You don't have to forgo the wedding of your dreams while saving resources.

Last Thanksgiving we visited the aquarium in Boston. Next to the shrimp exhibit played a video about shrimp fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. We watched a worried looking fisherman haul a large net out of the water and dump the contents onto his boat. Thousands of jellyfish spilled out across the deck with only the odd shrimp sprinkled in between. We were told that higher water temperatures in the Gulf allow jellyfish to successfully compete with shrimp for food and multiply out of control. Not only has this decimated the shrimp population, it doesn't bode well for the livelihoods of thousands of fisherman in the region either.

"What does this story have to do with my wedding?" you might ask. "I don't even want to serve shrimp at the reception."

Most of us have heard about Global Warming, but unless we are personally affected like these Golf shrimpers are, we push the subject aside. Other concerns are the depletion of our natural resources due the growing world population. But taking the environment into consideration doesn't mean you have to forgo the wedding you always wanted about. With a bit of planning you can make a big difference without giving up your dreams.

Here are some suggestions:

• Encourage the venue or caterer to recycle.
• Choose a fish for your menu that is not depleted or over-fished.
• Suggest that your friends carpool to the wedding.