Step 1 (you cut a hole in the box...)

According to the Sierra Club:

A green wedding begins where any engagement does: with a ring. Don't start off on a sour note. The beautiful alternatives to "blood diamonds" (those that are mined in war zones and fund conflicts) include:

~vintage rings, whether a family heirloom or an antique find (you can even have old gold melted down and refashioned)

Hello!! I am, as we speak, wearing my grandmother's engagement ring...CHECK!
Some other great options:

~lab-created diamonds (greenKarat's are set in recycled gold too)

~diamonds mined in peaceful Canada or Australia, like those from Brilliant Earth, Cred Jewellery, or Leber Jewelry's Earthwise line

~diamonds certified as "conflict-free" under the Kimberley Process, an ongoing effort to reform diamond mining in Africa (ask your jeweler the questions in Amnesty International's buyer's guide)

this is super important...no jewelry is so important that it is worth supporting bloodshed...so really look for a conflict free diamond...that buyers guide that they reference is right here: http://www.amnestyusa.org/diamonds/BuyersGuide.pdf

~one-of-a-kind wooden bands



Ok, so this may be mostly for Elves, and other woodland folk, but you get the idea here. You have a lot of options, so exercize your right to choose! (an eco-friendly engagement ring!) This is something that is just for you, so don't worry what anyone else thinks. Even if you want the wooden ring. Arwen was a lovely elf...think of yourself as Arwen...



For those non nerds of you (aka, my sister) that was a Lord of the Rings reference. Although, the true nerds will know that Elven made metals are the finest in all of Middle Earth, so she would never have a wooden ring. (She would have had one ring to rule them all...snort..)