AisleDash

Married folks: please raise your hand if, during your wedding planning, you ever wanted to rip out your hair, toss all your paperwork, spreadsheets, post-its, and bridal magazines out the window, and run away with your then-fiance to Vegas. Here's where, if we were all in one big room, all you engaged folks would look around and breathe a sigh of relief, because now you know you're not alone. We've ALL felt this way.

Sure, eloping saves time, energy, stress, and money, but did you also consider how you might save a little bit of the environment, too, when you go this route? It's not just that receptions use a lot of energy and create a lot of waste, but think also about the environmental impact of all the travel involved. You'll probably do a lot of driving around in the planning stages, and then it's unlikely your guests will travel by donkey to get to your celebration. The fuel to bring 100 guests to your wedding can really add up. It gets exponentially more environmentally costly if your guests are traveling by plane.Eloping doesn't mean you can't have a beautiful wedding, or even include your loved ones. You could send wedding announcements explaining to your guests why you've chosen to elope, citing the environmental impact of all that travel, then invite everyone to join you by webcam for the ceremony. There are lots of wedding hot spots that offer internet broadcasts, or you could buy your own webcam and broadcast it yourself from the location of your choice. The devices aren't too expensive or complicated -- just try a test run to be sure you know how to set it up properly if you're going to do it yourself.

Here's your chance to use your wedding for activism, and champion the cause of the environment. You can further increase awareness by registering for environment-focused charities instead of gifts, or eco-friendly gifts only.