Tiburon, California: Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary, (415) 388-2524. Ask for Gretchen Grani.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, (414) 352-2880, ext. 141. Ask for Julia Kathan.
To locate an Audubon center or chapter near you, search here.
A truly green wedding would be a vegan wedding.
The environmental impact of weddings is huge and my husband and I found the Green Bride Guide to be hugely helpful when planning ours.
I do have one question about this article: How does it save energy to have a daytime wedding? Surely the lights at your ceremony/reception would use less energy than that required to light up all of your guests' living rooms/televisions if they were just sitting at home?
Hi there,
Thanks for the comment, FM, and for sharing your thoughts about the Green Bride Guide. In terms of your question, our goal was to provide simple, easy-to-implement ideas to expend less energy at the wedding itself. So if you get married outside during the springtime, let's say, you likely don't need extra lighting, an amplification system, or air-conditioning. Hope that helps.
All the best,
Michele
Hi there,
Thanks for the comment, FM.
Hi Michele,
We've worked with over 30,000 couples, helping them green their weddings. (Eco papers and green weddings have been our specialty for 17 years!!! Yikes. Getting old. )
Close, with many - talking to them about what passes with their families, and what doesn't. (since we work with them about wording their invites, guest lists, etiquette, we develop a relationship.)
Many couples told us they had enough trouble convincing their parents to accept treefree and 100% pcw recycled paper. An emalied invitation is just that. An email.
Worse, it's a false choice!
Currently, more than 80% of all the paper we all put out curbside -- is shipped to Asia.
It is NOT used by US mills. 2 mills I know of, make 100% pcw paper for stationery.
The 3rd, in Washington state, closed down last year. Family owned, shuttered completely. My favorite mill went bankrupt 3 years ago. Thank goodness Mohawk Paper bought it. So, what happens if there are simply no markets for these brave mills? 100% of pcw fiber shipped to Asia?
Beautiful invitations that are archival (cotton, hemp, mulberry last hundreds, maybe 1000 years) become family keepsakes. Passed on to grandkids. Great grandkids. We don't 'consume" these - many of our invites are saved by friends and family. One couple told us that half their guests framed their invites! They can be artwork. (there is a difference between 'consumables' and keepsakes.) Ink is flax oil based, printed on presses built in 1884. Which use very little ink.
(letterpress - same as Audubon's first editions. Printed on cotton rag paper. I worked at an antiquarian book shop for years. Held many a 1st ed Audubon in my hands......Yes the plates were engraved, but the words were printed letterpress. Paper was cotton with some linen, if I remember correctly. In gorgeous condition, still. Because the paper was not made out of trees. )
These invites are made with recycled trim from the garment industry (cotton/silk/hemp), post harvest fiber (bagasse from sugar cane, mango leaves) and 100% post consumer recycled paper: http://www.invitesite.com/weddings/Eco-wedding-invitations-page1.php
AND - scrap goes to Audubon Center at Debs Park L.A. for the kids programs. (the director bought his eco invites from us, when he got married, 10 years ago....)
So kids learn about the cool fibers we can make paper from. And that paper has only been made out of trees for 125 years. We give all our handmade paper scrap to the Audubon, and LA's Best, an after school program teaching the kids art. You know, like the art your mom kept that you made when you were a kid. Their art will be archival.
It can be a win-win to create beautiful, meaningful objects. And, better when the couples have a hand in making them.
It's real. With meaning. NOT a 'consumable......
Sorry! The false choice confuses people trying to do the right thing.
Best,
Helen
Tremendous things here. I am very glad to see your article.
Thanks a lot and I am taking a look ahead to
touch you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?
I think thinking green for
I think thinking green for your wedding is great. Going vegan for a wedding is just a little too much.