Deposit a Gift wedding registrants come in all shades of green. Whether ‘eco’ by accident or on purpose, a green choice is a green choice. We find that people are drawn to our cash gift registry service for a variety of reasons, only to happily discover that with no shipping, no gift wrap and no returns, they’ve also made a choice that is sure to have a positive environmental impact without really trying. Though that may sound a bit lazy, the truth is that though we all may care about making a difference, we’re much more inclined to take action if it doesn’t require much effort. Might we coin a new term: Accidentally Eco? I’d hedge my bets that more often than not the majority of us fall into this category, and if we knew how easy it was to make better choices, we would, but sometimes, frankly, it’s a bit intimidating and difficult to know where to start if you don’t have much experience being eco on purpose.

Which got me to thinking, there must be other green choices an engaged couple can make that still gets them what they want, but goes easy on Mother Earth….Below are a few that come to mind today, but if you know others, please share. Who knows, maybe Accidentally Eco will become a regular post — I think it has a nice ring!

• Pre-Owned Wedding Items: Wedding classifieds sites for pre-loved wedding dresses and and more seem to be a growing trend. What’s great is that you’ll find a range from gently used to brand new. As The Smart Bride Boutique tells us, “Wearing a previously owned wedding dress eliminates the energy and fabric needed to produce a brand new gown,” so it is actually one of the biggest choices you can make. And just like in a regular bridal boutique, the inventory is constantly refreshed. The Recycled Bride tells us that just last week 100 new dresses were listed. Bravo Bride is another fantastic resource, and they even have grooms attire. Checkout one of these sites to connect with other brides to buy, sell and save on everything wedding, including: wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, décor and accessories.
• Buy Handmade: Maybe you don’t want to buy pre-owned but you do care about the source. For many that means supporting local artists and hand-made items. I love the folks at Emmaline Bride who are endeavoring to be the handmade wedding marketplace – kind of like the Etsy of weddings but minus the sifting to find the good wedding stuff. It’s an awesome one-stop-shop for everything wedding-related that is handmade, from invitations to jewelry to favors to groomswear. Definitely worth a look-see!
• New Gown, But It’s Green: If you’ve dreamt of having a new dress for your wedding, but you’re looking for a designer with similar values, you might find what you’re looking for in Adele Wechsler whose gorgeous dresses are available across Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand. Adele’s philosophy is to design for “the bride who cares about the world in which she lives.” Her dresses are hand-cut made in Toronto from organic hemp and silk, vegetable dyes and remnant fabrics.
• Eco-Friendly Details: Weddings are often all about the details: invitations, favors, decor, gifts, the list goes on. With so much to think about you can see how easy it would be to call off the hunt for eco-friendly items if it felt like a chore. Enter Dream Green Weddings. If you’re looking for any of the above, in eco-friendly fashion at reasonable prices, look no further. What they have to offer is anything but ordinary, from plantable seed place card favors and eco-candles, to fair trade jewelry and gifts. And for the eco-ignorant among us, they have a page about planning a green wedding with simple guidelines for things to consider.

One other great resource I found today was a post by Tracy DiNunzio of Recycle Bride that went back to the super-basics on what ‘green’ even means. If you want to get straight on the lingo, click here. I hope to keep the conversation going and share more ways to be Accidentally Eco. Please don’t be shy about reaching out and offering your tips and suggestions. Cheers!