THE
EVERYTHING
GREEN
WEDDING
BOOK
Plan an elegant, affordable, earth-friendly wedding
Wenona Napolitano
Copyright 2009 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
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ISBN 10: 1-59869-811-7
ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-811-4
eISBN 13: 978-1-6055-0770-5
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THE EVERYTHING GREEN WEDDING BOOK
Dear Reader,
As a child I wanted to save the planet, save the dolphins, plant trees you name it, I wanted to save it or recycle it. My motto was reduce, reuse, recycle which wasn't hard growing up with a thrifty mom.
Then the teenage years set in, along with the teenage attitude and the need for lots of brand new cool stuff. I forgot all about my quest to save the world; boys, clothes, and makeup became all-important.
After that, life just got in the way. I didn't actively think about saving the world; I was just trying to live in it. Subconsciously, I never forgot my true nature. My husband and I owned a carpet cleaning company and we only used all-natural, nontoxic products.
Now that I'm a wife and a mother, I want the best for my family. Being thrifty is important, and so is being natural. I'm going back to my tree-hugging roots and doing what I can to make a difference reusing, recycling, donating to charity, grabbing perfectly good stuff that other people throw out, growing my own vegetables, and whatever else I can do to reduce any negative impact on the environment.
One way I discovered I could make a difference was by helping couples plan their weddings. While I hated planning my own wedding (it was so stressful), I love weddings and helping couples plan theirs. With this book, I've combined my love of weddings with my love of the earth. I'm back on my quest to save the world, one product, one person, and one vow at a time.
Welcome to the EVERYTHING Series!
These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.
You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials. We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.
We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When you're done reading them all, you can finally say you know Everything!
Answers to common questions
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PUBLISHER Karen Cooper
DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier
MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing
COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Katie McDonough
ASSOCIATE DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Elizabeth Kassab
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson
Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com
This book is dedicated to my mother, ClaraBelle Casey, who has always loved me and been there for me no matter what, and to my ever patient and understanding husband, Robert, and my beautiful children, Timothy, Arianna, and Robby Napolitano, for believing in me and putting up with me even though I drove you guys crazy while I was writing this book. I love you all.
Acknowledgments
First of all I want to thank my agent, Barb Doyen, for bringing this opportunity my way, and I'd like to thank everyone who provided information and ideas for this book: all the ladies who shared suggestions in the groups at Cafemom.com, all the websites that offered great ideas and inspired green thinking, and everyone else who helped make this book a reality. Thank you.
I'd also like to thank my family for putting up with me while I wrote this book and my friends for being there when I was done, since I didn't get to see or talk to them much during the process.
Top Ten Reasons to Choose a Green Wedding
Your big day can have a big impact on the environment; an eco-friendly green wedding can reduce that damaging footprint.
For those of you who are already living a green lifestyle, it is natural to plan a wedding that expresses your personal beliefs.
You want to share your eco-friendly beliefs with your family and friends.
You can make a statement and raise awareness about environmental issues by having a fabulously green celebration.
You want everyone to know that you love the planet and you are willing to do your part to protect it. Plus, you've been dying to check out that organic gourmet caterer you've heard so much about.
Having a green wedding is a great way to support charitable causes.
Enviro-conscious weddings support retailers and providers of organic, sustainable, and recycled products and services.
You love shopping at thrift stores, yard sales, and consignment shops, and a green wedding gives you the perfect opportunity to go treasure hunting.
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