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Green is the new white: More couples want eco-friendly weddings

Rachel Nania | rnania@wtop.com

November 11, 2013, 4:11 PM

Couples can incorporate sustainable and environmentally friendly elements into all aspects of a wedding. And the conscious planning is a growing trend. (Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography)
Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography
Avoid choosing flowers that need to be flown in from Central or South America. Instead, choose flowers that grow in the region where you are planning your wedding. (Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography)
Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography
Katie Martin's wedding planning company, Elegance & Simplicity, Inc., focuses on sustainable weddings. She founded her Bethesda, Md., business 15 years ago and has seen an increase in the number of area couples opting for eco-friendly weddings. (Courtesy a little bit of whimsy photography)
Courtesy a little bit of whimsy photography
When D.C. resident Jan Tievsky was planning her daughter's wedding, she paid close attention to producing as little waste as possible. Invitations and place cards were on recycled paper, and the bride opted out of menu cards to save paper. (Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography)
Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography
To cut down on the waste of traditional wedding cake, Tievsky's daughter opted for a dessert bar, which she thought would tempt guests more than a traditional cake. (Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography)
Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography
Even the wedding flowers can be repurposed after the event. Here, Jan Tievsky uses dried flowers to decorate her home. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
They used save-the-date cards impregnated with seeds, so when the cards are planted in soil, they grow wildflowers. The invitations came on one printed sheet of paper, rather than with several cards and envelopes. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
When planning her daughter's wedding, Jan Tievsky decorated the tent with large, potted hydrangea bushes. Those hydrangeas are now planted in her backyard garden. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
When it comes to making a wedding sustainable, planner Katie Martin says the key is to find a venue that gives back to the community. Jan Tievsky and her daughter discovered Woodend, a nature sanctuary in nearby Chevy Chase, Md., and they were instantly sold -- especially when they learned the venue's rental fee supported the work of the National Audubon Society. Here, a deer comes up to watch the wedding ceremony. (Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography)
Courtesy Kelsey Thompson Photography
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WASHINGTON – When Jan Tievsky found out her daughter was engaged, she wasted no time planning a wedding that cut down on waste.

“Being as green as possible is important to us. It’s pretty much how we’ve always lived,” says Tievsky, a teacher and Northwest D.C. resident.

Tievsky and her daughter sat down and thought through all of the individual pieces of a wedding — from the invitations, to the dress to the food.

“We took every aspect and said,

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