Sustainable Wedding

Weddings are one of the greatest days of many people’s lives. They are also, arguably, the source of a lot of waste, from paper products to excess food and even (gasp!) left over flowers. Being eco-conscious was a concern for Rachel and Nikki. Their nature-inspired wedding at Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Maryland, took these issues to heart.

Sustainability was a central theme of their nuptials, as was to fill the day with warmth and love and a very personal vibe. The traditional Jewish wedding ceremony was infused with adaptations for their progressive values and the fact that they were two women. The processional to the chuppah was led by their 97- and 87-year-old grandmothers (respectively) walking down the aisle hand-in-hand. You can imagine that there was not a dry eye in the house from that moment on. The temple itself is filled with lots of natural light, a nature-inspired feeling, and a tree-of-life themed bimah designed using reclaimed wood. The ladies were both walked down the aisle by their parents, so decided to forego bouquets. They were married in an amazing temple beneath a birch pole chuppah.

Rachel and Nikki chose bamboo, orchids, bonsai trees and succulents planted in driftwood for their sustainable wedding centerpieces. The designs were created to allow guests to take these home following the wedding. Nikki and Rachel have both commented on how they still see the plants in people’s homes on visits to family and friends following the wedding.