We chose to exchange pounamu pendants instead of traditional gold/diamond rings, as the raw materials for these are usually imported and have major environmental and social impacts caused by mining and processing.

The raw materials for the pendants (pounamu) floated down a West Coast river and were made by a local carver.

People sometimes ask "where's your ring" and it's a chance to explain our rationale for choosing pounamu instead.

I found this http://www.agreenevent.com.au on this website http://www.thegreendirectory.com.au/. Sorry I don't know how to embed the links.

On the same site I found an article about green weddings with loads of tips but I can't find it now.

My number one tip would be not to get married! Number two would be to have a registry wedding or a very small ceremony.

Ive got an even better idea, How about NO wedding!, very clean & green that one.

'Ask the Expert' - after following your various blogs I think that term is being used rather loosely.

Reduce fuel miles by buying NZ made? Yes, all cotton and silk comes from Timaru. Recycled gold, recycled ivory, what's the difference? Same goes for greenstone. Under your logic, which relies heavily on generalisations, surely the use of recycled gold or greenstone is still promoting the use of these resources!!

Your constant ‘bandwagoning’ and generalisations are beyond a joke. Populist environmentalism based on wishy washy statements, half truths and manipulation of facts is not the way to attract people to this worthy and important cause. Are you trying to turn environmentalism into a religion?

As for the Green Party…well, they have lost focus and my support. Anti-smacking, social engineering…focus on the real issues or move over.

That goes for the authors of this blog – you are doing more harm than good by focussing on these half baked ideas and topics instead of presenting us with some useful information and FACTS.

Another,

All you have said is so insightful & true. Fantastic blog! Also, can i add that `weddings` are not just for women, nor is it HER day alone as many women in this backward femnazi country seem to think. I see nothing to encourage men into this `outdated life through rose coloured tinted glasses instituition` that does nothing at all to enlighten us as a species. Screw wedding culture! Show us the facts only please or leave these place & join the `cult` that you are creating somewhere else.

Short of letting off a nuclear bomb there is nothing you can do on your wedding day that will make an iota of difference to our environment.

What you do on the other 30,000 days of your life is what counts. The rest is just symbolism and risks being seriously hypocritical if you are not true to your real values and behaviour. That wouldn't be a great foundation for a marriage.

Nicely said Alan also.

Hi all, I was hoping the eco wedding topic would encourage more women to comment on our blogs (thanks Alison and Melissa). JJ and Alan your unwavering cynicism astounds me. Another, by your mysterious persona it's tricky to tell your gender but thank you for commenting though I'd love to know what your job/career is and whether it does more harm than good.

We try to 'mix up' the blog topics to range from 'light' to 'serious' in efforts to attract/include a range of viewers/comments. Blog ideas welcome...

Natalie, I don't think there is anything cynical about being true to our real values or being realistic about what our actions can affect.

Considering that a wedding might be a once in a lifetime event and that the low environmental impact option is definitely the registry office with no guests, surely everything else is just utterly pointless posturing?

Here's a topic for you, Natalie:

Just what is sustainability and why on earth do we believe it is good - let alone attainable?

If evolution produced sustainability we would still be blue-green algae and you would definitely not be writing this blog.