Finding eco-friendly wedding invitation options is one easy task these days. I have found many, many sites that offer invites made from 100 percent recycled paper, bamboo paper, plantable paper, tree-free paper, etc. etc. The challenge here is less about finding an eco-friendly company, but about choosing the one best suited to my wedding in terms of style, sustainability and budget. I met the owner of NepalesePaper.com last week at the Green Festival in Washington D.C. The company's paper stock is absolutely gorgeous. Though it's not anything close to local, the paper is produced by Nepalese artisans who make their living by their craft, which is a great thing. It also helps that the owner was quite friendly and helpful and that they make gorgeous invitation packages. I will list more options as I move forward, but I would LOVE your suggestions so I can check out all the options. We are thinking about screen-printing them ourselves to save money. Has anyone attempted to do this?

Hello, all. As I think I've mentioned before, my tactic toward planning my wedding in a fun and totally relaxed way is to focus on each item one by one. Because I'm still on the hunt for the perfect dress, I will admit that I am somewhat breaking my own rules by starting to look at rings—but, oh well. Finding an eco-friendly wedding ring seems to be among the top things you can do to make your wedding more sustainable, so I have begun looking into the options. Diamond mining has caused a number of negative social issues and violence. Though it seems that the international diamond-mining industry has improved these social situations, a number of environmental problems still surround the practice. Gold mining is heavily polluting, as well.

Fortunately, diamonds "are forever" and gold doesn't lose its shine with time, so it's incredibly easy to find recycled versions. We do not need to support these industries' production of more and more pollution and social problems when plenty of gold and diamonds are already in circulation on the global market. Additionally, a number of companies offer fair trade diamonds or those created in labs, so many less harmful options are available. (See resource listings below.)  

I am lucky to have one element already in the bag in terms of eco-friendliness: My fiance's mother had an absolutely beautiful diamond that has been in her family for four generations. Had I not had the good fortune of having a wonderful gift like this passed on to me, I certainly would have considered other jewels that are less harmfully produced but still gorgeous and long-lasting. However, it is absolutely not necessary to compromise if you want a traditional ring—simply being aware and doing a little research will allow you to find a traditional, classic ring in any style that is easier on the environment.

I am planning to have my diamond set in a band of recycled gold. I am hoping to find a local artisan to do this work...I may consider buying gold jewelry from a pawn or thrift store, then having the artist melt it down and rework it. This combines my interest in reusing and in supporting local artisans. I also highly value choosing items for my wedding that are unique and not the run-of-the-mill items found at the local mall. However, as I mentioned, you can find an eco-friendly version of nearly every type of ring, from the most traditional to the most unique.

If you are committed to having a diamond, consider an eco-friendly one. No matter what type of ring you want, you can find a sustainable choice. Here are some great resources to get you started:

Recycled Jewelry:

http://www.greenkarat.com/

http://www.ebay.com/

http://www.artisanweddingrings.com/engagement_rings

Canadian Diamonds:

http://www.brilliantearth.com/

http://www.bluenile.com/canadian-diamonds

http://www.canadia.com/latest/index.htm

Fair Trade Diamonds and Gemstones:

http://www.aprildoubleday.com/april.htm

http://www.artisanweddingrings.com/

http://www.leberjeweler.com/earthwise/index.php3

Recycled Gold:

http://www.brilliantearth.com/

http://www.greenkarat.com/

http://www.artisanweddingrings.com/

Alternative Rings:

http://www.todofono.com/Shop/Default.aspx?CatID=7

http://chicagojoinery.com/

http://www.touchwoodrings.com/

Cultured Diamonds:

http://www.gemesis.com/

https://www.shopapollo.com/

I wanted to start a running list of green wedding resources I find as I hunt, as a service to others who may be interested in planning a more sustainable event:

Flowers: 

Find local flowers: Local Harvest

Order organic online: Organic Bouquet 

Dresses/Attire: 

Preowned Wedding Dresses 

Adele Wechsler 

Deborah Lindquist 

Olivia Luca 

Handmade Items:

Green Wedding Information:

Great Green Weddings

Inhabitat's Green Wedding Guide 

Invitations: 

Smock Paper

Delphine Press

Botanical Paperworks

Oslo Press (uses industrial scrap and waste wood veneer for invites)

After nailing down our location and finding local flowers, my latest focus has been on finding the perfect eco-friendly wedding dress. Shopping for wedding dresses is one of the most fun parts of planning a wedding (at least for anyone who likes to shop like I do), and I've been enjoying checking out a number of different types of options. I'm on a fairly limited budget, but luckily I am also open to a broad array of options. I've found a few I'm interested in pursuing. One fantastic resource I found is a site that offers hundreds of gorgeous reused wedding dresses: www.preownedweddingdresses.com. This site is amazing—designer dresses for literally 75 percent off in some cases! It's also light on the environment to reuse.

I've also been looking into a few places that will design a dress for you using whatever materials you want. I found this Kansas City custom dress maker via her Etsy site. Etsy—an online marketplace where artisans sell handcrafted items—is also a fantastic resource to search for dresses, veils or other items, especially if you're looking for something very unique. I'm planning to get these wedding cake toppers I found there. I'm also looking at some more traditional dresses available through eco-friendly designers. Adele Wechsler offers absolutely beautiful eco-friendly gowns and I'm trying to track down some locations to try on some of her styles.

Please give me any other tips you might have for finding an eco-friendly dress, and I will keep you updated as my hunt continues.

This past weekend, I finally nailed down a flower supplier who is local, chemical-free AND who will have flowers blooming in mid-May—my wedding time. It showed me that you sometimes have to go through quite a bit to find the suppliers you are looking for, but it pays off in the end. To find this person, I started by searching for organic flowers in Lawrence, Kansas. That led me to Lynn Byczynski, the local author of the book The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers. Lynn doesn't grow flowers for weddings, but she was able to get me in contact with Jozzy Schimke from Earth Flowers in LeCompton, Kansas...just a hop, skip and a jump from Lawrence. They grow flowers in hoop houses, so they have blooms earlier in the year than the other, exlusively outdoor flowers farms. Earth Flowers lets customers come out and choose their own flowers and arrange bouquets on their own—something I wanted to do with some friends of mine who are good at that sort of thing. Now I will be able to afford the type and kind of flowers I want, and I will know that they have not been treated with chemicals and shipped halfway across the country! Anyone looking for local farms in their area can also rely on Local Harvest, which offers a searchable database of food and flower farms across the U.S. I will be adding as many green wedding resources as I can find to this blog, so keep checking back.

This week found me starting my search for wedding flowers. I had the perfect plan straight from a past Natural Home article: Call a local "you pick" flower farm, go get a bunch of local, seasonal blooms, and have a big bouquet-making workshop with friends (actually, the farm featured in the article is just outside my town). Fun, local and less expensive than hiring a florist. I visited the farmer's market last weekend for our weekly produce and stopped by the flower farms booth to talk about my plan. BAD NEWS: My wedding is scheduled for May 15th. The flower farm has nothing blooming by then! They said their earliest flowers are peonies, but they couldn't guarantee them by that date. By May 20th, yes. May 15th, no. Oh geez. Plan in ruin.

I called around to a couple other places. Same story.

So now I'm back to the drawing board. I did locate a woman online yesterday who also owns a flower farm and has actually written a book on the subject of growing eco-friendly flowers. I've tried to make contact, so hopefully something will work out. I feel confident that there must be eco-friendly greenhouse growers in my area, but so far I haven't had much luck finding them. Another potential option would be to use some beautiful flowering herbs, which mature more quickly than many flowers. Also on my potentials list is buying a grow light and growing my own flowers indoors. My fiance has a bit of a green thumb, but I have no idea how labor-intensive this might turn out to be. The same article from a past Natural Home also suggested this online organic flower company...a great option, though I would love to find something organic and local. I will keep you posted as my progress continues. Has anyone out there attempted to grow their own wedding flowers? Have other suggestions? Do let me know your thoughts, solutions, etc. I greatly appreciate help and feedback. 'Til then...

After a summer hiatus (it's been a very busy summer!), I am back in the swing of blog-writing, with a whole new line of blogs. My boyfriend and I recently got engaged and are planning a wedding for May of 2010. It's about eight months away, so we will be in full-swing planning mode right from the start. Though I am on a fairly restrictive budget, I am hoping and planning to include as many eco-friendly aspects as possible. I've already got the locations chosen—both fairly eco-friendly if I do say so myself. The ceremony is planned at the small chapel at the Kansas City botanical gardens, Powell Gardens, a beautiful location with 915 acres of gardens and nature trails. The organization is committed to preservation and education. They help area residents grow bigger, better and healthier gardens, so I am thrilled to have my wedding at this gorgeous location, and to support an area business who shares my values. We plan to have our evening reception at a friend's home in the country...aside from the power use we'll require, it should be an eco-friendly location. I'm planning to use LED lights and beeswax candlelight to decorate. I'm also hoping to create hanging lanterns out of mason jars, like these. I'll be blogging regularly as I search for light-on-the-land AND light-on-the-budget wedding supplies and ideas. PLEASE offer me any suggestions you have from your own weddings or those of loved ones. I'm open to any and all suggestions!