YOU'VE heard of a white wedding but what about a
green one? That's exactly what New Forest couple Kate
and Andy Gulliver-Smart opted for with their environmentally-
friendly nuptials.
The New Milton newlyweds, pictured above, tied the
knot at Bartley Lodge Hotel, Cadnam, and - although
the ceremony and elegant reception looked very traditional
- the details were anything but.
Guests arrived at the service in a "green" taxi cab run
on cooking oil collected from local hotels and instead
of confetti, the bride and groom were showered in rose
petals and birdseed!
Kate and Andy designed the wedding invitations on
computer and sent them out via e-mail to save on
paper and printing.
"A wedding is a big event and very special but it's a
lot of excess for one day," says Kate, who Andy has
nicknamed "the eco-warrior."
"We just thought it would be good to make less of an
impact on the environment if we could."
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But, insists 27-year-old Kate, a green wedding doesn't
have to mean sacrifices.
"I didn't have to wear a
dress made from carrier
bags!" she jokes.
For Kate and Andy, who
met via a dating website
two years ago, that meant
creating place cards from
recycled cardboard and using the
left over pieces from the hole punch as heart-shaped
table decorations.
Nothing is wasted at an eco-wedding, explains Kate,
who found a touching second use for her flowers.
"I put some on my Dad's grave and gave the rest to
Oakhaven Hospice which cared for him," she says.
Instead of fussy favours with excess packaging, Kate
attached a charity pin from the hospice to each place
card, giving guests a meaningful gift.
She even plans to recycle her wedding dress by lending
it to a friend this summer.
Kate and Andy's guests tucked into delicious local
produce including cheese, fresh bread and pastries
made in the heart of the New Forest before sampling
an organic wedding cake, baked by Andy's aunt.
Later, they toasted the happy couple with fine wine
from Marlings Vineyard in Sway.
Finally, instead of jetting off on honeymoon and chugging
around in a gas-guzzling hire car, the couple
hopped on a ferry and enjoyed a relaxing holiday on the
Isle of Wight.
Said Kate: "It wasn't too difficult to organise once we
got going and we had a wonderful day. A lot of our
guests would not have even known it was an eco-wedding.
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