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Author:
Debra Lynn Dadd

A wedding is one of life's major rites of passage. It is
certainly something to celebrate! Today, wedding books and
magazines promote large weddings so that more and more
wedding products can be sold. Wedding expenditures run into
many thousands of dollars. And after this major outlay of
money, most of what is purchased is never used again.

On the Spring Equinox 2004, my ex-husband (yes, that's
right! my ex-husband!) Larry and I remarried. We had been
together for almost seventeen years, and had divorced
several years ago when our relationship problems seemed
impossible to resolve. But we still loved each other, so we
figured out what to do to make things better, and are now
happier than ever.

In planning our wedding, we wanted to keep it simple, small,
and full of meaning. We wanted a ceremony and celebration
that would be easy to prepare for and manage. We wanted an
intimate occasion, surrounded by our closest friends who
would participate with us in the intention of our union. And
as we planned our wedding, we used the same guidelines for
health and the environment that we practice in our daily
home life.

Since most books and articles are about planning big
weddings, I want to offer some tips on planning another sort
of wedding that can be beautiful and meaningful in it's own
way.

* Make it your day. Each wedding can and should be a unique
expression of the couple getting married. So create the day
just the way you want it, to please the two of you.

* Choose the wedding traditions that are important to you.
When it comes right down to it, the essentials of a wedding
are the two people to be married, the minister or justice of
the peace who performs the ceremony, the ceremony itself,
and the guests who witness it. Everything else is decoration
and tradition. Learn about wedding traditions and choose to
do those that will make your day special.

* Write your own ceremony. The entire reason for having a
wedding, really, is the ceremony. The most important aspect
of a wedding is not the decorations, but the vows and
intentions that are stated in the ceremony and that you give
to each other. Research the time-honored patterns to
wedding ceremonies and follow this pattern in your own
personal way.

* Invite meaningful guests. When you have a small number of
guests, you can spend more time with them and really
experience their presence. Minimum is just the two of you,
the minister, and a witness. Invite family and friends with
whom you have real relationships. Eliminate those that might
be invited out of social obligation.

* Have your wedding at home, either indoors or in your
garden, or in a park. Rather than spending a lot of money on
floral arrangements, we put that money into tidying up our
back yard and planting perennial flowers that we are still
enjoying today.

Looking back on our wedding day, we are very pleased with
our simple, small wedding. We were able to relax and enjoy
the day and experience the love and support of our best
friends. Best of all, we still had energy left for the
honeymoon...

For many more details on planning your simple, small, green
wedding (including choosing flowers, rings, clothing and
reciption, and photos of Debra's wedding), visit
http://www.debraslist.com/wedding, and click on "You are
invited to... My Simple, Small, Green Wedding". Debra is also
available as a consultant to help you plan your wedding.

About the Author
Hailed as "The Queen of Green" by the New York Times,
Debra Lynn Dadd has been a consumer advocate for products
and lifestyle choices that are better for health and the
environment since 1982. Visit her website for 100s of links
to 1000s of nontoxic, natural and earthwise products, and to
sign up for her free email newsletters. http://www.dld123.com

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