"Love is, as it always has been, something to cherish and celebrate." ~ Sharon L Norris ~

Eco-Friendly Options for Celebrating Your Wedding

By Sharon L Norris

No one would argue that we live in a "throw-away" society. Aldous Huxley summed it up well in his novel "Brave New World" with the society's catchphrase being "Ending Is Better Than Mending."

The Australian wedding industry is doing its bit to tackle both global warming and sustainable waste management in practical ways. A whole new market has subsequently opened up promoting eco-nuptials and eco-wedding-planning.

One of the small ways in which the culture of excess has been successfully changed at weddings has come in the form of strict requirements at most venues about post-wedding celebrations.

Gone are the days when wedding guests tossed tonnes of colourful paper confetti at couples as they ran down the aisle after being married, or pelted them with handfuls of rice.

Paper confetti does not biodegrade, becomes a problem to pick up, and poses a hazard for birdlife if left in an outdoor area. Rice takes a while to biodegrade but can be slippery on some surfaces, and may therefore pose a risk to the couple or their guests. It may also pose a risk to birdlife.

The restrictions on what can be used for post-wedding celebrations has made it necessary for marrying couples and their guests to consider eco-friendly options to paper confetti and rice.

Four popular eco-friendly options for post-wedding celebrations include:

• Blowing bubbles
• biodegradable rice-paper confetti
• freeze-dried rose petals
• biodegradable helium balloons

Bubble-blowing is hugely popular at modern weddings, possibly because it brings out the "little kid" in everyone, but also because it is a cheap and simple way of keeping young children occupied at ceremonies. Wedding Accessory and Party-Hire shops are the best places in which to purchase ready-made bubble dispensers. Most retail fairly cheaply. The one thing to remember about bubbles is that if the bubble-mixture is mixed with water, there will be foam. Fountains and mock waterfalls in parks and gardens often fall victim to bubble-mania, leaving mountains of foam behind, so be sure to encourage safe and environmentally-friendly use of bubble mixture at your ceremony.

There are any number of biodegradable confetti products on sale in Australia and overseas. Unfortunately, most sites selling such stuff do not outline exactly what is in the product and so it can be hard to know what might be the best to use. Some products are labelled "biodegradable food items" whilst others say nothing. One Australian supplier admits using rice paper, which is very thin and biodegrades quickly.

Whilst ordinary rose petals do biodegrade and can be thrown at weddings in some venues, they are not regarded as ideal eco-confetti because they tend to be moist and therefore cling to people's clothes or get squashed underfoot and ruin carpets/rugs in wedding venues. Freeze-dried petals do not pose this problem and are infinitely easier to clean up later. Some florists may offer freeze-dried petals, as well as specialist confetti or green wedding suppliers.

Biodegradable helium balloons pose less risk to the environment than non-biodegradable ones. The former are designed to disintegrate at altitude, whereas the residue from non-biodegradable balloons often end up in waterways or in nature areas where they are invariably digested by marine and animal life, often to their detriment. Specialist Party-Hire Shops or balloon-related stores will stock eco-friendly helium balloons.

Australian businesses that stock eco-confetti and can deliver Australia-wide include:

• All Things Confetti www.allthingsconfetti.com.au
• Lifestyle Ensemble www.lifestyleensemble.com.au