Here are a few suggestions to help you get started:

• Hold your wedding and reception in the same venue, so that the guests don’t have to drive from one to the other.
• Have your invitations printed on recycled paper, using soy based ink. There are several attractive ones on the market.
• Choose a wedding gown made from a natural fiber (cotton, linen or silk,) instead of a synthetic fabric which involves petroleum products. Another option is to use a previously worn dress (your mother’s?) or to rent your gown. This is already popular for tuxedos.

• Select flowers for bouquets and decorations which have been grown without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
• Use potted plants instead of cut flowers for decorations—or if cut flowers are used, consider donating them to a senior citizens home after the reception.
• At the reception, avoid the use of paper or plastic plates, cups and forks. Think about renting china and flatware that can be washed and reused.

• If there is leftover food after reception, make arrangements to donate it to a homeless shelter.
• Instead of giving favors which involve plastic containers (made from petroleum) offer your guests seed packets or baby plants to remember your day. Other options might be small jars of locally grown preserves, or soy candles. OR you can give guests a note saying that you have made a donation on their behalf to an earth friendly charity.

In addition to these suggestions, you can think of some of your own. Just remember that the “shade of green” you chose for your wedding day will be as unique and special as you are.

I explained that she should picture a salad bar that one might see at a restaurant, but in place of the lettuce and veggies on display, the table would be loaded with different varieties of candy.

Candy buffets are one of the latest trends at wedding receptions or other parties where there will be a number of guests. They provide an activity and a party favor all in one. A fun aspect is that guests can select as much or as little of any of the candies offered, without hurting anyone’s feelings if they choose to ignore something all together. (I personally boycott black licorice every time.)

The goodies are displayed in clear glass containers like the old fashioned apothecary jars or cylinder vases, each with its own scoop for collecting them. Cellophane or drawstring cloth bags are also on the table for guests to fill and take home. These can be personalized, or not, it’s your choice. A nice touch is to label each container so that guests don’t have any unfortunate surprises when they pop in a bunch of what they thought were cherry drops, only to discover they have a big mouthful of cinnamon red hots.

An important thing to remember is that you need to have someone supervising the table and restocking the containers as they start to empty. After all, you don’t want the last guests to leave feeling like they’ve been short changed because all of the chocolate raisins are gone.

To carry out the décor for the wedding, candies can be provided in a limited number of colors to match the bridesmaid’s dresses. Imagine 10 containers of varying heights and sizes-5 with different kinds of pink candy and 5 with different kinds of red. Or, 5 blacks and 5 whites. It’s amazing how many different flavors of candy one can find that are all the same color. Of course there would be a lovely table cloth and perhaps a floral arrangement on the table as well. You want everybody to say, “WOW, look at that!” when they first walk in the room.