My wedding with a hint of green #greenliving

Hello,

It’s been a while since I blogged and I write this from another country with a sense of nostalgia. I have moved to the US as a newly-wed. I got married last month and it has kept me busier than I imagined.

Before I share my experience in this new country, I’d like to write about my wedding. An angel shared with me some ideas on how to make a wedding eco friendly. Thank you, Hamsa.

First, invitations. Soon, I figured out that I didn’t have much control over print versus digital. My parents, being of the old school, had to send printed cards to the people they knew, who also belonged to the same era. I looked for options* such as recycled paper and plantable paper, and in the form of contribution to a social cause. My family found some expensive, some inaccessible, and others not to their taste. I had limited scope in purchasing these. I decided to give out as many digital invitations as possible, a.k.a. e-vites. I found that people understood that the bride may not have the luxury of time to go to columns of people. Printed cards, I seldomly used. In fact, I made my own e-vite using Canva.

Second, decorations. The decorators had adopted green practices in the wedding, without me asking for it. The decorators used reusable decor. I made sure styrofoam was not used. My ethusiastic cousins decorated the car beautifully. They bought some new plastic ribbons and reused some of the old ones. The decorations will be used again someday.

Third, food. I could have got in touch with an organization that would help me recycle food waste, I wanted to. For reasons, I couldn’t fit this one in my plans. But, if you would like to get in touch with one, I could help you with that.

That’s it folks. I tried, couldn’t do a lot, but just a hint of green. Hope this helps.

• (1) Plantable paper: Ekonnect Knowledge Foundation has used plantable paper from 21 fools for their calendar. (2) Recycled paper: I didn’t find a particularly helpful website for Indian wedding cards made of recycled paper. (3) Wedding cards for social cause: Cry Foundation has a shop online where one can buy wedding cards.

Anuja