In the remote village of Pachpehra in Mahoba district — about 240 km southwest of Lucknow in UP — a couple made headlines few months ago. They started a new tradition, possibly never heard of in India! Sangam Singh, 24 and Mandvi Singh, 20 had a green wedding, where no automobiles were used, the attire was fashioned from cotton fabrics dyed in vegetable colours and the groom’s headgear was made from palm fronds. The wedding feast was served in plates and bowls made from leaves and apart from using natural substances as cosmetics, the bride took a tulsi sapling along as dowry! All the guests and relatives participated in a sapling planting ceremony symbolically neutralising all the carbon that the couple would generate in their lifetime and also took a vow to live their lives in as eco-friendly a manner as possible.
Surprised? Don’t be. This new trend may sound bizarre to a few of you, but conscious citizens all over the world are opting for green weddings to contribute to saving the environment in a positive and important way. Today, mere lip service will not help the cause — it’s essential that we inculcate eco-friendly habits in our day to today lives.
So, are you thinking that going in for an earth-friendly wedding means sacrificing style? Says Tenzin Dhasel, a Delhi-based Wedding Planner, “This is a great concept and people will gradually embrace it wholeheartedly once they learn about its benefits. In fact, this can be your style statement on your big day to show the ones you love your passion for the environment. However, it is important that people from educated backgrounds initiate and popularise the trend of green weddings. This will set a good example for others.”
Yes, creating a wedding that isn’t wasteful or polluting is appealing to more and more couples. The number of earth-friendly products and services is growing, giving the bride and groom a range of options. Right from your engagement, through to the wedding (which includes choosing a location, bridal wear and makeup, invitations, flowers, the ceremony and the honeymoon), you can look for newer ways to be environment friendly. For instance, supporting a local artisan is much more earth friendly than having trinkets shipped half way around the world.
To start with, your wedding announcement or invitation can set the tone for your environment-friendly wedding. There are many options for 100 per cent recycled, partially recycled or completely tree free paper. If you are interested in creating your own invitations, the choices are unlimited — you can communicate electronically or make your own unique personal wedding page or website. Choosing a florist where organically grown, in-season, local flowers are used is a much better and more earth-friendly choice. Your jewellery, cosmetics, dresses and accessories are a few other important areas where you can make a conscious decision to be more eco-supportive. Informs Designer Neeru Kumar (under the label Tulsi), “If you want to flaunt style on your big day, there is no better way than to go for eco-friendly fabrics as they are high on comfort, easy on your pocket and add a lot of panache.” Says Shahnaz Husain, Chairperson, Shahnaz Husain Group who has recently launched a range of plant stem cell cosmetic products, “Whether for a bride or for any woman who wants to be eco-friendly, natural substances are best suited as they have powerful healing properties and many benefits for skin and hair care.”
The trend of green weddings has set the industry on a new path and wedding planners are going full throttle to package this theme to entice newer clientele. There are a number of articles, blogs, websites and books that are being published discussing the pros and cons of green weddings. In fact, books like Green Wedding: Plan-ning Your Eco-friendly Celebra-tions and The Green Bride Guide have become bestsellers!