Guest Post by Scott O’Brien Owner of the Green Life Company in Santa Monica

Wedding season is upon us! There are several resources out there for greening your wedding day, one being a great book I sell in my store called Eco-Chic Weddings by Emily Anderson. She shows how to have the wedding you dream of while minimizing its effect on the planet.

However, there is one item that can be very difficult to pull together while still maintaining your green ideals: the wedding gift registry. When my fiancé and I were building our wedding registry this year, we had the following goal: to fill it only with items that we absolutely need or love, that support local businesses when possible, and that are eco-friendly.

To do that, it helps to think outside the traditional big-box chains and consider registering directly with local and environmentally-friendly businesses. If your favorite store does not offer a gift registry service, ask them to start one! We created one on The Green Life’s website after multiple requests for weddings and baby showers. While some stores simply don’t have the technological capabilities to make an online registry, they would be more than happy to create a list to be kept in store. Your guests can then visit in person or purchase your picks over the phone.

To support multiple stores or register with ones that do not have their own registry service, there’s always MyRegistry.com! The Bride and Groom can select any product sold online and add it to one online registry. MyRegistry made it possible for us to register with any store we wanted, plus it linked everything in one place so our guests could visit just one site to shop for all our green dream gifts.

Simply put, wedding registries aren’t “green.” However, instead of feeling guilty about the consumption your registry will create, look at it as a way to introduce your guests to quality stores and eco-friendly products. Choose with care and select pieces that will help you build a life and home together. Congrats and cheers to your upcoming nuptials!

About the Author:

Scott O’Brien is the owner of the eco-friendly lifestyle store, The Green Life. While earning his Master’s degree, Scott wrote a business plan for the store and a year later turned the plan into reality. While his experience ranges from manufacturing to construction to entrepreneurship, his real passion lies in helping to create a healthier planet. On the rare occasions that Scott is not working at his store, he enjoys the Southern California weather and playing guitar.

Tags: Eco Chic Wedding, Green Gifts, Green Goods, Green Living LA, Green Registry, Green Wedding, Less Waste, The Green Life