Pick your own flowers to use in your arrangements, and consider nixing favors in lieu of sustainable food and great local entertainment.

Choose local flowers, gathering some yourself, and have a floral designer turn them into awesome arrangements.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Wedding season is in the air, but after all the dancing, champagne toasting, and celebrating, what's left behind is often an ugly mess—up to half a ton of garbage, food trucked in from hundreds of miles away that winds up being wasted, and junky favors that wind up in the landfill. (Seriously, does anyone really use those gaudy shot glasses with the bride and groom's wedding date printed on it? Or the toxic candles or soaps, or personalized plastic trinkets made in China?)

Green weddings can save tons of carbon pollution and keep tons of garbage out of landfills—a major positive in itself—but you can also enjoy some immediate benefits of greening your wedding. At the top of that list? Saving mega money. "Green weddings have absolutely moved mainstream, which is really exciting," says Kate Harrison, author of The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget (Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2008). "Less impact on the Earth is a major motivator, but another is the desire to save money."

THE DETAILS: A recent David's Bridal survey found that 46 percent of couples are thinking about incorporating ecofriendly components into their wedding festivities. That's great news, because the average wedding creates 400 to 600 pounds of garbage and 63 tons of carbon pollution. One year of American weddings creates about the same CO2 pollution as putting 8 million cars on the road.

WHAT IT MEANS: It's easy to associate a green wedding with more expense, but if you play your cards right, you can actually save money and slash your celebration's carbon footprint, too. Author Maya Rodale director of communications and outreach at the Rodale Institute, an organic research farm in eastern Pennsylvania, is in the midst of planning her own green wedding. Her upcoming historical romance novel, A Groom of One's Own (Avon, June 2010), even features components of a green wedding. "There was no question that I would have an organic wedding—given my family’s history and the values I live by, it was inevitable. And I’m excited by the challenge," says Rodale. "Plus, I am excited for the opportunity to show friends and family how gorgeous, delicious, and lovely organic is."