10 Top Tips For Having A Sustainable Wedding

10 Ways to Have a More Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Wedding

A wedding, as lovely and wonderful as it is, can be quite wasteful. Between the travel to and from your chosen destination, the food waste, and possibly even the leftover favours. Weddings can actually produce as much CO2 emissions as five people would in an entire year! But don’t worry, I’m here to help you, as there are ways you can reduce the carbon footprint of your wedding day, and it’s not as difficult as you may have originally thought.

Just bear in mind that just as there’s no such thing as a completely perfect wedding, again there’s no such thing as a completely eco-friendly wedding. The prospect of having a totally green wedding can come with a lot of pressure, so give yourself some leeway. The fact that you are mindful of your carbon footprint means you are more mindful and eco-conscious than most. The ideas on this list aren’t meant for you to use every single one; instead, pick ones that mean the most to you and start there! However, as a couple, you can strive to have a more ethical and eco-conscious approach to your celebration and perhaps even inspire more couples to follow suit.

10 Ways To Have A More Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Wedding Summary –

Using Biodegradable Confetti
Plantable Paper Invites
Choosing Seasonal Flowers
Make Potted Plant Center Pieces
Rent or Borrow
Choose Food and Beverages That Are Sourced Locally.
Choose a Sustainable Dress and Suit
Go For Eco-Friendly Wedding Rings
Donate Decor Instead of Throwing It Away
Consider a Smaller Wedding

Choose your location wisely –

It’s no secret that aeroplane emissions are one of the top contributors to having an impact on the environment, so it’s a good idea to think about how you and your guests will be travelling to your wedding destination. I’m a big fan of getting married wherever you want, but if you have to choose between two locations, the one with fewer plane and car trips will obviously have a lower environmental impact.

Having an eco-friendly wedding will also be heavily influenced by your venue’s practices – are they putting their carbon emissions high on their agenda, or are they only just getting to grips with their recycling? Do they source their produce for the meal locally? These are the things to consider when choosing a greener wedding venue.

Food and Beverage –

Now that we’ve covered the venue and travel, the next BIG eco-topic is food and drink. Take your time and research the options available to you, along with any policies and practices your chosen caterer has to be more environmentally conscious. Some suppliers, for example, participate in a carbon offset scheme, whereas others only use produce sourced locally, sustainably, and ethically.

Once you’ve decided on your caterer, work with them to create a menu that’s as eco-friendly as possible. This means thinking about seasonal, organic products and, if you can, going for those that are locally and ethically sourced. While you’re thinking about food and drink, you might want to think about reducing single-use plastics by, for example, eliminating plastic cups and serving glass bottles at your bar.

Décor, Stationery, and Flowers –

On the subject of single-use, more and more companies are now offering items for hire as well as biodegradable items. Maybe you could use recycled paper in your stationery, name cards, and menus and use biodegradable confetti. If you decide you would like to do without favours completely, you may decide to make a charitable donation instead.

To keep your wedding as eco-friendly as possible, ask yourself whether you really need each item before making a purchase and cut back in areas that seem extravagant. For example, you could limit the amount of stationery that you order and combine it with paperless options, or alternatively, talk to your stationery designer about using recycled papers and eco-friendly ink.

Working with naturally grown seasonal options is the obvious choice to make when it comes to all things floral. Additionally, stay away from flowers that have been airfreighted halfway around the world, especially when there are an abundance of small-scale flower farmers growing gorgeous blooms. Consider the floral arrangements as a whole, rather than just the flowers.

Oasis, the floral foam that some florists use as a base to structure arrangements and hold flowers in place, is incredibly damaging to the environment. Floral foam is not biodegradable and can end up in water systems or sit in landfill for centuries. It also contains chemicals such as formaldehyde, barium sulphates, and carbon, so it’s right up there on the non eco-friendly scale.

The good news is that more and more florists are abandoning foam and going foam free. You can find more eco-friendly florists conscious of their carbon footprint by searching the hashtag #foamfree on Instagram. There is less of a need to use foam in your wedding flowers because foam free floristry really complements an organic, natural style of floristry that is romantic and modern.

Lastly, let your wedding leftovers do some good and try to avoid too much being thrown away at the end of the evening. Regift your flowers to close relatives, friends, or even your photographer if they went above and beyond for your wedding! Additionally, you can spread joy by giving any leftover flowers to a nearby nursing home. If you’ve got any leftover cake, make sure it’s available for guests to take with them as they leave.

Fashion –

There are a few different ways to be more ethical when selecting wedding attire. You could buy vintage, rent your gown like Carrie Johnson, consider wearing ethical jewellery and ensure your engagement ring has been ethically sourced too.

For the groom, there are also some ethical choices with Moss Bros, creating a whole range of eco-suit options. Suits can be crafted from earth-friendly fabrics like recycled PET polyester and responsibly sourced cotton.

Give your beauty and makeup routine a makeover –

If you haven’t already, try adding some cruelty free, zero waste, or locally made items to your pre-wedding beauty routine. You can also ask your bridal hairstylist and makeup artist to use cruelty-free substitutes on the day.

The Gift List –

Another post wedding impact/post wedding treat is your gift list. Think carefully about your gift list, as it’s another way to easily overindulge when you don’t really need to. You can build a sustainable brand gift list or look into asking for donations towards a larger purchase, for example.

Your wedding day is primarily about your future, and you should have the wedding of your dreams. Hopefully, by being mindful of the above, you will also show a little love to the future of the planet at the same time.

Thank you for reading this blog post – 10 Ways to Have a More Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Wedding – I hope you use bits of this post to help create a beautiful sustainable dream wedding!

Jake

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