Peter smelts aluminium as a hobby but it was Andrea who came up with the idea of collecting and recycling 400,000 cans – the number they would need to pay for their $3,500-$4,000 medieval-style wedding.

They say:

…even simple weddings cost more than a few dollars. We don’t really have much extra cash sitting around, since we’re just starting out. Add that to the fact that environmental responsibility plays a big part in our lives, and we hatched the crazy plan. Pay for the wedding – with recycling. Aluminum recycling is one of the most sustainable and useful forms of recycling. We’re shooting for 400,000 aluminum cans – approximately 5 tons of empty cans.
 

Based in Spokane in the state of Washington, the couple have harnessed the power of the world wide web via Facebook, Twitter and their own weddingcans.com website to set in motion a surge in can-recycling as green romantics show their support for this very sustainable celebration.

In just a few weeks they’ve collected over 90,000 cans (25,781 actual cans and 66,571 in the cash equivalent to the recycled cans, via the PayPal account set up on their site) but still have a fair way to go to reach their 400,000 target by 31 July when they plan to wed.

If you feel inspired to help them on their way in this romantic recycling quest, take a look at weddingcans.com where you can find out more about their project, how many cans they’ve collected so far and – most importantly – where to send your cans.

Good luck guys!

Katie

Seasonal wedding flowers

The church was beautiful, we found a florist who was a friend of my parents, and who was sympathetic to our green ideas.

She sourced flowers and greenery as seasonally as possible, including some raided from my parents’ garden the previous day (!), and also made up some planters of growing flowers and herbs that we took away to keep afterwards.  The results were stunning.

A very personal wedding ceremony

Our church wedding was fantastic too.  As we are both Christians, the spiritual aspect of marriage was really important to us, so getting married in church was particularly special.

The service was wonderful – our friend and university chaplain led the service so he was able to tailor it to us quite a lot (his address to the congregation after the marriage involved Bagpuss!) – and as there is quite a lot of choice about what wording to use for the marriage service, and which readings (Bible or not) and music to use, the whole thing felt very personal.

We entered the church to the Beatles’ ‘Here comes the sun’ in the end, very happy! We involved friends and family in leading the readings, prayers and music too, which was lovely.  We exchanged wedding rings from Cred (who really impressed us), and our little ‘engagement ring’ trees made it along to the church too as decorations.  And we made our own service sheets (using Evolve recycled printer paper), including our story in them.

Snap happy guests

After the ceremony we did a big photo session in the pretty churchyard, with my keen amateur photographer uncle doing the ‘posed’ photos, and the rest of our photos taken by the guests who then posted their digital photos on to us.

It worked out really well, despite what you hear about how you must get in a professional.  With so many people doing your photos you are bound to have a fantastic selection of shots, and they covered different groups of guests, as well as getting some fantastic informal pics to add to the posed ones.

Homemade confetti

We had made our own confetti the previous summer, by drying rose petals in the oven and storing them in warm, dark and dry boxes. We decorated the boxes we stored it in with some shiny red paper from Oxfam (again – they did well out of us!) to make pretty serving boxes to pass round for guests to pick out handfuls from.  And it was so beautiful, the colours were preserved really well.

The cherry tree in the churchyard decided to add to our confetti and showered us with blossom as soon as we stepped out of the church, which was VERY cute.  It made a wonderful backdrop to the photos too.

Love,

Helen and Mike

We’ve been in the throes of finalizing our plans, as our wedding is on November 7 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. As we have scrambled to finish up our ceremony, music selections (we’re going the iPod route so that we can play exactly what we want) and ceremony/reception details, we have realized how much stuff is actually involved in many weddings. Not that we didn’t know that already, but when you’re in the thick of things it hits home how much stuff there really is.

Less is more

We’re having our ceremony and reception at an all-inclusive facility that does everything (it’s called Vallarta Adventures, and they have been fantastic to work with so far), but we are definitely one of their less-is-more clients. Like we don’t want lots of flowers, don’t want wedding favors, don’t want anything thrown at us or released (like rice, birdseed, balloons, etc.), don’t have lots of guests, don’t want lots of decorations (heck, there will be a beach there, and that’s plenty for me), don’t even have a professional photographer, and on and on.

But we’re definitely the exception, as I know most couples have all this stuff and more. And it’s all the stuff and all the waste that, in the end, is really harming our environment when it comes to wedding overload.

So what’s a couple to do when they want a nice, elegant wedding but don’t want all the stuff?

Recycled weddings

Well, the first option is to recycle it, either by selling it after you use it or by literally recycling it (which means it needs to be recyclable).

Do I need it?

The second option is to simply not buy it all in the first place. Now, at one time I was as guilty as the next person of overconsuming, but my fiancee and I have made a concerted effort in the last few years to de-clutter our lives, and it has really changed how we buy things and how much we buy. In fact, the first question I ask myself when I see something neat or cool or gotta-have is “Do I really need this?” Granted, sometimes it’s nice to spoil yourself, but for the most part, the things that we really need can fit on a fairly short list.

So, next time you sit down to plan your wedding, or next time you’re browsing through bridal magazines and see all sorts of cool wedding-related stuff, ask yourself if you really need it. Chances are you don’t, and for every centerpiece you don’t buy, that’s one less thing sitting in a landfill for 1,000 years (and more money for your first home, or your honeymoon, or to pay off your college loans, etc.).

Jeff

We get lots of emails at Ethical Weddings from brides and grooms trying to plan a more ethical and green wedding – so we thought it was about time we started to share them with you – especially as you might be able to help us answer them!

So today, we’re Stateside (virtually that is!) with a bride who’s trying to track down an eco alternative to disposable tableware… 

“I am in the US and trying to plan a green wedding. We would like to have recycled/biodegradable tableware but every website I find happens to be in the UK.  Do you know or have any counterparts you would recommend in the US?”

We put the question to one of our US-based blogger brides, Sharon, who suggests:

“If she’s looking for something casual, these folks make recycled plastic tableware:

http://www.recycline.com/products/preservetbw.html

It’s re-usable (I use them for picnics, BBQs, etc) and comes in fun colors.

In a quick google search I also found these:
http://www.worldcentric.org/store/tableware.htm

Hope that helps!“

And our other US blogger bride, Thryn agrees:

“Regarding the tableware, the only website I know about is World Centric but I don’t know much about them. I recommend doing a search for “compostable tableware” to see what comes up…“

Treehugger also reports on compostable tableware, sparking off some interesting comments and suggestions from readers.

While from our own searches, we found this stylish selection of eco tableware from Low Impact Living  who are based in California, or these compostable corn cups from Colorado-based Green Logic.

To finish up, let’s take a little peek at our Ethical Weddings directory…

In the UK, Little Cherry offers bamboo biodegradable plates as an alternative to plastic disposables. Their recycled plastic tableware started life as organic yoghurt pots and their handmade fabric bunting and tablecloths can be re-used year after year.

And if we’re going for re-use rather than recycle, Equita, one of our US suppliers, has a gorgeous range of eco chic tableware that might be an option for the wedding gift registry rather than the wedding breakfast table!

Green brides are talking about tableware in the Ethical Weddings Forum where you’ll find posts on ‘Recycled paper napkins and tablecloths?‘ and ‘Paper vs. china & glassware‘ – read more and share your thoughts with other brides and grooms.

If you have more tableware tips for us, get in touch!

Take care,

Katie
For the latest ethical wedding tips, chat, articles and more, free to your inbox, sign up to the monthly Ethical Weddings Newsletter

One of our Ethical Weddings designers is this week (2-7 October) taking part in Origin, the London Craft Fair, organised and selected by the Crafts Council Warriors of Terra full movie , at Somerset House.

Ruth Singer

will be showing new limited edition and one-off work in eco, vintage and recycled fabrics including a new range of one-off wall panels and limited edition cushion sets.

buy Parenthood She will also be showing her new Pinkerton boas made from 100% recycled fabrics, the old favourite white pleated neckpiece, now available in organic silk (and incidentally perfect for a bride!) and the ever-popular Amelia brooch in recycled wool felt.

So if you’re in London this week, why not drop by at Somerset House and say hi? Who knows, you might just find the finishing touch to your wedding outfit…

Take care,

Katiemarcus miller the sun don t lie

It’s been a few days since my last post so I thought I would do a quick update of Ethical Weddings events. At the weekend we went to Bristol where I met with a journalist for the Soil Association’s magazine, ‘Living Earth’. We had a good chat over a cup of tea about my own wedding and how this led to the setting up of Ethical Weddings. The article, which will appear in the Autumn issue of ‘Living Earth’, will feature a bride (who works for the Soil Association) who planned her own green wedding; Ruth Culver, who set up the wedding coordinating service, Green Weddings; and me!

On the supplier front, I had the pleasure of meeting with Belinda Chapman of Light on Life the other week. Belinda is a celebrant – her role involves creating life ceremonies to suit the people at the centre of them – they can take place anywhere, in a hotel, on a beach, in a field – and use any form of expression – music, songs, literature, poetry or performance. I will be posting my chat with Belinda on City Hippy - watch this space and I’ll let you know when it’s up!

Another supplier to sign up to Ethical Weddings is the very funky Junky Styling. Using clothes from charity shops or that were headed for the bin, they deconstruct them then redesign them into twisted, tailored garments that are utterly unique. Wedding dresses begin at £2000 and men’s suits at £450 – all items can be turned around within 2-6 weeks.

My sister and I have been giving our own clothes a new lease of life tonight…by conducting a swap shop in my living room. However, I now seem to have more clothes than I started with – a trip to the charity shop may be in order!

Bye for now!

Katie
ethicalweddings.com

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