It’s a nice day for a green wedding

She was embroiled in studies, revising for the finals of her medical degree, when her then fiance Joe called to say he was popping over.

While she worked, he cooked a meal then, dressed in a dapper black suit and tie, he tapped her on the shoulder to tell her dinner was served.

"He gave me a card saying Come to dinner and the dress code is black.' I rushed into my bedroom and dressed up nice," recalls Jessica.

After a delicious meal with some terrific company, Jessica returned to her studies. "I got into some slobby clothes and continued working, then, just before bed, he asked me if I would like to be his wife. I was in my pyjamas ready to go to bed!" laughs Jessica.

The simplistic but ever so romantic proposal happened on July 3 2006 within ten months of Jessica meeting youth worker Joe. "We met playing with gunge and football," she laughs, referring to their initial encounter working together on youth activities.

"I thought he was attractive when I saw him but I thought he was with someone else. I thought all the good ones had been taken but then I found out he was single," says Jessica.

The couple discovered they had plenty more in common. Both are committed Christians and both have an ethical outlook on life. Jessica was brought up being conscious of the impact our actions can have on others and on the world.

Long before the recycling and environmental campaigns began to prompt Britain into become greener, Jessica's family were doing their bit. Her father Sam, one of the canons within the Bradford Diocese, is known for his promotion of green burials.

For Jessica's Swiss-born mum, recycling is second nature. "Before it became en vogue, if you like, we've always been recycling," says Jessica. "My mum is Swiss and has been recycling for years. Legally you have to recycle in Switzerland -- they were composting food in bins when mum was growing up, she had to do it. It's normal."

She admits that being green hasn't always been as easy as it is today. Years ago before councils implemented recycling collection systems, householders had to take their recyclable rubbish to the tip.

Says Jessica: "Years ago it was a big effort but I've grown up with it."

So when it came to organising her Big Day, while she was intent on a white wedding, Jessica was also keen for it to be a green wedding.

Sharing Jessica's beliefs, Joe ensured that he invested in a conflict-free' diamond for her finger. "I didn't want blood on my hands," says Jessica.

When choosing her gown, Jessica couldn't see the point in forking out a fortune for a frock she would only wear for a few hours so she chose to visit her local Oxfam shop in her home city of Bradford. The Darley Street charity shop is one of only nine stores within the UK with a designated bridal department.

Such is the demand for ethical weddings that the department was recently revamped following the shop's refurbishment, and it now stocks an extensive range of high quality gowns.

Jessica paid £70 for what was originally a £450 wedding dress, and she knew that the proceeds would contribute to Oxfam's humanitarian projects throughout the world.

"Is it really worth paying £1,000 when you wear the dress for six hours? And how much does the poor person who made it at the other end get?" she asks.

She felt it was more appropriate to organise her wedding in London, where most of her guests were living, instead of shifting them to her Bradford home, polluting the environment.

"A few people had to travel down but most were in London so they could get here by public transport rather than hundreds of people having to drive," says Jessica.

Jessica's mum grew some of the foliage for her daughter's bouquet in the garden of the family home in East Morton. They had to buy some colour from a flower market but not without questioning the origin and the air miles.

While many brides opt for a vintage car to get them to the church on time, Jessica and Joe chose a car provided by a London cab company which offsets all its carbon emissions.

For the wedding banquet following the ceremony at St George's Church in Holborn on January 27 this year, the couple insisted on organic food and wine and for their honeymoon there was no jumping on a jumbo jet destined for foreign shores to soak up the sun for a couple of weeks. Instead they boarded a train, conscious that their rail journey would make less of an impact on the environment, for a honeymoon in Dorset.

"Everything we buy has an impact on another person in another country in the world," says Jessica, who is keen to see more people opting for a greener lifestyle. "It's quite an easy decision to make. You just need to think a bit more."

Laura Mantinan, manager of the Oxfam shop in Darley Street, agrees.

"People are trying to do their bit and we have to get our heads round the motto to re-use and recycle."

However, she believes that progress is being made and says a recent surge in ethical weddings proves people have good intentions of going green.

"The ethical wedding market is booming at the moment. A lot of women don't want to spend a fortune on a dress," says Laura As part of the revamped bridal service within the shop, she often sends images of the frocks to long-distance clients so they can look before travelling miles to buy. The furthest inquiry she had was from a bride-to-be in the Highlands!

While the bulk of the shop's stock tends to be second-hand, it does get some gowns that haven't been worn. These tend to be last season's styles bearing the original retail price. One currently in stock is a £1,500 dress now selling for £250.

"It's helping to save the planet, it's a way of getting a dress at a much cheaper price than they would paying off the peg and they are supporting the charity," says Laura. "And it's going somewhere worthwhile."

• For more information call the Oxfam shop on (01274) 306700.