Green weddings

Apparently, it's very "in" right now to have a "green" wedding, meaning a wedding that is environmentally friendly. I've posted on my desire to have an ecologically friendly wedding before.

The trouble is, sometimes there is a competition between what is eco-friendly and what is budget-friendly. I'd love to be completely carbon neutral, including off-setting the carbon used by guests to travel to the wedding, but that could become quite costly. I also want to use silk flowers, to save money and Wade's allergies. However, silk flowers create a non-biodegradable waste that real flowers do not.

Sometimes, being environmentally friendly saves money. For example, driving a fuel efficient vehicle uses less gas, which creates less pollution and costs less to drive. If you turn off the water while your brush your teeth, you save water and money. But sometimes it costs more to be environmentally friendly, such as purchasing carbon credits to offset the carbon (pollution/waste) generated.

So how do I strike the balance between ecological and budgetary concerns?

I will try to coordinate carpooling amongst guests to reduce the number of cars driving between the ceremony site and the reception site. That only costs me time, and saves my guests' money. I will also look into the cost of off-setting the carbon footprint generated by those driving between the ceremony and the reception site. Fortunately, the church requires us to remove the ceremony flowers, so flowers can do double duty at the reception, reducing the flowers used. As I've already discussed, we may be able to take advantage of some local foods and drinks.

How else can we consider the environment in our wedding?