Here at Greatest Expectations we put a lot of focus on the eco-friendly aspects of event planning.  We work hard to incorporate as many “green” things into our events, offices and daily lives as possible.

Many of you may think that having an eco-friendly wedding is cost prohibitive but honestly that does not have to be the case! There are many, many things you can do to make the carbon footprint of your event smaller with out spending tons of money!

On a very basic level consider making use of the internet!  A great way to save trees is to send an e-save-the-date. This does not have to be a plain old email – you can still have someone design a beautiful “card” and then email it to everyone on your list (remember that if you send someone a save-the-date you must send them a wedding invitation).

We also suggest getting a free wedding website.  We really like the ones offered on wedding wire and OneWed.  These offer excellent planning tools all around.  They can help you manage your guest list, budget, vendors and even help you do seating arrangements!! Consider having your guests send in their responses online (through the website) instead of using a traditional response card (thus saving the printing of the card, envelope and cost of postage!). I realize having guests RSVP online is extremely non-traditional but if you are planing a green wedding it is truly the way to go!  We have done it several times and it works out great.

When it comes to the actual wedding invitation consider having them printed on 100% recycled paper, using earth friendly printing methods with an eco equipped studio, and carbon free shipping!  We really love the ones offered by Earthly Affairs.  They have a very clean and elegant look with tons of design choices.  Their price point is great also!  For 100 invitations with printed return address on the envelope you will spend about $314!!  They do take a little extra time to produce (about three weeks) so be sure to allow plenty of time when placing your order.

We love the idea of “reusing” items … Whether this is something you already own or purchasing something previously used, this is an excellent way to go green in your wedding planning! The Recycled Bride is an excellent website that allows you to find just about anything you can imagine for your event from clothing to rings, table and ceremony decor to jewelry and accessories.  You would be surprised by all of the items you never even think of that cost tons of money but you only use once … Like jars for your candy bar, LED candles (for those historical venues that don’t allow live flame), even fun and unique vessels for your centerpieces. You can also sell items, that can still have life in them, after your wedding is over … The Recycled Bride really takes reduce, reuse and recycle to a whole new bridal level!

You can also consider finding a wedding dress resale shop in your area.  Here in Chicago I love to send people to White Chicago where you can purchase designer seconds (at a significantly reduced price) or a gently used dress. You can also consign your wedding dress here.

If you have your heart set on having a new wedding dress then how about one made of eco-friendly materials! We are completely in love with Threadhead Creations Eco Wedding dresses found on etsy (another amazing resource all around).  These beautiful gowns are custom made (although they do offer a small selection of ready to ship dresses) with the fabric of your choice. Another fantastic company is Natural Bridal.  They make amazing gowns that can be purchased through their etsy site here. They also offer wraps, garters and other eco-friendly accessories in addition to their wedding dresses. To make them even more wonderful, 5% of your purchase goes towards environmental non profit groups!!

Your bridal party can have dresses made as well! We love ECONICA for something custom or consider purchasing them from sites like Wore it Once or Recycled Bride.  This option is excellent if you have a very small bridal party.  If you have a slightly larger bridal party why not put them in black and allowing them to wear any dress they want … Then they know it will fit their body type and they can wear it again!

When it comes to Bridal Jewelry everyone loves BLIG! What bride does not want to dazzle and sparkle on her big day?  But who can afford to spend tons of money on diamonds!!  That is where a really cool site like Adorn comes in.  Greatest Expectations has a special relationship with the people at Adorn.  If you rent items from them and enter our unique code (CHBC2018) you will get a 20% discount on all items!!  That’s a little Earth Week treat from us!  They carry so many beautiful pieces but we especially love the items with Saphires … Something Blue anyone?

When it comes to items for your guests I always suggest using reusable bags (instead of paper or plastic) for welcome bags.  You can even have them personalized at Factory Direct Promotions where everything is eco-friendly!! They are even better if you have reusable water bottles inside!  If you order  them in advance and get enough, you can get great deals on both items!  When filling them consider using small local companies that use sustainable products. If you are in Chicago how think about Rare Bird Preserves or Rich Chocolate & Candies … YUMMY!!!

If you plan on doing favors (and we firmly believe you can skip this part with out any complaints) we suggest something edible, plantable or better yet making a donation in your guests honor to a charity that is special to you! We had clients a few months ago that simply could not decide what charity to donate to so they selected three and allowed their guests to pick their favorite charity!

When it comes to food and beverage ask your catering company to not use bottled water (as long as you live in a city with good tap water, like Chicago), recycle as much as possible after the event and use sustainable, locally grown items! Something you wish you could do but cannot is donate left over food to a shelter.  They have some pretty strict rules (Health Code related) and cannot accept items that have been opened or partly consumed by others. I did have a friend that once went to lower wacker and gave food away to the homeless – now that is something you can do!

And don’t forget about implementing as many green items into your everyday life as possible … Always use your own water bottle. I really like the Intake from Thermos, if you brew coffee at home get a coffee maker with a reusable filter, carry your own coffee cozy like one from Green Pockets on Etsy. Consider using an efax instead of a traditional fax.  They are actually really helpful, your faxes come in as PDF’s (saving paper and ink) and can be saved directly into the right file.  You can also send faxes without printing them out! And don’t forget to shop and eat Local!!!  This helps keep your neighbor’s in business, your community vitalized, and your overall carbon footprint smaller

Happy Earth Week!!  We hope this post (and many others like it) will inspire you to make green decisions, even the small ones count!!  And please remember to be green all year around, not just one week a year!!