Green Bride Short-List: Dress & Accessories
Wedding photos: Laura Grier for RecycledBride.com.
Fashion and accessories worn once are so not sustainable, so it’s important to adorn yourself with things you love so much that you’ll be sure to wear them again. After all, most wedding waste is caused by the abundance of items that get used only once. So in order to make a wedding sustainable, focus on buying things you’ll wear or use again, and incorporate plenty of recycled, upcycled and gently used items into the big day too. Borrowed is nice, too!
It’s easier than ever to find a wedding or bridesmaids dress that will make you look fabulous and cut your wedding waste. Some dress designers are incorporating eco-friendly and ethically sourced materials into their gowns, so be sure to ask about the manufacturing process when shopping in a bridal salon. You can also search the web for gently used wedding dresses, which cut your cost and your carbon footprint—Recycled Bride is obviously one of our favorite resources!
But brides and bridesmaids need more than just a gorgeous dress to dominate on the big day. The perfect necklace, hairpiece, or clutch can transform the simplest gown into something extraordinary. A one-of-a-kind headpiece or sash is a unique way to accessorize your look, and there are none that we love more than those from Bean and the Sprout. Made from vintage and recycled wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses and accented by vintage brooches, each item is lovingly handcrafted in Des Moines, Iowa, and designed to capture a genteel charm of days gone by. But the best part is that Bean and the Sprout’s accessories are totally re-wearable: The sashes and hair accessories look just as cute with jeans and a tee as they do with a wedding dress, and will be a sweet reminder of a special day every time you wear them.
Bean and Sprout Upcycled Sash (from $35)
Want more? Our essential green bride guide to rings, accessories, shoes, bridesmaid dresses and gifts might just sweep $1,400 in swag down your aisle. Check back here next week!
Tracy DiNunzio is the founder and CEO of RecycledBride.com, the world’s largest wedding marketplace. The site promotes resale as a sustainable action, encouraging brides and their friends to buy and sell new and gently used wedding dresses and other wedding items. She also runs RecycledTyke.com and the forthcoming RecycledStyle.com. Tracy is a regular editorial contributor to various publications on the topic of green weddings, and also works as a business consultant for sustainable web startups.
