The Environment
We're pretty convinced that we need full socialism to address the climate crisis- the way corporations are structured generally makes them incompatible with environmental and human health. However, while we think that tweaking individual consumption is far less important than collective action pushing for a society-wide mobilization like the Green New Deal, we did make some small decisions for our wedding that reflect our environmental concerns. We figured we'd include this page to explain why we're skipping certain traditional wedding items, like a beef menu option or paper invitations.
Some people are paper people and they love doing fancy invitations, and I don't begrudge them that for something as special as a wedding! At the end of the day, even though skipping them does reduce energy and waste, global warming is not happening because people sent out recyclable paper wedding invites. I am not a paper person though, and I have spent YEARS not mailing back in paper invites, and I am terrified to reap what I have sown, so I will use concern for the environment as a cover.
The food situation represents a bit of a compromise- going all organic would have been prohibitively expensive and we were somewhat constrained by the venue. We did the best we could by skipping the beef option because of its high carbon footprint, and by avoiding shrimp (the venue only offered farmed). If you're environmentally minded, consider ordering the vegan, vegetarian, or red snapper options. (We're having chicken and salmon so that people can still order something they're comfortable with, but if you're a little more adventurous I personally liked the red snapper the best.)
Alongside my mom and sister who very graciously agreed to help, I'm attempting to grow outdoor, tropical-looking plants and propagating indoor houseplants to use in bouquets and decor. WE'LL SEE IF THIS FOOLHARDY ENDEAVOR WORKS OUT. The goal is to focus on living plants and plants that are locally grown to avoid the carbon impact of shipping cut flowers long distances. I'm also planning to compost as much as I can.
The wedding is intentionally in a walkable location that is accessible by mass transit. If you can take public transit or carpool please consider it!