The food was grown by the bride and groom, the toilets were composting, and the tableware was borrowed from friends.

Last weekend, I traveled to upstate New York and experienced first-hand the greenest wedding ever. I’ve decided to share my newly gained knowledge with you in this, the ultimate guide to an environmentally-friendly wedding. Not everyone will be able (or willing) to do everything in this list. But hopefully you’ll find a few tips you hadn’t thought of.

1. Invitations & Thank You Cards: Make Your Own, Plantable, and/or Recycled

If you’re the crafty sort, consider creating wedding invitations and thank you notes of your own design. You can cut photos out of wedding magazines, use recycled paper, and write the wedding details by hand.

If you feel like you already have too much going on and making your own invitations could push you over the edge, not to worry. There are some really cool plantable invitations and notes that bloom into wildflowers. The wedding couple from New York used these for their invites, and invited guests to bring them to the wedding to plant them at the wedding site. We had plantable thank you notes for our wedding and our friends thought they were great.

If those aren’t quite what you’d envisioned, check out Seal and Send’s recycled invitations. They do away with the extra envelopes and random sheets of paper that often accompany wedding invites by making your invite and reply card out of one long piece of paper. Sounds a bit weird at first, but there are lots of designs to choose from. We used these and loved them.

2. RSVPs: Via Email, Website, or Phone

Eliminate the need for extra paper and shipping (which burns gas) by asking your guests to choose a lower-impact RSVP method. Make it easy by giving them more than one option.

3. Registry: At a Local Shop or Donation to Non-Profit

We learned the hard way that if you register at a national store (like Crate & Barrel), you’ll receive an obscene amount of packaging with your gifts. Fortunately, we were able to donate excess packaging to a friend who was moving. But in general, it’s better to stick to a local store or craft shop where you can pick up the gifts all at once, sans extra wrapping.

The wedding couple from last weekend registered at a local shop and also gave the option of contributing to the off-the-grid dream home they want to build.

4. Wedding Dress: Reused

No need to spend $800 on a new wedding dress when you can find a perfectly good used one for less. The bride last weekend had her mother’s dress altered into a sundress for her outdoor wedding. At our wedding, Elizabeth wore her mom’s dress and I wore one I found on Craigslist. Thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales, and Ebay are also great places to find used wedding dresses.

5. Venue: Outside or Eco-Friendly

Have your ceremony and reception in a park, on a lake, or even on a farm. The wedding last weekend was in the woods, with the reception just a few feet away. If you opt for indoors, choose a hotel or other reception venue that has solid environmental practices. We didn’t want to worry about Vancouver’s fickle weather for our reception, so we chose an eco-friendly Kimpton hotel.

6. Food: Grow Your Own or Get It Locally

If you’re lucky enough to have a place where you can grow your own food, go for it. If not, make sure you buy from local farmers, bakers, and cake shops with sustainable practices. You can even ask nearby friends and family members to contribute with veggies from their gardens. Y

7. Table Settings: Mix and Match

The bride and groom’s family and close friends brought plates and silverware from home, which were used the reception. After the wedding, they were washed and returned. No need to rent plates from an expensive catering company.

8. Photos: Digital

If you have an artistically-inclined cousin, ask her to be your photographer. Better yet, tap a few friends and family members to serve as photographers so you get lots of different perspectives. If you go the professional photography route, make sure your photographer uses digital. That way you only have to print the photos you want to keep.

9. Music: Live Band or Computer

Depending on the kind of music you like, you may not need the full-blown, electricity-sucking setups DJs often use. Hook a computer up to speakers, or hire a live band. You’ll even save money by skipping out on a pricey DJ.

10. Trash: Composted & Recycled

Composting your trash will be easier if your ceremony is on your own land, but it’s possible to find a venue that will accommodate you. When you’re considering where to have your wedding and reception, enquire about their composting and recycling capacities.

11. Table Decorations: Reusable & Waste-Free

Try wildflowers in mason jars and local chocolates. Guests can take the flowers home with them, and hopefully compost them when they die. There are dozens of ways to reuse mason jars. And who doesn’t enjoy seeing some delicious local chocolates at their table?

12. Favors: Local & Edible

As we were leaving the New York wedding, we picked up organic veggies and homemade jam from the favor table. I can guarantee your guests will enjoy these sustainable favors much more than they would a heart-shaped key chain with your wedding date on it.

13. Guest Accommodations: Camping or Bed & Breakfast

The wedding couple invited friends to camp on their land, which I thought was an excellent idea. They also offered the names of some local B&B’s if not everyone was down with camping. If you don’t have land for friends to crash on, consider recommending some nearby campsites and hostels, in addition to bed and breakfasts.

14. Bathroom: Homemade Composting Toilets

Ever gone to the restroom in a big plastic bucket with a toilet seat attached? After last weekend, I have. Step 1: Do you business. Step 2: Dump some cedar shavings on top. 3: Will compost within a year. Quite simple, really. Granted, this isn’t for everyone. Even some of the greenest people I know wouldn’t be comfortable having these buckets as a reminder of their wedding guests a year later. But if you have the space and the will, it’s a pretty cool idea.