Go Green: Stationery

Here are two words that aren’t usually heard in the same sentence, weddings and environmentally friendly.  But as the “Go Green” movement takes over every industry, it is only fitting that we offer you some tips on how to make your wedding a little more green.

Stationery is a great way to go green in your wedding.  If you think about the number of brides that get married in any given year, and the number of save the dates, invitations, response cards, direction cards, programs and thank you cards that works out to be, that’s a lot of paper!

While I am hesitant to suggest emailing your wedding invitations, I do think an electronic save the date card is a great idea!  This way you can include all of the information you would want, your date and hotel information for example, without having to wait for them to be printed.   The purpose behind a save the date is so that your guests don’t make plans for you wedding date, but also so that they can get their travel and lodging plans secured.  The sooner they can do that, the better the rates will be, which your guests will appreciate.  Check out this website for some great templates, or if you’re creative and skilled with design and computers, create your own!

Another great idea is to create your own wedding website to refer your guests to, this way you can post directions and hotel information in more detail as well as link to your reception venue, hotels, or anything you may have planned for the weekend.  Not only does this save paper, but it is interactive and fun for your guests and starts to build excitement about your big day!  The Knot offers free wedding websites, as do many others.

It is still important to send actual invitations, response cards, and thank you notes.  One way to make this environmentally friendly is to ask your stationer or use a company that uses recycled paper.   Paper Dolls of Saratoga has had many brides ask about recycled paper.  When I asked Sarah at Paper Dolls about this topic, she shared with  me that many of their vendors have switched their processes to use anywhere from 30-100% post consumer waste in their product line, including metallic lines which are extremely popular for weddings, while staying at the same price point.   Another option that they offer is “tree-free” paper which can be made from cotton or bamboo, although it does tend to be a little more expensive.  It’s not all about the paper either!  Any paper that you chose can be printed with soy inks in wind powered plants which are extremely energy efficient.

Paper Dolls of Saratoga and Heather Bohm-Tallman Photography were generous enough to share this photo of a recent invitation that has been printed on bamboo paper with soy ink.

No matter what you decide to do with your invitations, there are easy, and affordable ways to go green, have a great look or theme, and stay on budget!