(Shadowland Pavilion in St. Joseph, MI)
If you have 150+ guests attending your wedding, you can bet there are at least 50 cars involved in getting them there, if it’s within driving distance for most guests. That’s a whole lot of gas and a lot of impact on the environment! I wouldn’t suggest asking any of your guest to walk to your wedding, but you can ensure that you do your best to cut down on their impact once they reach the wedding!
Here are a few tips to help your guests reduce their impact on the environment:
Double-duty venue::Choose one location to hold both your ceremony and location and cut down on transportation from one location to the next
Take it Outdoors::Hold your ceremony outdoors and cut down on electricity used for lighting and air conditioning!
Shuttles:: Offer a shuttle service from the hotel to ceremony and reception venues and cut emissions from 40 cars to just 2 or 3!
Foot Traffic::Choose a hotel, ceremony location and reception venue that are all within walking distance. In SW Michigan, one example would be to have your guests stay at the Boulevard Inn in downtown St. Joseph, hold your rehearsal dinner at a downtown restaurant such as Port 412 (2 blocks away), hold the ceremony at the John Howard Bandshell (3 blocks from hotel) and hold the reception at the Veranda at the Whitcomb (across the street from Bandshell) or the Heritage Center (4 blocks from Bandshell). With the downtown restaurants, shops and beach within walking distance, your guest may not step in a car for 3 days!
Have your own green wedding tips? Share them by leaving a comment below!
