A Really Sustainable Marriage

 {photo via Portland Press Herald/Tim Greenway}

Got your attention, huh?

In the fields of Washington, Maine, a young couple (pictured above) is busily tending their 7,500 square foot garden in preparation for their wedding. Yes, preparing their garden for their wedding. But, unlike the image you might have of a couple making sure the flowers look "just so", this couple is busily growing the food that they will serve to their wedding guests in September.

Very cool, huh? Well, I think the even cooler thing is that they are enlisting the help of friends and family the day before the wedding to help transform the harvest into the wedding dinner. Now, this is what I call the ultimate pre-wedding bonding activity.

Their is certainly a green wedding trend - and even a more homemade wedding trend. For example, some caterers now offer organic menus or 100-mile menus - and brides and grooms are giving away homemead favors such as self or locally-made jams (We did this at our wedding 7 years ago...way ahead of the curve, I tell you...). But, this takes it to a whole new level for sure.

For the budget conscious wedding planner, this couple's approach is a winner. So far they've spent less than $600 growing the vegetables and chickens. Their wedding budget is about $6600 (about $1500 earmarked for food) -- that's half the national average!

Join me in following Julia and Andy as they approach their really green wedding and embark in what will surely be a sustainable marriage (afterall, a couple who can embark on such an endeavor clearly has what it takes!). Here is their blog, A Local Food Wedding from see to Plate

In the meantime, look at what they have on the menu:

APPETIZERS:
Veggie sticks (carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, green peppers, etc.)
Homemade hummus
Fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, apples, etc.)
Bread from a local bakery
Cheese
Homemade pesto

DINNER:
Roast chicken, raised by the happy couple
Autumn gold squash soup
Oven fries
Cubed hubbard squash with kale
Green salad
Caprese salad (tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and olive oil)
Asian cabbage slaw
Pickles made from Davis' great-grandmother's recipe
Bread from a local bakery

DESSERT:
Pie made by the bride and groom's moms
Ice cream from John's Ice Cream Factory in Liberty, Maine