matrimony. Personally, I was more impressed with the eco-products available on this site than I was on any of the other sites I visited – make sure you check it out if you’re looking for eco-options!

Weddings can be hugely complicated, or relatively simple affairs depending on the preference of each bride and groom. It’s easy to forget our green attitudes when we throw parties or events, but with so many weddings taking place every year, it’s becoming increasingly more important that we make these special days green. If you make basic eco-choices, such as selecting invitations made from recycled materials, recycling any bottles and cans trashed on your big day, and serving locally-grown, organic food, you will be making an impact – and a statement – on this most special of days. Remember, by going green you can start your married life by showing your friends and family that you love your planet as much as you love one another! Good luck with the planning process and feel free to drop me a line if you know of any green wedding resources I may have missed here!

Tags: Eco-Wedding, Environmentally-Friendly Weddings, Green Weddings, Sustainable Weddings

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Green Buying, Green Goods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.