http://feelgoodstyle.com/2008/10/02/clay-hill-farm-is-giving-away-a-40000-green-wedding/
A $40,000 wedding. Let me type that again...forty THOUSAND dollars.
“The Green Wedding Giveaway will be a daytime wedding ceremony and reception at Clay Hill Farm on June21, 2009, the summer solstice. Rehearsal dinner, ceremony, catered reception, Hand-painted watercolor invitations, flowers, photography, DJ services, live cocktail music, cake, hybrid bridal transportation, spa services, organic beverages, tuxedo rentals, wedding-night suite and honeymoon week.”
Now, the definition of what is "green" varies widely, and people enter this spectrum at many different places, adapting their lifestyle accordingly. But when I think of what it really means to "be green" is a commitment to conscious consumption of what you need. Therein lies the rub: do you need a wedding? What are the boundary conditions and requirements for this important time in the lives of two people, and their families/friends? (edit: gag me...I just used programming terminology from my engineering class in a blog post. What is my world coming to??)I don't think I could say no to a wedding. And I don't think a wedding I have could be completely green, anyway (anyone met my father? yeah...). But, I hazard a bet that a non-green wedding that costs $5000 will be a whole lot less wasteful that a green wedding that costs $40,000.
So...what do you do? I am at a loss. The best thing I can think of is to really think about what you both want out of a ceremony and party, and how best to interpret that in a meaningful way.
Thankfully, I have quite some time to think on it...
1 comment:
So, I don't have a whole lot of thoughts on how to have a "green" wedding or not, but I do know that the biggest lesson I learned when planning our wedding was that EVERYTHING costs more than you think it will.
We had a simple ceremony, few decorations, very basic reception and it definitely cost WAY more than I ever thought it would. I remember thinking the engagement ring would be the most expensive part of getting married, and I was way off on that. (And it was a very modest ring, as I was a poor college student getting ready to be a poor grad student.) Anyway, my point is that just because you spend X amount of money on your wedding should not make you feel bad for doing it. You should spend whatever you want to keep yourself (and your family, and your soon to be family) happy.
CHEERS!
Post a Comment