My Daughter's Trashy Wedding

credit: some_too@stock.exchangMy daughter is getting married this Sunday. The wedding will be beautiful, as will the bride. The wedding favors are sitting on my kitchen table as I write, hopefully drying out enough that I can get them finished in time for the Sunday afternoon festivities. They are the reason that I'm writing about my daughter's wedding here today on Trash Thursday. Because, in keeping with Cara's and Jordan's wishes, the wedding favors, like everything else for their wedding, are environmentally friendly. They not only will not end up in the trash - they are made from things that were saved from the trash in the first place.

That's not unusual for my daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law. They are both young, socially-conscious activists who have, as they say, a lot of skin in the game - not just in the environmental movement, but in the whole make-this-world-a-better-place movement. They are vegetarians - Cara stopped eating meat when she was twelve after reading that it takes 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of edible meat. Jordan's reasons for eating veg are also ethically based. Jordan drives a Prius. Cara's Lexus is over 10 years old, and she leaves it at home in favor of the commuter rail most days. They both work for different media activist organizations and are involved in numerous social justice causes both professionally and personally. They've recently moved back home - Cara's home, at least - in part because home offers them both the chance to be politically involved in meaningful ways. Here less than six months, they are already involved in building the campaign for a candidate they both support for city council, and Jordan is laying the groundwork for a possible political run of his own in a few years. In short, they don't just talk the talk - they live the walk. So it's not too surprising that their wedding is going to be a green wedding.

The most impressive part of it for me though is that they did not consciously choose to have a green wedding - it grew naturally out of who they are. Because they planned their wedding the way they live their lives, it will leave very little impact on the environment. Which brings me to the two parts of the wedding in which I've been most involved - the wedding gown and the wedding favors. Cara's wedding gown is recycled from pieces she found at various thrift shops. The only new part of it is several yards of net tulle ribbon. The skirt is cut from a vintage lace slip, the bodice from a corset. The flower trim is made of 100% cotton artificial flowers. Every stitch of it is hand-sewn - no electricity used to put it all together. We didn't think all that through - it just happened.

The wedding favors happened the same way. Cara's first idea was to wrap up little packets of wildflower seeds in tulle circles and tie them up with ribbons - but the idea of all that tulle net and ribbon being thrown out with the trash bothered her. We put our heads together and came up with the idea of packaging the seeds a little differently - in paper. No, not paper packets - embedded in the paper. We could have bought blooming wedding favors - but it seemed silly to do that when I could do it myself at home.

Which is how I ended up spending yesterday tearing up sheet after sheet of recycled tissue paper so that I could recycle it again. Right now, there are 30 sheets of damp paper embedded with wildflower seeds, dried seed pods and rose petals spread around my kitchen. My one concession to "modernization" in the whole process was using an electric blender to create the paper pulp - though I may resort to getting out the hair dryer to help them dry a bit quicker if we get yet another damp day here. When the paper is dry, I'll be rolling each one into a scroll and tying it with a piece of raffia, then attaching a printed copy of Cara and Jordan's wedding vows along with instructions on how to plant the paper. Six weeks after the wedding, in thirty flower pots or garden plots, Cara's wedding favors will be bursting into bloom - and the paper, instead of filling up a landfill, will be enriching the soil in which the flowers are planted.

If you'd like to try it yourself, here's how to make seed-embedded paper.

1. Tack a length of screen or tulle net across an open wood frame. I used 5x7 unfinished wood frames from the dollar store and 6-inch wide tulle net ribbon.
2. Tear up about 2 quarts worth of recycled tissue paper into pieces about the size of a quarter. Tissue paper is a good choice because the fibers dissolve easily in warm water. If you're willing to wait a little, you don't even need the electric blender to mix up the paper pulp.
3. Dissolve about 2 cups of paper in 3-4 cups of warm water. The easy way is to run it through a blender for about three minutes. The harder - and more environmentally conscious - way is to beat it with an egg beater or stir it until the paper dissolves. Mix up a few batches of paper pulp.
4. Pour the paper pulp into a pan, pot or basin large enough to submerge the screen in. Add warm water to 3/4 fill the bucket.
5. Add a couple handfuls of wildflower seeds and a handful of rose petals. Stir them into the paper pulp - they should be suspended in it.
6. Slip the screen frame under the water, then wiggle it side to side as you lift it out of the water. The wiggling will help the paper pulp settle evenly across the screen.
7. Hold the screen above the basin and let the water drip off.
8. Carefully place the screen face down on a piece of felt. Use a sponge to blot the paper from the back, pressing firmly and wringing out the water.
9. Gently lift the screen away. The paper will stay on the felt. Set it aside to dry - or hang the felt on a clothesline. The paper will cling to the felt so you can hang it easily.
10. When the paper is dry, you'll be able to simply lift it off the felt.

To plant the blooming paper, just moisten it well then cover with 1-2 inches of loose potting soil in the garden or in a flower pot. Keep moist in a sunny spot. You should see green shoots in 1-2 weeks, depending on the flowers in your wildflower mix.

Update on Monday, June 22, 2009 at 11:53AM by Deb Powers

Following up: The wedding was yesterday and it was beautiful. We did not have a gorgeous sunny day. Instead, Cara and Jordan exchanged their wedding vows on an open gazebo about fifty feet from the ocean. A steady, "brisk" wind blew in off the water, and it rained off and on throughout the day. The skies were dark and heavy, but the spirits were so light that it's amazing they didn't take wing on the strong winds - winds that were so strong that the bride and groom had to scuttle the chuppah for fear that it would go airborne - and take the wedding attendants with it.

Despite the weather's challenges, the ceremony was beautiful and inspiring. The rabbi noted that the word for wind in Hebrew is also the word for Spirit - and that she was certain that this was a partnership full of Spirit, able to weather any storm. She called for us all to gather in closely around the happy couple and shelter them from the heaviest winds, as she hoped we would do throughout their lives together, and placed those who held umbrellas on the seaward side, with umbrellas tilted against the wind.

Recycled Blooming Wedding Favors

The handmade recycled wedding favors were an unexpected star of the reception, which is the reason I'm writing this follow-up. In the end, instead of rolling the handmade sheets of seeded paper, I wrote out their wedding vow by hand on each sheet, then added a satin and tulle rosette and planting instructions. They were an amazing hit with the wedding guests, and I spent the last hour of the reception accepting compliments, giving planting instructions for the flowers, and convincing people that they should, indeed, plant the paper rather than saving the favor whole. If you're looking for a unique and memorable green wedding favor, this one is an absolute winner.