White Wedding, Green Outlook

by Jennie Wadsworth

In spite of the economic climate, wedding preparations are underway for thousands of couples. Some experts estimate that the average British wedding emits more CO2 than ten return flights to Thailand (source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/wedding.shtml). Trafford Green Party member Jennie Wadsworth recently married and here she shares her top tips for an ethical wedding day:

To reduce the carbon output of the wedding we didn’t use formal cars on the day as we were married, had reception and were staying in the same hotel. We chose this to avoid the use of a car and because we have a two year old that might have struggled getting in and out of the car. It made the day much easier being in the one place. As well as being more environmentally and mentally friendly, it was also cheaper!

The flowers were mostly sourced from local florists and some of the food on the menu was locally produced. We saved the flowers to enjoy for the week in the cottage and gave the pot plants away as gifts to guests. I was very sad when I had to throw my bouquet away but after taking the ribbon off it went in the compost so it will help another plant to grow in the future. One of the big floral displays fitted in the car so came home and will be revitalised with some new roses and clippings from the hedges for the second reception. It might not look as good as the florists version but at least I will have got more use out of it before that too makes its way to the compost bin.

We stayed in England for the honeymoon, about 20 mins down the road from the wedding venue in fact. This was part of the reason for choosing to get married away from home, so that once we were there, we didn’t have to go very far for the next week.

The village was on a train route to Whitby, although we didn’t know this before we went, and Adam really enjoyed his first train ride. Later in the week we chose to walk to Whitby along a very pretty but steep footpath. We had chosen the only day it rained to do this mile long walk but we put our waterproofs and wellies on, got the brolly out and had a great time. Adam loves nothing more than splashing in puddles and was in his element on the uneven path. I was dreaming about moving there and where I would keep chickens, goats, pigs and grow veg. I would pick blackberries, rosehips and anything else I would learn about from the thousands along the path and make jam, sauces, chutneys. I would open a bakery and have a little tea shop (the only thing missing in the village) where I would host community meetings… Back to reality, I’m only here for one more day! I will do all these things when I don’t have a baby to look after. The local shops in the village served our needs perfectly and the pub was lovely. Very quiet when we went in the early evening so nobody minded Adam wandering around the pool table collecting the deliberately potted (honest) white ball.

We are pleased to have done what we could to make our day a bit more environmentally friendly and a bit unique.