Ditch the flowers and plastic plates; here is to a green wedding!

When Rajesh Joseph and Nissy started wedding planning, their priority wasn’t getting the best stylist in town or ensuring that their wedding pics look ethereal.

The couple, the first to get married according to the newly introduced ‘

green wedding

protocol’ (a move by the Kochi district administration to reduce disposables and promote reusable products), was on the lookout for everything green for their big day. Go green they did, and not only was their D day special for everyone who attended or even heard of it, many got inspired from it too!

Just like Rajesh and Nissy, quite a few couples in the State were in the news recently for taking a greener, more eco-friendly route to their weddings. Kochi Times finds out how they managed to do it in a country where the ‘big fat wedding’ is the norm:

It’s a lot more fun than a ‘big fat wedding’!
The best thing about green weddings is that there is nothing clichéd about them! From the decor to the menu, guests get to experience something new, and go ‘wow’ at every step.

A few months ago, the green wedding of accounts professional Vineeth T T and Swati in Thrissur turned out to be one of such ‘non-cliched’ weddings the State has ever seen. Vineeth’s father, Premkumar says, “The décor and even the bouquets, were made of coconut leaves and biodegradable items. The menu we put together consisted of varieties of puttu, dosa, payasam made from raw fruits, date balls and local fruits like jackfruit. People who were not even in the guest list started walked in out of curiosity, and everyone said it was a real fun wedding.”
Environmentalists Irish and Hitha, who are getting married in Kozhikode on February 19, are planning something unique as gifts for their guests. “We are gifting everyone tree saplings instead of something fancy. The saplings will be that of regional trees, like ilanji (bullet wood), njaval (black plum), pera (guava), naadan athi (fig) and the like. They aren’t saplings easily available in shops,” says Irish.

They are planning for an absolutely green and fresh wedding ceremony too! “I will be accepting a sapling from my family and Hitha from hers, which we would in turn plant in the premises,” Irish tells us.
Rajesh, who works in a ceramic retail company, says that the difference in the decor or arrangement didn’t take away the fun of the day at all. “We knew it all the while. Our friends and family also said that it was quite an interesting experience to be part of such a wedding.”

Cost-cutting for you, while saving Mother Earth!
And if you thought eco-friendly means more expenses, you are wrong, say green wedding enthusiasts. C M Joseph, father of Rajesh, says, “We didn’t have to pay an extra penny apart from our set budget for the wedding. In fact it only reduced the expenses for us, the caterers and the others involved. The only scenario where a green wedding might cross your budget, says wedding planner Shijo Thomas, is when you opt for decor using real flowers. “Real flowers cost a lot more than their plastic alternatives and if they are done away with, the cost can be brought down considerably. Also, if the wedding is planned outdoors, lighting and ambience costs too can be cut. Props can be used instead of usual indoor decor. Finding a suitable outdoor wedding location can be challenging in Kerala but once you do, you have the ideal venue for an environment-friendly wedding.”
Interestingly, Irish and Hitha are going the extra mile to keep their wedding costs as simple as possible. Says Irish, “I have washed and ironed a dhoti and shirt and kept them ready. Hitha will be wearing one of her simple sarees, that’s it,” he says. The food that they will be serving to the guests would be a normal breakfast that is usually served at Hitha’s home, Irish says.

Convincing relatives, the toughest part
One might imagine the most difficult part would be the preparations, the ‘green’ couples say it is more about convincing society. In the case of Irish – Hitha and Rajesh – Nissy, the families were broadminded enough to go green rather than go for a conventional grand wedding. “I know couples who could not live their dream of an eco-friendly, simple wedding as families were concerned about showing off gold ornaments and their ‘social status,’” says Irish.
Premkumar says, “Even if the parents of the couple are cool about it, their relatives can create trouble. In our case too it was the same, especially when more than the expected number of people walked in. But we were prepared to handle the situation and so everything went fine.”