Waste not, want love for Noon and Top and their "green wedding"

TO THE DELIGHTS of their friends and families, celebrity couple Pipat “Top” Apiruktanakorn and Siripan “Noon” Wattanajinda ended eight years of dilly-dallying on Sunday when they finally got married. And, as promised, the whole affair had an “eco” theme.
These two are nothing if not environmentally friendly – they’ve founded two firms together that help keep the world green, Eco Agency and To Get Together – and their nuptials didn’t stray from that noble undertaking.
Not that their wedding cake was dyed green or anything, but it sure would be nice to see more showbiz stars and hi-so folks following Top and Noon’s example and shunning the excess and waste that usually accompany celebrity events. Noon and Top instead kept the scale modest and stayed focused on their romance and their shared passion for helping the planet.
Even the invitation card that Top designed was made with recycled paper. His suit was assembled with the intention to use it again rather than spending a lot of money on a one-off. Noon’s traditional Thai outfit for the engagement party was rented and her vintage wedding gown was second-hand, requiring only a few adjustments, and she’ll be getting more use out of that too in the future.
For the venue they chose the Landmark Hotel, which is not only close to their own homes but also has a Skytrain station nearby so that guests could come and go without adding to the traffic congestion or burning up gasoline.
The function room wasn’t extravagantly decorated, either. Rather than stuffing in so many flowers that it looked like a botanical garden, they opted for small potted floral displays on the displays that the guests could take them home later. The dishes served were all organic, the drinks all good for the health.
To provide music for the occasion, the couple hired a band whose members are blind and thus can make better use of their cash fee than any big-name crooner. And not only was the wedding cake not green – there wasn’t one. None of these colossal “seven-storey” pastry sculptures for Top and Noon: Instead they planted a tree!
So it was all very simple and economical – except for one thing. By way of a dowry, Top presented Noon with a three-karat diamond ring, three separate sets of diamond jewellery, 30 baht-weight of gold, Bt1.5 million in cash and a plot of land. He also signed over to her the legal management rights to their two firms.
If that sounds a little less than eco-friendly (and way more excessive that the rest of the wedding arrangements), consider that all that loot can also be reused and recycled. Top was nevertheless a tad embarrassed. “I don’t want people to focus on that because it’s our love that counts,” he said.
As for honeymoon plans, the couple again refuse to cause any waste. They have a business trip to Italy lined up next month and will make it a “workation”, spending some of their allotted 10 days enjoying the sights.
Congratulations, Top and Noon, and happy honeymooning!