White hot is now green hot! After a close Houstonite friend recently confided her desire to “get rid of” her first wedding dress I insisted she recycle that gown. Although her first dress wasn’t so lucky for her it may just be someone else’s fortuitous frock. Who knows! So, I put my editing eyes to the challenge and conducted a carefully culled review of eco-friendly weddings just for you! Enjoy.

FYI - The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is $20,000 and there are planned to be over 2.3 million this year alone. That’s over 6,300 weddings a day and Houston gains to see its fair share of these nuptials. So, when planning for the big day, there are a few things to consider when thinking green: dress, venue and hotel/travel for guests and sourcing.

First things first - start with the dress. It’s all about the dress, you know. The really green thing to do is to find a vintage or already-worn dress, like my friend’s. Try encorebridal.com, ebay.com or even craigslist.com. You would be surprised to see the quality of gowns available. If you desire a brand new gown, then I have two recommendations for you lovely Houstonites - naturalbridals.com and olivialuca.com. They are designers first, planet savers second. Never sacrifice style! Their modern custom gowns are made from peace silk, hemp, organic cotton and linen and bamboo.

Second is the venue. If you are planning on a destination wedding or one here in the 713, then you will definitely want to track your wedding carbon footprint using the calculator at terrapass.com/wedding. Depending on the number of guests flying in, you will see how much CO2 is being emitted just for your vows. There are many event spaces to choose from in the Space City and remember: if your vows are exchanged outdoors, then you won’t have any air conditioning or lighting concerns, plus your footprint will be less. Consider Discovery Green or one of the many museums/libraries a la Carrie Bradshaw in SATC. Be sure to check out the eco chic Element Houston Vintage Park as a possible host hotel for guests and then have shuttle buses carpool everyone to the events!

Third is the sourcing of all necessities such as food, drinks and event rentals. Although smaller in magnitude and possibly less sexy than the dress or venue, sourcing is a HUGE way to really make a difference on your wedding day. Try Green Lily Events for your big day at greenlilyevents.com. They can handle all sourcing and bring you closer to your sustainable wedding day!

Happy Planning and please let me know how you have or plan to reduce your carbon footprint on your wedding day! For more info please contact Beth at info@julie-beth.com.