* Have your outdoor wedding here at Khimaira Farm to add to the beauty of your celebration and to remind yourself why you make environmentally responsible choices every day.
* Having the ceremony and reception at the same location will avoid having your guests drive extra distances.

WEDDING DRESS AND TUXEDO

* Consider buying a vintage dress and tuxedo from a resale clothing store. Going the “pre-loved” route is a great way to save resources, both in raw materials and for your budget!
* Buy an organic silk/hemp wedding dress.
* Choose a simple dress and suit that you can wear again.
* Learn how you can donate your wedding dress for charity at www.idofoundation.org.

INVITATIONS

* Buy 100% recycled invitations that are processed without chlorine. Encourage guests to recycle their invitations, or have seeds embedded in the paper so that guests can plant the invitations and enjoy the flowers that grow from them.
* Use Email for a SaveTheDate Message
* Use a reply postcard (no envelope) and forgo the inner envelopes-you'll save paper and money.
* Choose a small simple design, or a self-mailer-again, less paper!
* Create a website (FREE with contracts here!) with details about your wedding-directions (to Khimaira Farm!), hotels, other weekend events, to avoid having to print this information out for everyone. (OR, only print cards with this information for family and friends without internet access.)

FOOD and DISHES

* If you are having an outdoor wedding, or will be having casual rehearsal dinner/weekend events for your guests, use 
  real glasses, dishes (available from Khimaira Farm)  to avoid using disposable plates, etc.
* Use locally grown food and foods in season when possible.
* Include a fresh greens salad course, or replace the appetizer course with a healthy salad to cut down your budget as well.

FLOWERS

* Gather flowers from gardens of friends and families.
* Find a florist who uses flowers from local and/or organic farms.
* Find a wildflower grower at your local farm market to create bouquets & table arrangements.
* Use potted plants in place of cut flowers for centerpieces. These can then be given as gifts or enjoyed in your home.
* Make a wedding Bouquet from wildflowers or a traditional one from roses.
* What's trendy? Having your bridesmaids carry gorgeous hand fans, or silk boxes or purses filled with jeweled blooms. Look into using silk flowers too. Though sometimes more expensive, the arrangement will last forever and makes a great keepsake for your bridesmaids.

GIFTS

* If you are already settled into a home, and do not need kitchenware or furnishings, you may prefer to state on your invitations: "Please no gifts" or "Your presence is your gift to us", or recommend that guests donate to your favorite environmental group in honor of this special occasion.
* If you are still establishing a home, think about registering with an eco-conscious retailer to minimize receiving unnecessary trinkets from guests who aren't sure what you need.
* If you are going to be buying gifts for the people in your wedding, consider non consumptive options like massage therapy gift certificates, useful gifts like wine, soap, fair trade coffee and your local health food coop gift certificates.

NOTE:  We can commemorate the start of your married life here at Khimaira Farm!  We can select and designate (with a permanent sign) a tree just in your honor!  The size and species will vary with your budget (average from $30-200).  Depending on the time of the year, we could make this an event at your wedding!  Or, we can stage a "photo op" and then plant the tree later for you. Ask for details!  You might suggest that donations for this  be a possible wedding gift consideration! 

Want to make it easy for guests to donate to the "Tree" fund for a tree in your honor?  We can provide an easy link for them to do so, right from your website via credit card!

RICE THROWING ALTERNATIVES

* Throw sunflower seeds if outside (not birdseed mixes that have weed or nonnative seeds).
* Alternatives to birdseed are throwing native wildflower seeds or petals, ringing handballs, or blowing homemade bubbles from recyclable containers.

PROGRAMS

* Have your order of service printed on 100% recycled paper that has been processed without chlorine.
* Use your program to let your guests know how important the environment is to you, and all the ways you have considered the earth in planning your wedding. Collect programs at the end of the ceremony and recycle them.
*  Consider having just a large version of a "program" framed and displayed on an easel at the reception, for all to see as they pass by, instead of individual programs.  Khimaira Farm has an easel available at no charge.

FAVORS

* If you have a wedding theme or perhaps a "theme" of the location for your wedding, perhaps you can find something ecological that goes along with that.  For example, for weddings at Khimaira Farm, we suggest guest size soap bars made from goat milk soap!  Wrapped in some natural fabric and tied with a ribbon, jute or raffia, it can be lovely and useful, and supports small scale agriculture!  For more about goat milk soaps in general, visit here. We can provide pricing for the goat milk soap bars. 
* Flower bulb wedding favors (for fall weddings): Tuck tulip or daffodil bulbs in an attractively textured bag (try unbleached muslin, hand-dyed jute or burlap, and stencil a monogram or picture of the flower in front).
Sensuous Scents: Make some beautiful sachets or potpourri bags for your guests, using bulk organic herbs. Time-honored choices like rosemary, lavendar and rose petals are just the starting point: make your own mix (how about balsam needles?), and include a tag with a saying, a history of your chosen herbs, or a complementary recipe.
      Lavender for devotion,
      Rosemary for remembrance,
      Rose Petals for love.

* Counteract all of the carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere  by your guests traveling by plane or car to your wedding--by giving each guest an 11-watt compact fluorescent bulb. Each of your guests replacing a 50-watt incandescent bulb with their wedding favor will save 685 pounds of carbon dioxide. We found this climate-neutral wedding tip in Sierra Club Magazine.
* Give a recycled handmade paper bookmark with wildflower seeds.  This is a very useful gift, which can then be planted for even more enjoyment. In place of a bookmark, give a small envelope of wildflower seeds to your guests.
* The symbolism and beauty of gifting a tree is certain to thrill your guests. The National Arbor Day Foundation makes it easy for eco-friendly brides to give trees for their favors. The trees are delivered in an easy recyclable plastic tube with your choice of customized label. Your recipients can plant their trees right away, store them in a refrigerator, or grow them indoors for months.
* The Green World Project provides live evergreen tree seedling favors. Their motto: By giving trees or seeds to your guests, everlasting memories will take root and grow along with your marriage. The tree can be presented in a stylish tube with directions on how to reuse the tube as a birdfeeder. 


CREATING YOUR NEW LIFE TOGETHER

* Practice making sustainable choices in your daily life together.
* Invest in socially responsible companies when planning for your retirement and financial well being.