Friday, October 19, 2012

Rustic Wedding - A Green Choice

I'm very proud of my sister.

Really, really proud.

As in, place-her-on-a-pedestal-that's-high-enough-for-the-world-to-see-her proud.

sister on a pedestal


I mentioned earlier that I'd tell you all about her rustic wedding.  My writing has been backed up a bit ever since returning from it, but at long last, here it is!

See, I'm the tree-hugging crazy person in the family.  Everyone else in my family cares about the environment, of course, but their passions lie elsewhere.

You can imagine my excitement, therefore, when I discovered that my sister's choice of wedding theme was an environmentally responsible one.  The event was wonderful.

First of all, the wedding itself was right on the shore of Lake Superior.

shore of lake superior


Nothing artificial was used for the main event.

There was no artificial lighting, and no heat (even though it was in the low 40s.).  Talk about determination!  Even the petals thrown by the flower girl (my daughter) were fresh, and therefore an environmentally safe, green option!

The reception afterward was remarkably green, as well.  Since it was a rustic themed wedding, my sister used candle sticks that were created using fallen limbs of birch trees.  The limbs were cut into short tubes, and an indentation was cut at the top to fit tea lights.

My grandfather had done this a long while back - before my sister had ever met her groom.  The candle sticks had simply been set aside until a day that someone had use for them.

And what better use than a rustic wedding?

birch candle sticks

Gorgeous!

The large shop that housed the reception was built long before we were born, so naturally, it fiot the rustic wedding theme.  It even had a wood burning stove!


Some of you may question just how green a wood burning stove is.  This is totally understandable, and normally I'd agree that wood burning isn't entirely green.  At all.

But!

When you live in an area that's heavily wooded, there aren't a lot of options when it comes to wood.  There's only so much you can build with it, and there is definitely such a thing as too many wood chips.  Even selling wood isn't always an option, because much of the timber that falls isn't worthy of use in construction.

Using wood in a situation like this eliminates the drain on fossil fuels, and when it's used to heat an area for such a large amount of people, the benefits far outweigh the risks to the environment.

And it totally fits the rustic wedding theme, of course!

Overall, the reception's lighting was dim.  The tea lights were used of course, as was a candelabra chandelier and even strings of Christmas lights transformed to fit the mood!

transformed christmas lights


I was in tree-hugger heaven!

tree hugger heaven

And then, as if my sister and her groom were actually trying to send me to seventh heaven with their total awesomeness, wedding party had photos taken at Gooseberry Falls...

gooseberry falls wedding


Which is a state park... which naturally means that the land is protected... which makes it GREEN!

And therefore pretty darned awesome!

If you're currently trying to decide on a wedding theme, and if you're considering making it a rustic wedding....

Do it!

It's fun, it's environmentally responsible, and people will go nuts over it!







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