Tales from another Green Bride!

We are happy to feature a fellow green bride this week.  Enjoy Erin’s story! – Sean and Mandy

Erin Oxford & Charlie Clark
Isle of Palms, South Carolina

April 19, 2008

 

Our wedding was held on the breathtaking Isle of Palms. Isle of Palms is located just north of Charleston on the beautiful South Carolina coast.  My wedding and reception were held outdoors. I took this as an opportunity to show respect for the environment and encourage my guests to appreciate our surroundings as well. 

Isle of Palms is a nesting ground for loggerhead sea turtles.  Loggerheads and all species of sea turtles are in danger of extinction due to humans.  One common cause of death to sea turtles is that they eat plastic bags in the ocean because they mistake the bags for jellyfish.  The bags are deadly because it suffocates them.  

I wanted to bring awareness to the plight of these magnificent creatures on our wedding weekend and ensure we didn’t contribute to the problem.  My solution was to provide all of our guests with a reusable tote bag as their out-of-town guest gift bag. I knew from past experience that the paper out-of-town guest bags were ultimately thrown in the trash.

 

I purchased reusable cloth tote bags as our out-of-town gift bags.  I was fortunate to find some great totes in our wedding colors at Garden Ridge for only $1 each.  So instead of having guests throw away their paper bags, they acquired a bag that they could use after the wedding weekend.  I spotted a guest utilizing the tote as a beach bag during the wedding weekend and I encouraged everyone to try using them at the grocery store.

In addition to providing reusable tote bags, I required recycling by the vendors at both the rehearsal dinner and reception.  To my pleasant surprise, neither vendor added an extra charge. 

I have always been an environmental advocate. I believe it is partially due to being raised in the country and enjoying untouched parts of our earth.  I knew that utilizing a weekend where I was the center of attention offered me a stronger voice for environmental awareness.  I will continue to try to educate my friends and family on the needs of protecting our earth.