by alexandra j. wall
correspondent
Last year an Oakland man built a solar-powered sukkah.
That man, Rudi Halbright, is nothing if not consistent. So when Halbright, now of Berkeley, married his wife Janie a few months ago, they were determined not only to blend their Jewish and Buddhist traditions into their nuptials, but to make their wedding have as little impact on the earth as possible.
“I’ve been educating myself to do green consulting,” said Halbright, who works as a wedding photographer. “I have a strong interest in sustainable living, and learning how to help others run their businesses sustainably.”
The first decision they made on that front was to go as locally as possible. Although the Berkeley pair fell in love with a wedding venue in Occidental, they already had relatives flying in from New York and Kansas, and even a handful of relatives from Europe.
To make them travel another two hours by car seemed like a lot to ask. Plus, having a local wedding meant they could take family members to Chochmat HaLev, the Berkeley Jewish meditation center where they are members, for Friday night services.
For their invitations, Halbright had learned at last year’s Green Festival about a Novato-based business that imports recycled paper from Nepal (nepalesepaper.com).
“We loved the fact that it was fair trade and all tree-free,” said Halbright, noting that the paper is made from a bush called the lokta, and has been recognized for its sustainable harvesting practices.
“The downside is that it’s shipped from Nepal,” he said. “But given our Jewish-Buddhist wedding, that was a nice connection for us.”
The pair chose to hold their ceremony in a park in the Oakland Hills, but immediately had to contend with a dilemma: The site had no power or electricity.
Halbright had been to other people’s weddings where he could not hear what was taking place, and did not want that to happen at theirs. But, he said, “we couldn’t stand the thought of renting a generator.”
Unfortunately, the solar panels Halbright initially had bought for his sukkah, and has since used to provide energy for his camp at the Burning Man arts festival, could not be used since the ceremony site was in the middle of a redwood grove, and the towering trees block out the sun.
Instead, Halbright relied on his disc jockey’s speakers and friends to set up a sound system using his own deep-cycle batteries, which are used to power solar panel systems.
Since the couple got married in a forest, they felt they barely needed flowers. The bride’s bouquet was made from sunflowers.
Wedding flowers are usually flown in from far away places, and are often grown with pesticides and sprayed with additional chemicals to help preserve them. The sunflowers were not certified organic, but they were grown locally. They also keep well naturally, and do not need to be sprayed with preservatives. At the reception, the table centerpieces were composed of succulent plants that guests could take home.
In addition, there were LED candles on the tables, powered by rechargeable batteries. (Traditional candles are made from paraffin, a petroleum product). The candlelight looked so real, Halbright said, that many guests thought they were real candles. The candles served a dual purpose as well: They were gifts to friends who helped out with the wedding.
One of the biggest dilemmas the couple faced was what to do about kippahs. The fact that the bride is a Buddhist ruled out leather or suede because they are made from animal skin. At one point, Halbright thought he found a company in Israel that makes kippot from recycled paper. After further research, however, he learned that the kippahs are actually made in China, then shipped to Israel, and would then be shipped to California.
Halbright wrote to the company to find out more about what kind of dyes they use, but never got a response. “I decided that not providing them was the greenest thing I can do,” he said. “I’m not Orthodox, and those who want to wear them can bring their own.”
While the couple hoped to serve local, organic food, the facility they chose did not allow outside caterers. But the venue did promise to get as much local and organic produce as it could. The pair also went with a Berkeley-based baker (www.trueconfectionscakes.com) who made them an all-organic, wheat-free (in deference to the groom’s allergy) wedding cake.
At their pre-wedding events — which included a Shabbat dinner made by a local natural foods chef — all the plates and utensils were compostable. The plates are made from the pulp left over from sugar cane production, and the silverware, which feels like plastic, is made from potato starch. Both biodegrade quickly.
While Halbright thought about requesting that guests not wrap their wedding gifts, in the end the couple decided against it.
“It’s a question of where is the line between letting people do what they want to do and their own self-expression, and what we want them to do,” he said.
But he did note that many of the big retailers, such as Crate and Barrel, are offering more products made of sustainable materials like bamboo, and that Pottery Barn is now wrapping its gifts with a reusable flower rather than ribbon that gets thrown away.
It may not be deep green, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
Want to green your special day?
From conflict-free diamonds to recycled paper invitations, more couples are going green when they marry. The Web is a great resource to look for ideas. Here are a few sites to get you started.
• www.greatgreenwedding.com
• www.ecomall.com
• http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife
• www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/how-to-green-your-wedding.php
• www.vibrantevents.net — Corina Beczner is a local green event planner who specializes in weddings.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California