Groxie

So I’m engaged to a fabulous fellow, and we’re getting married in July. We’re trying to make sure the celebration doesn’t stray away from our daily practices. This means we’re being fairly frugal, and we’re trying to have as little negative impact on the environment as possible.

The Engagement Ring (or lack thereof)

Our first big decision was to skip the engagement ring altogether. If you haven’t read about the evil of (most) diamonds or about how mining is bad for the environment and the miners, you might think I’m crazy to pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity. Trust me, I sleep better this way.

Fortunately for those who just need that ring, there are quite a few alternatives to the blood diamonds and dirty gold.

Green and Pricey

Canadian diamonds offer a greener alternative to conflict diamonds. If you’re in the market for a real straight—from—the—earth diamond but want to avoid the bad sort, this is a good alternative.

Greener and Cheaper

GreenKarat makes rings out of recycled metals and created stones. This place was a heavy contender when we were trying to decide on our rings. I might still pick one up for myself someday.

Greenest and Cheapest

Ok so I might be a little biased about this particular category… We decided to go with TouchWood Rings for our wedding bands, but I don’t see why they can’t function as engagement rings if you so desire. I’m sure wooden rings aren’t for everyone, but I really fell in love with the idea. David Finch makes the rings; he and his wife live off the grid in British Columbia, so they rely heavily on solar power. Check out the little story behind the wood he uses, and the gallery of rings.

All the other stuff

Just kidding. There’s no way I’m going over all of this crap in one post. I do promise to cover it eventually, though. I’ll go over the conventional v. green (and often expensive!) v. what we decided to do for:

• Invitations/Other paper things
• Location
• Clothes
• Food and Drink
• Flowers
• Favors
• General Reception Stuff

Let me know if there’s any other wedding information you would like to see me cover, and I’ll give it a shot.