ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

If you already have a home together, consider requesting on your invitations:"Please no gifts" or "Your presence is your gift to us", or recommend that guests donate to your favourite environmental group in honour of this special occasion. Some groups even carry out a shared eco-project during weekend festivities to contribute to the outdoor location’s health and wellbeing.

Request that each guest, as a wedding gift, makes a lifestyle change or does something to help the environment - make a suggestion list - donate to charity of choice / say no to plastic bags and replace with cloth / plant a tree in honour of the couple to help promote new tree growth. Small changes such as freeing your home of toxic chemicals or feeding kitchen scraps to a worm farm instead of landfill. There are many small changes you can make, and bit by bit you will create a better and healthier place to live. 

Make simple changes that will save money, water, energy and the planet (what a great gift).

Guests could email with their gift and the couple could create a wedding blog and have a board or a list on each table at the reception with each guests contribution.

If you are establishing a new home, consider registering with an eco-conscious retailer to minimize receiving items from guests who aren't sure what you need, and might not be familiar with your green or eco-conscious preferences.

Eco-friendly Wedding Gift Suggestions:

• Personalized art cabinet of memorabilia from the couple's childhoods
• Locally crafted furniture, rugs, etc.
• Wrap gifts in reusable materials: giftwrap fabric squares, bath towels, tea towels, sheets, cookie tins, fabric tote bags, baskets, eco silk shopping / canvas bags
• His and Her bicycles / tandem  (non polluting / great cardiovascular exercise) guests could put money into a bicycle gift box. 
• Picnic basket complete with alternative materials rug
• Natural, organic, seasonal or local foods cookbook
• Recipe box filled with your favourite organic, seasonal, local food recipes
• Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share membership,fresh-produce subscription from a local farm, organic gardening supplies, organic linen, park and museum passes, gift certificates to organic restaurants, and subscriptions to green publications or memberships in green causes.
  
• Directory of local eco-friendly businesses
• Gift certificate from eco-friendly businesses
• Kitchen equipment: manual can opener, knife set, juicer, sprouter, rice cooker, wok, pizza stone
• Energy saver light bulbs
• Cloth napkins, table cloth, placemats etc.
• Alternative material products: recycled, organic, heritage plants, handcrafted, etc.
• Fabric gift wrapping sheets
• Organic gardening kit with organic seeds, tools and a book about companion planting, composting, or native plants
• Wind chimes or wind sock
• House plants for a natural air filter
• Gardening equipment – wheel barrow (fill with plants – fruit trees etc), spades, garden fork etc
• Recycle bins
• Tree free stationery and soy based ink pens
• Sea shell / mortar & pestle / basket filled with natural soaps and aromatherapy oils
• Kit or book about making your own cleaning supplies
• Membership to a health club or spa
• Books on how to create a non toxic home
• Home repair tool box with basic odds and ends: electrical and plumbing aids, duct tape, screwdrivers and screws, nails, etc.
• Car wash kit: sponge, bucket, water hose, wax, ostrich duster
• Water purification kit
• Rain barrels, Compost Bins, Worm Farms
• Dishpan for the kitchen
• Outdoor + indoor clothesline, pegs, clothes basket
• Longlasting, recycled and recyclable "ANYTHING"

RICE THROWING ALTERNATIVES Throwing birdseed is a good alternative to throwing rice ONLY if you are having a city wedding, or will be tossing birdseed in a landscaped yard. Most birdseed mixes contain non-native plants and throwing these seeds in a natural location such as a nature preserve or state park, can cause damage to the ecosystem.Consider having your guests throw organic millet - to feed the birds  Alternatives to rice and birdseed are throwing native (local) wildflower seeds or freeze dried petals,ecofetti (biodegradable confetti), biodegradable rice, ringing handbells, or blowing homemade bubbles from recycled containers. Waving ribbon streamers can also provide a festive send-off.

After the ceremony, organic lavender makes a great toss instead of rice. Handmade bags can be filled with dried lavender flowers and tied with hemp yarn for guests to throw or keep as mementoes.

WEDDING FAVORS It is a tradition to leave each guest a small gift at their table.

You can consider creative ways to raise money for charity through your wedding favors, gift registry, and honeymoon.

Instead of favors, let your guests know in the program that you have donated honorariums for each guest to your favourite environmental organization.

One of the more obvious eco friendly wedding favour ideas for couples is to give something organic. There are many options if you want to give small trees, seeds, bulbs or plants.

Counteract the carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere (contributing to global warming) by your guests traveling by plane or car to your wedding - by giving each guest an 11 - watt compact fluorescent bulb as a favour.

Give a recycled handmade paper bookmark with wildflower seeds - this is a very useful gift, which can then be planted for even more enjoyment. Give a small envelope of wildflower seeds to your guests.

Give tree saplings  - planting trees in your guests' names.

Attractive bags of fresh or dried organic herbs.

A downloadable playlist of your favorite songs.

Be creative with found materials, add a personalized note on recycled paper. Organic chocolates or biscuits make great favours or jars filled with organic jams, jellies or local honey from your farmers market. Handmade soaps, soy candles, recycled picture frames or organic fibre shopping bags are a nice touch as well. Help yourself to the table decorations - fresh organic fruit, flowers and vegetables and supply eco bags, one for each family or couple.

Make your own place cards by writing on dried leaves or stones, or make your own ceremony programs (or covers) out of handmade paper.

Request that guests bring a contribution for a scrap book -  can add poems, drawings, pictures, or anecdotes. These are the things that most people remember most fondly - not the chocolate fountain. In return, give a poem, on recycled or home-made paper as a favour.

A great addition to the eco-friendly favours on the tables is to pull the "green" theme into your centerpieces. Table decor can take the form of small perenials or baby bushes that can later be planted by your guests. If you are looking for a vessel for the center of your table to hold sea shells or colourful rocks, consider vases made from recycled glass or a bamboo bowl. Bowls of local organic fruit make lovely centrepieces that can be used as favours -  green apples. Decorate with branches, dried grasses, grains, greens, berries, or live plants.

Teach your guests something. Send them away with resources to make changes in their own lives. 

Brides and grooms are choosing personalized extra virgin olive oil as elegant wedding favors that leave a lasting impression.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Choose a eco-friendly photographer that works in digital format. Digital photos are easier to share and much more environmentally friendly. No harmful chemicals, film or wasted paper. If you are set on film photography, there are less toxic developing methods, discuss this option with your photographer.