Love More, Waste Less: Reception

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Real Green Weddings

For the reception, the bride and groom continued to make sure they had very little waste. They collected second-hand china plates from thrift stores, rummage sales, and their parents’ basements, mostly mismatched and from earlier decades. The sterling silver and stainless steel silverware were found at an estate sale and cost less than a quarter per piece.

The couple also decided to use mason jars as drink cups so that their guests would have a reusable option rather than tossing plastic cups. As a DIY project, MaryBeth and Justin added vintage fabric scraps from towels and curtains to each of the lids to create a one-piece lid.  While many of the guests took their jars home at the end of the evening, the bride and groom used the left-overs to store nuts, dried fruit, and baking supplies.

One of MaryBeth’s oldest friends offered to make cloth napkins for the event as a generous wedding gift. The couple provided her with brown fabric, found at a rummage sale, which she tie-dyed blues and purples, cut into squares, and stitched around the edges. She also used a 1970s floral sheet for additional napkins. “They were so thoughtful and perfect,” the bride told us.

The food served at the event was all vegetarian. Randall Smith, an executive chef at a hotel in Rockford, IL and a strong promoter of all local farms, both made and catered all the food.  Most of the ingredients used by Smith came from sustainable farms called First Hand Harvest.

Photo Credit: Wrinkle In Time Photography