Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, being environmentally friendly can be extremely difficult. There are so many obstacles that stand in the way to creating a greener lifestyle, from family to friends, money and even traditions. Sadly, it seems that most of our traditions are designed to hurt the environment and in no way promote a more eco-conscious mindset.

1. Expense. It seems that being green can become extremely expensive, especially when working out the catering arrangements. Often caterers will claim that your demands are difficult to meet and they will have to go out of their way to find exactly what you need. Of course, they may have a point if you live in Norway but want mango soufflé for dessert. It will be a bit difficult for the caterer to find locally grown mangos. So, you both have to step back and see who is being unreasonable.

2. Family. How often have you heard your mother or his complain about your chosen lifestyle, saying that it is costing you an arm and a leg? Probably every five minutes. However, with a little patience you can show both your moms that expenses will be no higher than if you went for a regular wedding. In fact, you will probably be saving money on everything from the LED Christmas lights to the invitations. After all, you will be sending out digital invitations rather than sacrifice that many trees.

3. Venue. The venue where you will be holding the wedding reception may also pose a problem. Often, when they hear the concept of a green wedding they think you will want to have everyone naked at the reception and engage in other strange practices. It is surprising how few people watch the news nowadays. In any case, this can easily be solved by explaining to the manager exactly what you mean by a green wedding. In other words, you expect all the ingredients for the food to be from local farms, all the decorations should be as environmentally friendly as possible, meaning that all lighting should be done with the use of LED Christmas lights. They are cheaper than wedding lights anyway, and create effects that are just as stunning, they just aren’t called wedding lights.

4. Traditions. There are so many traditions connected to weddings that seem to want to spite the planet. One of these is the bridal registry where you write down what gifts you would like to receive and all the guests check the registry to know what to buy for you. First of all, here you actually have the power to do something so at the very least create your registry online to save on paper. Also, think hard before you register for gifts and only do so if you really need those items. Otherwise, why not ask your guests to make a donation in your name to your favorite charity.

5. Decorations. Again, decorating can be rather unfriendly to the environment, especially when it comes to lights. Incandescent Christmas lights use a lot of power and usually need to be replaced often because they are rather fragile. On the opposite end of the spectrum we have LED Christmas lights which use 80% less power than their incandescent counterparts. They also have a much longer life span with up to 100,000 hours of operation before burning out.

All new ideas usually have to overcome various obstacles, but if you truly believe in creating a better life for you and your family, then do everything you can to help save the planet. Remember, even small things can have a great impact, such as changing out your regular lights, whether for Christmas or your wedding, with LED Christmas lights. It’s the butterfly effect as a single drop creates ripples that reach far and wide.