These are tips for an eco friendly wedding. The wedding day can be beautiful and elegant without taxing the environment. All areas of a wedding can be done from the gown to the invitations to the flowers to the reception. Below are tips to make the special day earth friendly.

The Gown

A bride can have a beautiful gown made of silk, organic cotton, bamboo or hemp. These materials are natural and environmentally friendly in the way they are made. A vintage wedding gown is also a good choice and a way to recycle what's already made.

Wedding Invitations

Use recycled paper or post-consumer recycled content. Make sure it's processed chlorine-free. There are even paperless invites that are made out of elephant poop, kenaf, jute, wheat or some other tree-less fiber. Lastly there's electronic invitations which are sent from a computer through the internet. This is one of the best ways, no paper, and RSVP's are much easier to receive.

Wedding Flowers

Make your flowers from the bouquet to the corsages and boutonnieres to the flower arrangements in the wedding setting and reception area eco friendly too by using organic flowers, Fair Trade Certified flowers (insures that the laborers who grew them were treated fair and compensated fairly), locally-grown flowers (ask for chemical-free flowers.)

Other ideas for eco friendly

Look for eco wedding venues. Places that keep the earth in mind, who recycle, conserve water, use natural resources and avoid the use of chemicals where possible.

Eco wedding food - meals and snacks that are locally-grown and organic. Serve in eco friendly dishes that are reusable. Avoid using disposables, which can clog the landfills. Hire a cleaning service to clean up afterwards.

Eco friendly wedding favors. Some favors can be edible, (like candies, tiny cupcakes, lollypops) that way there are no wastes. Or make them practical (a CD of the wedding music, a small framed photo of the bride and groom, a small calendar or refrigerator magnet with a photo of the wedding party, etc) so the guests will want to be sure to take them home.