The latest in a series of posts from Seaport's wedding and social event expert, Leah Malin.
Centerpieces
Lately we have seen so many wonderful and personalized centerpieces. Last summer, my cousin got married in Monterrey and being extremely environmentally conscious, had her bridal party work together to create window boxes from recycled Redwood, which were filed with succulents. Not only was this very on trend and literally a "Green" wedding, but they were also great keepsakes that lasted long after the wedding. This was magical on many fronts, because it truly reflected their taste, style and commitment to our planet, while creating a great story about them that was shared many times throughout the night. This is another great example of something that was both eco and economically friendly!
Cut the Cake
Literally, as in cut out the cake. If wedding cake is not important to you, and not something your friends and family tend to eat, this is a nice way to eliminate waste and yet another way to save money.
Multi-faceted vendors
So many vendors now bundle their services, and can serve as a single point of contact for music, lighting and photo booths. Not only does using one vendor for multiple services save stress and effort, it cuts down on the amount of paperwork, streamlines your time when it comes to confirming and making decisions, and ultimately cuts the footprint of additional cars and vehicles making deliveries for your special day.
Say Goodbye to Programs and Menus
Another money, time and resource commitment that can be re-imagined with the environment in mind is the creation and production of ceremony programs and menu cards. While these are certainly always a nice touch, they are always only briefly regarded, then discarded. Communicating these important messages can easily be done on lovely boards that can be viewed as all guests enter, and serve as part of your décor as well as a special keepsake for the day. In the spirit of reducing, these can also be done either by row or by table, to cut down on what is used. Ten years after my own wedding, the menu card we posted at each table is still displayed in a shadow box in my dining room as a memory from the day!