In Roseville, CA, The Wedding Planning Institute has just announced their latest online course for wedding industry professionals: The Green Wedding Planning Certification. This 4-week online instructional course is going to teach wedding professionals how to incorporate environmentally-friendly methods, strategies and techniques in a way which reduces overall wedding costs whilst simultaneously reducing the harmful environmental footprint left by a wedding.

With over 2 million weddings occurring in the United States each year with an average of 150 guests, the environmental impact of moving, entertaining, wining and dining over 300,000,000 people produces an extraordinary amount of pollution and waste. Today’s brides and grooms are becoming more aware of this startling figure and are actively seeking out wedding planners and professionals who offer ‘green’ options.

The Green Wedding Planning course is being taught by Kate Harrison, founder of the Green Bride Guide. For $375, students will be able to interact directly with Ms. Harrison and fellow students via an easy-to-use online instructional platform, which allows students to work at their own pace. The class begins on November 9th and you may enroll here: http://www.weddingplanninginstitute.com/green_wedding_planning.html

Mirassou Winery recently anounced their “I Do with Wirassou” contest winner but the real story is in the data that they collected from the contest entrants. The contest is in it’s 5th year and awards the winning couple $10,000 towards the cost of their wedding, a trip the New York City for an impossible-to-get planning session with the brides.com senior editor along with Reed & Barton tableware, flatware and crystal.

To enter the contest, people were asked questions about their own wedding plans and some interesting data was collected such as:

Wedding Colors – Most responded that they were “going green” and featuring colors such as clover, olive and apple green. Other colors topping the list included White, Ivory, Cream along with Blues and Purples.

Wedding Gifts- The top attendant gift choices continue to be jewelry, goodie bags and wine.

Wedding Locations – The most popular destination for the wedding turned out to be – no surprise – islands or beaches with wineries and vineyards coming in at a close second. Wineries and Vineyards seem to be gaining in popularity…we wonder if they’re going to surpass beaches and weddings soon. What do you think?