Country Lore: Eco-friendly Wedding

Even a celebration such as a wedding can be done in an eco-friendly fashion.

April/May 2008
By Mira Kilpatrick 
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I am a small-scale farmer and my husband is a beer brewer who also loves to work in the garden and cook. We’re both passionate about supporting local, sustainable businesses. We wanted our wedding to be beautiful, meaningful and in accordance with our belief system.

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We avoided the controversy of purchasing rings with precious metals and gems, and opted instead for an antique ring and custom-made wooden wedding bands. Our friend helped us design lovely invitations, printed on recycled paper. We used a caterer who purchases primarily local and organic food. She even cooked with some food from my garden and served some of my husband’s beer.

Our close friends, excellent farmers, provided the most beautiful flower arrangements and the bridal bouquet. For party favors, my dear friend and I dried a bunch of homegrown flowers (strawflowers, amaranth and broom corn), and made pretty swatches to decorate tables.

The people we love most really participated in this day — artists, musicians and growers — and it was such a rewarding and beautiful experience.

Mira Kilpatrick
Rockledge, Pennsylvania
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1 Comments

  • Michelle Alford 6/18/2009 2:20:30 PM

    It sounds like you had a wonderful wedding. I am curious though, where you had you wooden wedding rings made and what gave you such an interesting idea? I'd love to know more.

    My own wedding (though we are no longer together) was held on a local museum farm (Heritage Farm and Museum, Huntington, WV). The owner has been collecting turn of the century and earlier, log and timber frame buildings, then relocating them to his farm where they are slowly rebuilt, modernized somewhat (indoor plumbing mostly) and then rented out. He also collects antique farm equipment. The atmosphere is wonderful there and the price wasn't bad.

    My father catered the reception which included BBQ and sides prepared on his smoker. All foods were local produce, from the farmers market and local farms. I opted to not have party favors, but we did have lots of fresh cut ivy from a friend of the family's yard, Christmas lights (nice to have more than once a year usage of them), and fresh cut and live flowers (all local in season varieties).

    If I had to do it over again the whole thing would be a much smaller affair with only a handful of people, but more or less the same atmosphere.

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