Lessen the carbon footprint of your event

You won't be able to stop global warming on your wedding day, but your choices can lessen the carbon footprint of your event. For example, if your guests are traveling long distances, offset the carbon emissions from their trips with a donation to renewable—energy projects. The sustainable—wedding website Portovert.com, in partnership with NativeEnergy, a renewable energy company, offers a wedding carbon calculator where couples can enter the number of guests and approximate miles traveled, to calculate the carbon impact of their wedding—related travel. Wherever you celebrate, you can reduce your CO2 impact and often save money by giving your wedding a local touch. Buy wine from a nearby vineyard or beer from a neighborhood brewery. Get your wedding cake from a local bakery, and use seasonal flowers, not imports. "Why eat food or drink wine or beer that has traveled thousands of miles when you can choose local options that are just as good?" says Meghan Meyers, CEO of portovert.com. Anything you do to make your wedding a little more modest—from wearing a borrowed wedding dress to choosing recycled paper or a website for your invitations—will lower its contribution to carbon emissions. Consider it your wedding gift to the planet.

This is an extended version of the article that originally appeared in TIME Magazine.

Low-cost wedding fairytale

Your wedding is supposed to be one of the most memorable events in your life. However, in the current economic situation, you are probably cutting back on expenses for your special day.
That's why Minoo Hersini, creative director of Au Ciel Design Studio, has some tips on how to respect your budget while still having that fairytale wedding you always dreamed of:

• Invite fewer guests. Limit attendees to your close family and friends.
• Look into unusual spaces such as barns, galleries, studios, rooftops. Also, consider the use of your home and your friends' and families' homes.
• Choose a location that is in a close vicinity to your guests.
• Create a more casual environment by sampling food dishes.
• Create your own cocktail. Find an original name to reflect your wedding.
• Use the most creative people in order to give you the simple solutions for decor.
• A great DJ is the way to go instead of live music.
• Encourage your guests to donate to a specific charity of your choice.