Recycle Wedding? Wedding Tip/Article

Couple vows to fund wedding through recycling

It’s their can-do attitude that will pay for their wedding.

Andrea Parrish and Peter Geyer are vowing to fund their entire wedding by recycling aluminum cans.

Their goal: to collect 400,000 cans — approximately 5 tons worth — within 7 months in order to make their wedding budget of $4,000.

That’s right. That figure is not missing a zero.

“We don’t want anything huge or extravagant… really, we’re planning a potluck, DIY decorations, and getting the help from friends and family for flowers, pictures, the sword-fighting battle, home brew beer, even the cake,” writes Andrea and Peter in their blog documenting their undertaking.

And the Spokane, Washington couple is well on their way of hitting their goal. As of today, they have collected more than 328-thousand cans worth of donations, which is 82% of their target.

Andrea and Peter focused on cans because “Aluminum recycling is one of the most sustainable and useful forms of recycling.”

By recycling 5 tons of cans, the environmentally-focused couple will be saving the earth from 50 tons of carbon emissions, which they say is enough to offset 5 years of their own emissions plus the impact of their entire wedding.

The two got engaged last October at Andrea’s sister’s wedding. It happened when Peter caught the garter, and Andrea followed up by dropping to one knee and proposing to him with an opal earring.

They hatched their recycling idea last month and will be tying the knot on July 31st.

Andrea says they didn’t originally set out to have a green wedding specifically. “We wanted to just have a wedding that was a reflection of who we are and what our values are. We are an environmentally conscious couple in general - our front yard is an organic vegetable garden, we compost, and put on sweaters instead of turning up the heat. We just believe that it's our responsibility to take care of Mother Earth - she's the only one we've got, and we need to take care of her so she takes care of us.”

Besides the recycling, Andrea and Peter are conscientiously incorporating a number of other green elements into their big celebration.

The entire weekend from the rehearsal to the ceremony and reception to the morning-after breakfast will be held in a vacation home in northern Idaho, reducing the amount of driving for guests. Peter’s sister is growing all the potted flowers for the wedding. The two will also be using compostable, rather than disposable, dishware and flatware throughout the weekend. In addtion, they are asking their attendants to choose dresses and suits that they will wear again, rather than “wear-once” clothes.

Making A Larger Impact

Andrea and Peter are ecstatic to see that they may be raising more than enough money well before their wedding. So they’ve decided to take their project a step further.

After they meet their wedding budget of $4,000, they are planning to continue to collect and redeem cans.

But, they won’t be using the additional funds to throw a bigger wedding. Instead, they want to make a bigger impact.

60% of the extra proceeds will be donated to two charities — Doctors Without Borders and The Rim Country Land Institute, a Montana non-profit that provides outdoor, place-based experiences for people to connect with their local landscape. The other 40% will go to their soon-to-be-planned honeymoon.

And the icing on the cake — the couple are also working on a “starter kit” that can be distributed to others who want to start their own recycling fundraiser.

Secret to a Green Wedding

Andrea’s advice to other couples wanting to have an environmentally conscience wedding mirrors that of this column. "Going green can feel so overwhelming at times — like there is so much to do that one person can't possibly make a difference,” says Andrea. “The secret is to do what you can, when you can - it's the little changes you can make everyday that make the biggest impact.”

How You Can Help

You can help Andrea and Peter by collecting cans in your kitchen, office or classroom, then turning them in at your local recycling center. They playfully say on their blog, “Take the cash, take yourself out for a coffee or draft beer, and perhaps kick a bit of what’s left over our way.” Donations can be made through weddingcans.com.