Your place for “green” weddings!
If you have already vowed to live green, then a wedding at Irvine Nature Center is the perfect choice for your nuptials. Irvine Nature Center is the premiere site for eco-friendly weddings in Maryland. Our new, state-of-the-art, green facility in Owings Mills accommodates green wedding ceremonies and receptions, and includes breathtaking views of Caves Valley on 116 bucolic acres.
Our 17,200 square foot building is environmentally sound, our site conserves and preserves natural resources, and even our caterers are green! The Irvine Nature Store offers personalized ways to green your invitations, favors, gifts, and bridal registry. Our Preferred Vendors List features businesses that offer eco-friendly alternatives to your bridal needs from organic pedicures to sustainably grown flowers. We have made our own vow – to provide beautiful weddings that reflect our conservation efforts.
Our venue is uniquely green. Here’s why:
We conserve energy in many forms: lighting, heating, and cooling. Motion-sensors ensure that lights turned on and off when needed. Far less fuel is required to heat and cool our building with use of the ground-source heat pump. An energy collection unit re-circulates outside air as needed to boost indoor heating and cooling. We also have a “green roof” above The Irvine Nature Store, full of plants that absorb water to slow run-off (and erosion). The green roof also deflects the heat of the sun, which cools the building. Part of our mission is to inspire appreciation and respect for the natural world and to encourage individuals to sustain Earth's ecosystem.
We conserve water with low-flow fixtures throughout, and rain barrels collect and re-use water that runs off the roof top. The pervious parking lot allows rain water to filter slowly, minimizing run-off and erosion. Bio-retention areas surrounding the building slow water run-off, too. Our gardens are blooming with native species of plants, which help support native wildlife; because native gardens thrive in this climate, they conserve water.
We protect nature by restoring the habitats of animals living in forests, wetlands and meadows on our site and we teach others to the same.
We promote eco-friendly living. Partnerships with other green vendors provide resources for every wedding detail. Our Approved Caterers strive to offer healthy, organic, and sustainable menus. They also reduce food waste and packaging. Our surroundings utilize renewable, recycled, or recyclable materials (floorings, lights, cabinetry, etc.). The Irvine Nature Store is a great resource for innovative gift items with an eco-friendly twist.
At Irvine Nature Center, the details of your green wedding event matter. We have the resources to green every aspect of your special day.
For more information or to schedule a tour,
please contact Monica Wiedel-Lubinski: Monica@ExploreNature.org,
or 410.484.2413, ext. 238.
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