Archive for September, 2010

Getting Married the Green Way III

Posted on September 8th, 2010 by Tonia 10 Comments

OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!  That is my constant inner- and sometimes outer- monologue right now.  Why?  Oh, well, because our wedding is LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY! 

In exactly one week, I’ll be driving from Duluth to my hometown in Wisconsin after work, my wagon full to the brim with wedding supplies.  One week and one day from today, I’ll be at the courthouse with Mike getting our marriage license {and trying to convince the county clerk that my Peruvian birth certificate is legit…hope that goes smoothly!}  One week and two days from today I will be with my family and friends, decorating the resort and getting everything set up!  One week and three days from today, I’ll be standing under the rough-sewn cedar arbor my dad and Mike made, marrying my favorite person in the world.  So, yeah…OH MY GOSH!  :)

If I may say so myself, I am really proud of how green we’ve been able to keep this wedding.  Every step of the way we were faced with tough choices {and anyone who has ever planned a DIY wedding knows what I mean when I say that at this point in the game, I JUST CAN’T MAKE ANY MORE FREAKIN’ DECISIONS!} and we had to do our research and really weigh all our priorities against one another. 

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All the paper items at our wedding {paper flowers hanging in tent, appetizer plates, invitations, etc.} are made from recycled paper.

For example, sometimes doing the eco-friendly thing is not the same as doing the budget-friendly thing.  Or the eco-friendly thing is not the same as the convenient-for-all-our-guests thing.  My advice for situations like this is to make a list of your top three priorities, and to consider these three things in everything you do.  For us, the three priorities are our guests’ comfort, staying as low-impact as possible, and sticking to the budget.

Classic example of a situation in which we had to weigh our three priorities:  Our caterer {is awesome!} felt really strongly that we should have a water glass, a wine glass, and a coffee cup at each place setting.  We originally planned on having all our guests drink wine/water/beer/whatever out of the same mason jar all night long {to keep our rental cost low and to be less wasteful by creating less dirty dishes to wash up/avoiding the plastic bar cups.}  But we realized she was right- it would be annoying for our guests to keep track of their one glass all night, and to somehow rinse it out if they switch the type of beverage they’re drinking. 

Our solution:  The mason jars {we bought them, because it was cheaper than renting, and my parents will reuse them in the spring to can up the maple syrup we make} remain as the water and beer glass.  We’re also providing a wine glass at all the adult seats {rented}.  Paper {recycled} coffee cups will be available at the coffee/desert table.  Our MC will make an announcement that in an attempt to keep the wedding green, we would appreciate it if folks would try their best to use their mason jar/wine glass for their drinks throughout the night- but in the event that their jar gets lost, there will be extra wine glasses and jars at the bar.  We’re coming up with a cute way for everyone to mark their jars, so it will be easier for them to keep track of which one is theirs.

Phhhhew!  See how something {seemingly} so simple can take a lot of thought?  Welcome to the world of planning and executing your own wedding!  Now I know why some people hire planners.  BUT…I wouldn’t trade one minute of the process, no matter how stressful it has been.  I have loved every second of watching this big marriage-fest come together over the past year. 

And I have to give credit where it’s due– this isn’t so much a DIY wedding as it is a DIT {do-it-together} wedding.  Our family and friends have supported and helped us more than I could have ever hoped for.  They all love a good party, and they’ve really gone above and beyond to make sure our big day is everything we ever dreamed it could be.  I have no idea how I will ever thank them enough, but if any of you guys are reading this, THANK YOU!

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The flowers and pumpkins are locally and organically grown.

This past weekend, Mike and I painted signs to mark special spots around the resort:
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In case you noticed, I have already posted a lot of these “wedding-preparation” photos on Twitter and Facebook, but since my brain is a complete wedding-mush right now, and I am useless for writing/thinking about anything else, here they are again!

See you after the honeymoon!  OH MY GOSH!!