Green Partying: Five Easy Steps

When Andreea Matei, a marketing consultant in New York City, started planning her dream wedding, a simple, green theme came to mind. "I wanted it to be reflective of how we live our everyday lives," says Andreea, who buys only organic produce, uses low-VOC paint in her home and sticks to the most natural shampoos and lotions she can find. In order to throw a "green" wedding, Andreea and her financé wanted to incorporate as many organic, local and natural options as they could.

For invitations, they used recycled paper. Instead of renting out a hall, they exchanged vows on a beach at Lake Michigan. Bouquets were handpicked from a neighbor's garden. They served locally grown food, regional wines and herbal "gardens in a bag" as wedding favors. "Although we couldn't find everything organic, we were flexible and made sure we had alternatives. In the end, everyone told us our wedding was truly inspiring," Andreea says.

Whether you're planning a wedding, a simple cocktail hour or a graduation bash, these simple tips can help ensure that your party is as green--and inspiring--as can be.

A Green Party Checklist

1. Invitations

Many art and stationery stores carry recycled paper products, but try to avoid purchasing invitations that have non-recyclable aspects, such as plastic or heavily coated papers.

*Twisted Limb makes uncoated, recycled invitations and stationery by hand (paper starts at $.75/sheet; www.twistedlimbpaper.com).

*Vickerey sells recycled paper handcrafted from the bark of the Lokta bush, a tree-free resource in Nepal ($10 and up). Their Memento boxed note cards are $13.50 and up (www.vickerey.com).

*Go totally paper free--and save time and money as well--by sending your guests an electronic invitation. Log onto www.evite.com or www.regards.com.