From catering to travel to carbon offsets, couples are looking to start their lives together with a small carbon footprint, but finding a green wedding gown used to be an issue.
Now, designers like Adele Wechsler are taking the lines and detailing of fine couture gowns and applying green principles to the dresses, coming up with classic silhouettes that look as elegant and beautiful as the traditional lines.
For the bride who is going green, there are eco-friendly wedding dresses made of hemp that look like they belong on a Paris runway.
Wechsler's new Eco-Couture wedding collection just arrived at Rizik's in downtown D.C. It's designed for the brides who want to get back to nature in style.
Some of the gowns are made with hemp fibers, such as the Flora, a blend of hemp and silk. Hemp is a sustainable crop that grows quickly and doesn't destroy the land, and the silk comes from the remnants of other dresses.
All the material is hand cut in nearby Toronto, so it's not flown from overseas.
Wechsler uses only organic fabrics. The shades come from vegetable dyes. And she gives a percentage of the proceeds to a non-profit that funds environmental causes worldwide.
Like the dresses, the price is close to earth. They cost between $2,000 and $3,000.
For more information, check out the Green Bride Guide.
