Review summary: There aren’t too many green wedding books on the market. Eco-Chic Weddings is one of the better green wedding books though. There are many pros and very few cons packed into this small, but very useful green wedding manual – although the cover of this book managed to hurl me and my significant other into a massive debate (and by debate I mean argument)… keep reading to learn more.

Product: Eco-Chic Weddings: Simple Tips to Plan an Earth-Friendly, Socially Responsible, Affordable Green Wedding by Emily Elizabeth Anderson; published by Hatherleigh Press, 2007.

Publishers synopsis: “Planning your wedding can be the best time to be eco-friendly. The wedding industry has a huge impact on the global economy and the environment, as wedding parties spend over $125 billion a year in the U.S. alone. Eco-Chic Weddings presents the quick, simple, and easy-to-follow tips you need to make your wedding socially responsible. This indispensable guide gives you the choice, comfort, and chance to share your own unique style for a truly memorable wedding.

Going green doesn’t mean you need to spend the green. Eco-Chic Weddings provides all the resources you need to create your environmentally friendly and fun celebration on a budget. From the location to the dress to the menu, there are dozens of easy ways to make your wedding beautiful and still reflect your personal beliefs in sustainable living. Eco-Chic Weddings will show you how to craft your perfect day.”

Cost: Eco-Chic Weddings will only set you back $10.36 – a bargain compared to the wedding costs

What’s covered in Eco-Chic Weddings:

I’d say the author covers just about everything you need to know in order to have a greener and less expensive wedding. Anderson goes through wedding basics, wedding rings, attire, the registry, wedding invitation and favors, flower choices, transportation, the wedding menu and honeymoon. She also has some excellent extra-type chapters covering health and beauty and married life.

There’s an excellent jam packed eco-resources appendix at the end of the book, and although this book is now 4 years old, most of the resources are still handy and relevant.

Perks of Eco-Chic Weddings:

• Printed on 100% recycled paper and with vegetable-based inks.
• Excellent take on the three Rs. I love how every topic covered has a reduce, reuse and recycle slant. This three Rs slant makes it easy to focus on how you might make the best eco-friendly wedding plans just by asking yourself three questions – can I reduce, can I reuse and can I recycle. It’s a good way to live and plan a wedding.
• I like the cost saving aspects of the book. Not only does the author explain why a choice is greener but also how that choice can save you some cash.
• Flexibility is stressed throughout, which I think is awesome because it makes the planning process more chill.
• Interesting facts pepper this book. For instance, I wouldn’t have guessed that October is the most popular wedding month and there are other cool facts as well such as wedding flowers by season.
• Focus on the little things. Not every choice is huge. For example, the author points out that white is not so eco-chic in a gown (due to chemical processes to make the dress so white). Little and big choices a plenty are offered.
• Easy to skim. Nicely placed headers and top-o-page text make this book an easy read and you can browse it in chunks.
• Affordable and slim so it’s a go-anywhere book – and since it tells you all you need to know, you won’t need other books. There are a few other green wedding books I like, but there’s no need to own them all. This is a good one to get if you’d like to plan a budget green wedding.

The BIG debate:

So, when I first got this book about a year ago, Dave, my significant other and me got into this huge flipping argument about it. He walked past my desk when I was working, saw it, and said, “Hey are you reviewing that?” I said yes, I’m planning to eventually. He picked it up, looked at it and said, “I’d NEVER buy this book!”

I was a little stumped and asked why not. He said, “Anderson took all the fun out of the wedding with the cover!” When asked to explain Dave says, “She’s got too many words on there.” Huh? Let’s see what Dave’s talking about…

Um… ok. Dave launched into a long explanation about how weddings should be fun and all those words makes it seem like a green wedding will be entirely too much work. I disagreed, noting that most wedding books have wording as such on the cover, it’s just that this book has eco-wording. He’s like, “Yeah, it’s too much responsibility and not enough fun.”

He was adamant about this. Dave likes weddings and according to him, this book’s cover was sucking the fun and joy out of weddings.  When I asked what he’d like to see on the cover he said, “How to have an easy and fun green wedding – period.” Being me, I don’t think being socially responsible or eco-friendly sucks the fun out of anything. I don’t get the reasoning. In any case we went 40 rounds of I’m right, you’re wrong and finally agreed to disagree.

But in case you, for whatever reason, have the same thoughts as Dave, you should know that being socially responsible and eco-friendly will not take away but add to your wedding day. ALL weddings can be stressful, but honestly by committing to a greener wedding, I think you lower the stress level considerably. Eco-friendly is less in the simplest of terms and less is almost always easier than more.

Dave’s on board with green weddings by the way – I guess he’ll just need another book. Sigh.

Were there any negatives?

• No digital version available from what I can gather.
• Needs images. Eco-friendly books, in my experience, unless about houses and decor, tend to contain few to zero images. What’s up with that? I like images in tip-style books and wish this one in particular had some.
• A little checklist would be useful. I’m a list person, so having a checklist about weddings set up for me would be handy. I didn’t see one in here – although I’ve been known to miss stuff.

Overall score:

4.5 out of 5 little trees. An excellent score for a great little green wedding planner. I’d highly suggest this book if you want to plan an affordable and eco-friendly wedding.

Learn more:

• Buy Eco-Chic Weddings: Simple Tips to Plan an Earth-Friendly, Socially Responsible, Affordable Green Wedding.
• Visit Emily Anderson at her Etsy shop – oh yeah, author and Etsy artist. You can’t beat that!
• Read the Good With Style blog and learn about Anderson’s sweet new book (from the looks of things) Eco-Chic Home.
• Follow Emily Anderson on Twitter.

See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.

There are many reasons to choose organic wine and bubbly for your eco-friendly wedding celebration. First of all know your choices -  later we’ll look at some specifics, but just to be clear you can choose basic organic wine (no bubbles), organic champagne and sparkling wines (all are different). Below are just some of the reasons why you should look for organic wine and bubbly for your green wedding.

An excellent taste experience: Organic bubbly and wine flavor far surpasses conventional versions. Organic farmers take plenty of time to create better soil before they grow their fruit. Better soil leads to better fruit which of course leads to an overall better beverage. When considering wine alone, healthy soil and special soil amendments mean that organic wine tends to have a bolder more intense flavor than conventional wine.

Pesticides don’t belong at any celebration: Honestly, why drink pesticides if you don’t have to? Especially on your very special wedding day. Certified organic beverages have zero pesticides to dampen your wedding. The USDA notes that any wine or other beverage labeled with 100% Organic, ”Must contain 100 percent organically produced ingredients and have been processed using organically produced processing aids.” See the USDA wine labeling guide (pdf) for more information.

Speaking of pesticides: While it’s nuts to allow pesticides to pollute your body, pesticides also mean bad news for the planet. Grapes are one of the most heavily sprayed (with pesticides) crops. In fact, year in a year out, grapes make the dirty dozen list. Not only do pesticides affect your body but they affect the soil, air and water (used to grow other crops). Pesticides also harm farmers and their children. When you choose organics for your wedding and all year round you’re not only keeping yourself healthy but also helping to keep farmers (and farmers children) healthy.

Prevent soil erosion: I know, nothing is more glamorous than soil erosion! But seriously, if soil erosion isn’t something you’re currently thinking about, it should be because it does affect you, your health and the health of your loved ones in ways you probably can’t even imagine. Not only is massive soil erosion responsible for planetary woes including land damage estimated to be $400 billion per year and biodiversity problems with crops but erosion increases the amount of dust carried by wind, which creates air pollution issues and can carry human infectious disease organisms, including anthrax and tuberculosis. Sadly there’s a lot more at stake – learn more about soil erosion.

Organic wine and sparkling beverages are the perfect way to celebrate while helping to eliminate all these issues above. It’s a far more lovable choice for your green wedding. When choosing a wine or other sparkling beverage make sure it comes from a sustainable vineyard or certified organic company.

More help:

• Look for biodynamic wines.
• A great F&Q about organic wine from the Organic Wine Company.
• Clearing up the Confusion about Organic Wine
• Appellation Wine and Spirits – this unconventional wine store focuses on producers that depart from convention and make wine that is organic or biodynamic. They don’t just carry wine though and also make a point of sharing exactly how each product they sell is sustainable or not.
• Organic Wine Journal

Just an FYI – I’ll be missing in action until Friday. I actually have a wedding to attend a day from now (on top of an already busy work week) and no dress. And yes, while naked is eco-friendly I hardly think that would make for nice wedding pictures. Hence me taking time off to finish up some other work and find a dress.

I’ll be back with something wonderful and green on Friday but until then here are some pretty little eco-friendly wedding items you might enjoy. Oh, and I know, the chocolate is not OH SO pretty, but I’ve been having crazy chocolate cravings so…

1. Heart Filigree Turquoise Sea Glass Locket Necklace
2. Plantable Bird Tags
3. Organic lavender & rosebud favor sachets
4. DIY wheat & roses bouquet
5. Belov(ed) – lovely vintage hair pin set
6. Organic and Fair Trade chocolate lip balm favors

My sister has been in oh, about 27 weddings over the last ten or so years (that estimate might be low). She’s recently started complaining about how she’s had to buy all these bridesmaid dresses costing anywhere from $150-$300+, not to mention shoes and worst of all, most of them she’ll NEVER wear again. It sucks when your bride pal picks a dress you hate right?

One might argue that she could simply refuse to be in these weddings, but she’s a good friend and wants to make everyone happy. What her complaining has inspired me to do is to look up this odd tradition because personally, I’ve never understood it and this is one of those old school traditions that’s just not very eco-friendly.

She so won't be wearing this dress again - unless maybe someone asks her to the prom...

At The Knot they note, “Bridesmaids are generally expected to pay for their own wedding-day ensemble (shoes and jewelry included).” Being that the Knot is all things weddings, I expected more. I looked around and The Knot also says, “Your maids will have to pay for their own ensembles — from the dress to the shoes to the jewelry. They’ll pony up for the shower and the bachelorette party, wedding weekend accommodations, and gifts. All in all, their pocketbooks will take a beating. So remember to be nice to them in return.” I’ll say!

At another wedding site it’s noted, “The most traditional approach, approved by etiquette gurus of the 1960s, is that the bride chooses the bridesmaid dresses, and the bridesmaids grit their teeth and wear them without a murmur of protest.”

Hmmm. I looked and looked and basically everywhere I turned it said common etiquette is that bridesmaids pay for their own attire. Finally I found one gal who was questioning this tradition too and who also, was in fact paying for her bridesmaid dresses.

What’s the big deal?

First of all, this whole wacky tradition just goes against common sense. You might throw a party and tell everyone, “Hey, bring a six-pack!” but you don’t ever throw a party and tell only your best pals to bring 40 six packs each. You also don’t tell people what to wear then make them pay for whatever you pick out. WHO does that in real life? Why should your wedding be different? This wedding was presumably your choice, it’s your party, you should pay for the wedding. We’re all adults – admit it, this makes sense.

The most common argument I’ve heard for bridesmaids paying is that, “We picked out an awesome dress that they can wear again and again so they should pay” – this statement usually comes from the bride mind you who means “Me” not “We.” I’ve got a slew of bridesmaids who will argue that they’ve never ever worn that “awesome” dress again.

Another argument for bridesmaids paying I’ve commonly seen is, “I’m having so many bridesmaids that it’d be impossible for me to pay.” Well, in real life if you can’t afford something you find a better way (hopefully). 

Most of all though, this just isn’t a very eco-friendly practice. If you seriously aren’t going to wear a dress but once, it’s such a waste of energy, materials and the money is like the cherry on the cake. I don’t think you can honestly have a green wedding and know that a bulk of the clothing in said wedding is one-time fare only. 

For my wedding, I’d likely one, not have an actual wedding party set-up anyhow – the day should be more about you and your partner, and two, if I did happen to have a wedding party, I’d just say, wear something nice sure, but but that’s as far as I’d go. People will be more comfortable and happy if they can wear what they like – and on your wedding day don’t you want happy guests?

Sigh. Maybe I’m missing something… Still, if you want to balk tradition and some heavy costs you could go sans bridesmaids or you could choose some eco-friendly dresses that aren’t so overly fancy so that people will really be able to use them again. I’d gather some ideas (just ideas) but then have your bridesmaids choose and then I’d pay. If my bridesmaids didn’t want to keep their dress I’d just make sure they were donated to a decent cause.

Later I’ll be back with some $100 (or less) dresses that are eco-friendly and still nice enough for a wedding.

What do you think? Is it really in green wedding style to choose one-time dresses? AND what do you think about making bridesmaids pay for their own dresses – good idea or not so much?

These delightful handmade nature letters would be perfect for an outdoor green wedding reception.

Each beautiful letter is made entirely out of natural dried floral stock, such as Lavender, Pussy Willow, Wheat, Caspia, Twigs, Centaurea, Barley and more. The elegant but rustic look will fit many various wedding schemes and can be kept in your home long after the wedding is over.

Each letter is totally unique and artist Katie Leigh will custom make any letters you like. I think it’d be super sweet to get your initials created; although the simple, “Love” phrase is so sweet as well. At just $10 per letter this is a wonderfully affordable and unique wedding accent.

Learn more at Katie Leigh Designs.

I’ve been meaning to post about this since April – yes I am a little behind. Still, good news is always good news. Smock, one of my absolute favorite eco-friendly gift wrap stationery shops recently introduced 30+ new letterpress designs including plenty of beautiful items for your green wedding. Letterpress greeting cards, patterned letterpress social stationery, hang tag/gift tags, recycled gift wrap and a new collection of colorful offset thank you cards and note cards are all part of the new collection. All new eco-friendly items are printed on smooth bamboo paper.

Smock Cherry Blossom Wedding Invitation

Some of the very best from the new collection is below – swoon!

• Blossom double-sided gift wrap – sustainably offset printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
• Dhoon flat printed thank you card with blank envelope – an excellent way to say thank you for wedding gifts, these lovely cards are sustainably offset printed on bamboo paper. envelope is made out of 100% post consumer recycled paper and packaged in a crystal clear box made from 25% post-consumer polyester. Polyester is a #1 recyclable plastic, one of the most easily recycled plastics.
• Isle hang tags, letterpress & flat printed – hang tags are made from bamboo paper and sustainably printed and perfect for wedding party gifts. Letterpress blind deboss on front, offset patterning on back. Each set contains 3 unique and colorful designs in soothing colors.

Smock is one of those shops that’s not only lovely but green as green can be. In addition to printing on sustainable bamboo and 100% post consumer recycled papers, Smock is also wind powered, a member of Green America’s Green Business Network and donates 1% of sales to environmental causes. To go even further, Smock offers free bus passes to employees to help encourage use of public transit and subsidizes 20-week Community Supported Agriculture memberships with a local organic farm. Smock regularly partners with organizations such as the Amazon Conservation Association to help promote environmental causes that affect the globe.

Nice. All of these aspects make it very easy to choose Smock for all your upcoming green wedding paper needs, right!? Right.

+ Smock

If you’re having an evening reception, outside party, or just want to make your wedding tables sparkle, LED lighting is clear, beautiful and a great energy efficient choice.

Go green with eco-friendly LED lighting for your wedding.

LED lighting has many benefits over fluorescent and incandescent lighting, for example…

• LED bulbs last far longer than both compact fluorescent bulbs and typical incandescent bulbs plus offer maximum durability. LEDs hold up better if bounced around or bumped into which means if Uncle Bob has one too many at the reception and knocks into the lighting display you’ll most likely be ok.
• LED bulbs do not cause heat build-up and stay cool, perfect if kids who like shiny bright objects will be at your wedding. Since LED bulbs produce less heat they’re also great for hot summer weddings.
• LEDs are mercury-free
• LED lighting comes in an array of wonderful colors and shapes. From white to pink to green to gold and more colors along with shapes like large berries, snowflakes, stars and more you’ve got all sorts of design choices – plenty to suit any wedding theme.

BUT….

LED lighting costs more than other lighting options from the get go, with value that pays off in time due to energy savings and a long life span. This does bring up an important question though – why use more expensive LED lighting for a wedding when you may only use it once? Well, first of all, you should be thinking reuse, even when it comes to your wedding. A wedding, especially a green wedding, is no excuse to buy something with a one-time use value. From the favors to the decor you should consider reuse value.

If you use LED string lights at your wedding they can easily be saved for the holidays or another big event or given to a pal for her wedding. If you use LED candles the same applies – you can use them for dinner parties for a good long while. Lastly, LED lighting is not as expensive as you might think. Costs have gone down making them a decent choice even price-wise.

Following are some LED lighting choices:

Pure White LED Star Lights – very pretty string light accent, especially if you want to add some sparkle to a green winter wedding. OR try something extra special like Brilliant Blue Star LED lighting on ultra thin flexible wire that can be bent to any shape. Great for using around floral arrangements on each wedding table.

LED Amber Flicker Candle – nice tea lights for the wedding table. Safer and longer lasting than real candles. Plus these LED candles fit most standard sized tea light candle holders. You can also go bigger with LED Amber Pillar Candles.

Decorative warm white railing lights feature flicker-free LEDs that are vibrant and perfect for decorating interior or exterior railings along stairways or decks for an outdoor wedding.

LED lanterns are one more way to utilize LED technology. Beautiful modern Soji LED Solar Lanterns in wavy white or pure white are both fun.

To brighten up outdoor evening weddings the White Led Cherry Blossom Tree is a unique and lovely choice.

Choosing a green honeymoon destination is easier than you might think. Before booking your honeymoon destination, call or email each destination with the following list of questions.

• Is the lodging locally owned and staffed? Keep in mind that local is best, but in some cases weather or transportation issues makes local staffing impossible. Staff may live at a lodge during specific seasons.
• What sort of energy does the lodging rely on? It is powered by alternative energy sources such as wind or solar? Do they offset any energy usage?
• Is their water us sustainable? Ask about low-flow shower heads and toilets and rain barrels systems. Don’t forget to ask about laundry as well. Some lodging is holding off washing bedding and towels daily unless specifically asked by the customer. That’s a good thing. No one needs their sheets washed daily.
• Does the building have any eco-credentials; for example is it LEED certified?
• If room service or an on-site restaurant is offered, do they offer local and organic meal choices? If you’re considering an ocean or beach resort they should have some sustainable seafood criteria in place.
• Are organic or other eco-friendly materials used for room textiles like towels, bedding, robes and so on?
• Do they offer organic or eco-friendly body care products such as soap, shampoo and lotion?
• Do they furnish with sustainable furniture such as pieces made with bamboo or FSC certified wood?
• How do they dispose of trash? I know, thinking about trash is not fun but you should find out if the lodging composts, recycles and limits waste when possible.
• What sorts of extra amenities does the lodging feature and is it eco-friendly?  For example are energy star refrigerators used in rooms; do they offer a natural swimming pool vs. a chlorine pool; natural spa treatments; and so on.
• Does the lodging respect the earth around it? For example, is nature still intact surrounding the lodging. If tours are given do they also respect the natural area?
• Does the lodging support any community organizations, eco-organizations, local eco-initiatives (think beach clean-ups and animal conservation) or other socially ethical non-profits?

Try not to aim for perfection. Eco-friendly policies are growing among the tourism industry, but they have a long way to go. It’s rare to find 100% green lodging. Decide what matters most to you – organic food or organic sheets? Recycling or offsetting energy use? Many lodging choices offer some but not all of the eco-friendly aspects listed above so aim high but don’t aim for perfection or you may not find a honeymoon destination.

This personalized tree and sweet pair of lovebirds wedding cake topper are both made out of local sustainable poplar wood and are both equally too cute for words. The set is drawn, sawed, sanded, details burned (on the front and back), sanded again, painted with US made non-toxic water colors and then finished with bees wax and jojoba oil. If you’re having a nature-minded wedding these two birds + tree are the perfect wedding cake topper.

Each set is personalized for the couple by Star House – you choose what should be burned into the heart on the tree. Longer names won’t fit, but if you want it to resemble a real tree heart carving you should use initials anyhow. You also get to choose the colors for the lovebird pair. Choices include: red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, lime green, purple, pink, brown, and black.

There’s also a totally adorable owl pair + tree wedding cake topper option and other people-minded toppers too.

+ Wedding Cake Toppers

+ Star House

There is an amazing older, but perfect for the season series at Telegraph.co.uk about growing your own wedding. From the flowers to the food, if you’ve already got a small plot of land, you can grow it all organically and save BIG bucks while keeping your wedding eco-friendly.

The series from start to finish looks at how to plan and manage growing your own DIY green wedding.

Some of the many wonderful ideas offered include:

• Peach or raspberry Bellinis for guests, made with some fruit picked from the garden.
• For canapés with the early drinks, lots of different bruschettas made with garden tomatoes, garlic, and plenty of home-grown basil and a minty bean humus as well.
• Plates of just-picked baby vegetables – radish, mini carrots, peas, purple-podded mange touts, and the late, mini broad bean ‘Stereo’ – on plates covered in ice.
• Crisp courgette wedges with anchovy mayonnaise and stuffed courgette flowers with goat’s cheese and honey.
• Fresh salads and new potatoes served with dinner.
• Lebanese tahini salad, home-made mint jelly and platters of salad scattered with blue borage and orange marigold flowers included with the main wedding meal.
• Flowers such as, Cosmos ‘Purity’ and dill flowers for decor, table centres of potted acidanthera, and a bouquet of roses, alchemilla and sweet peas.

I LOVE this great green DIY wedding idea!

Read the series:

• Grow your own wedding: part 1
• Grow your own wedding: part 2

See more DIY green wedding ideas.