MADELEINE BRAND, host:
It's not just the institution of marriage that's changing, it's the weddings too. Some eco-friendly couples are wondering about the environmental impact of their weddings and they're trying to go green.
ALEX COHEN, host:
When you hear the phrase green wedding, perhaps you envision a lush garden, the bride and the groom surrounded by dense foliage and au naturale floral arrangement. Chances are you're not picturing a wedding held in a downtown warehouse.
At Marsenon(ph), a popular L.A. wedding venue, manager Jett Fleming(ph) hoists open the roll-up door on a 6,000 square foot building that was once an auto showroom. During the week, the owners of this warehouse live here. On the weekends, they rent it out.
Ceremonies are held outside in an urban garden. Jeff shows off long banquet table they used for the indoor reception that follow.
Mr. JEFF FLEMING (Manager, Marsenon): These large wood tables were actually made from recycled wood from the rafters that were taken down.
COHEN: What's more, he tells me, skylights help cut down on electricity usage. And then there's the garbage company they hire.
Mr. FLEMING: They take all of the refuse from the party and they sort it to pull out everything, from coffee stirs to plastic cups. Everything that can be recycled gets recycled here.
Ms. SARAH SHUE(ph) (Green Wedding Planner): And not only that, all of their trucks are run on biodiesel fuel, which just completes that whole green process. I love that.
COHEN: That's green wedding planner Sarah Shue. She says for couples who want a sustainable way to celebrate, the options are endless. From the invitations...
Ms. SHUE: We do work with printers that have paper that's made from 100 percent post-consumer waste, and they'll print it on soy-based ink.
COHEN: ...to transportation. She recommends carpooling.
Ms. SHUE: We can even do like a bus or, you know, something that reduces the amount of gas, the car emissions that come through.
COHEN: And then there's the bridal gown.
Ms. SHUE: You can go really earthy and green and have organic hemps and there's even fabrics made out of bamboo and out of banana leaves.
COHEN: Shue says a wedding is the perfect occasion for a couple to make an impact by showing friends and family what's most important to them.
Ms. THALIA BATON(ph): I want fire dancers and my husband wanted to show people that you can have a wonderful meal and have it be vegan.
COHEN: When Thalia Baton got married, she and her beloved wanted no animal products - period. No leather shoes, no dairy in their cake. There was just one four-legged creature at their wedding.
Ms. BATON: I had my dog as the ring bearer. That was nice.
COHEN: But Thalia's family was not as pleased. What's a wedding, they cried, without prime rib or roast chicken? Then Thalia's mom pointed out some of their guests had allergies to soy. In the end, they opted for a caramelized apple vegan wedding cake. And for their main course, herb roasted saton(ph).
Ms. BATON: Which is a wheat gluten protein, kind of has the texture of chicken, so it tastes like chicken.
COHEN: At first, Thalia says, her guests were dubious.
Ms. BATON: I mean, I had aunts that are old school and thought, oh-ho-ho, what are we going to eat? Oh-ho, we're flying all that way. And they went up for a thirds.
COHEN: Finicky aunts aren't the only obstacles faced by couples planning a green wedding. There's a lot of pressure not to reduce, reuse or recycle coming from the wedding industry. Americans now spend $72 billion a year on weddings. There are countless wedding Web sites, magazines and reality TV shows sending a strong message - bigger is better.
Ms. MEGHAN MEYERS (Editorial Director, Portovert): It's a consumer driven event. Right now, large, lavish parties are in.
COHEN: That's Meghan Meyers, the editorial director of Portovert, a Web site dedicated to the promotion of green weddings. She points out the tradition is that couple should go far, far away to an exotic locale for their honeymoon. A trip like that can leave a big carbon footprint.
But she adds, what better way to spare the earth and unwind from wedding planning stress than going on a camping trip or staying at a nearby organic farm. And for those couples looking for more reasons to go green, Meyers says there's always the financial incentive.
Ms. MEYERS: You can actually save a lot of money by going green just by, you know, making local choices. It's up to 40 percent cheaper because packaged products that are shipped cost more.
COHEN: And that, says Meyers, is something to which most brides and grooms have no problem saying I do. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
