I loved my wedding four years ago. Seriously, every part of it was awesome.

But then I met Ottawa bride-to-be Lisa Higgs.

Now, I’m sort of regretting that I can’t do my big day all over again to emulate hers.

That’s because Lisa is coordinating perhaps the coolest and most creative, cost-effective and community-conscious wedding I’ve ever heard of.

Budget was always the top consideration for Lisa and her fiancé Rolf Campbell—but they also wanted a backyard wedding that wouldn’t put a toll on the environment.

“To us, being green and not creating waste is the only logical choice—and that means we wanted to avoid purchasing all those single-use items that normally end up in the landfill or in the back of a closet,” says Lisa.

Some of the green and cost-efficient (often free!) things Lisa and Rolf have done in preparation for their August 18^th “Home Sweet Wedding” include:

• Sending e-invites instead of paper invitations, and creating a website for RSVPs and general wedding information.
• Choosing “non-wedding” clothing, allowing the entire wedding party to self-select their own cocktail dresses and suits that can be worn again.
• Borrowing (from friends and family members) instead of renting equipment (from vendors) like BBQs, coffeemakers and a bar.
• Collecting donated table settings (among many, many other things) from UsedOttawa.com. Lisa and Rolf opted for 100 vintage-eclectic place settings of used dinner and dessert plates, wine and drinking glasses, and cutlery because “…rental companies often replace their dishes with new ones too often, so this was a greener option.”
• Not driving long distances, or making car trips for the sole purpose of picking up donated items.
• Repurposing their own household items, such as using Lisa’s grandmother’s vintage suitcase as a card box; and old paned windows from her mother’s farmhouse for displaying the seating chart.
• Making paper bouquets and boutonnieres using the pages of 30 books—bought for a whole $1 at a used book sale—which can be recycled after the wedding. Or, if kept for sentimental value, the flowers will be more easily maintained than fresh flowers.
• Creating fortune cookie wedding favours out of 100% recyclable origami paper.

Lisa has many, many more creative, budget- and environmentally-friendly wedding décor DIY ideas that we plan to share with the UsedEverywhere audience over the next few weeks.

Stay tuned for more, including a recap of her and Rolf’s big day!