How to plan an Eco Friendly Wedding
Environmental awareness has become a huge part of our day to day life. In every aspect, we are being challenged to look for a greener more sustainable alternative. A wedding wouldn’t be the first industry you would think of when talking about environmentally damaging industries. However, they can be incredibly wasteful. There are many aspects when combined together that can have a negative effect on the world around us. So here are a few top tips and switches you can make to throw an eco-friendly wedding, which won’t lessen the look or feel of your big day.
Think Seasonal
Florist and caterers are the two main suppliers you can challenge with this ethos. Yes, those Protea look amazing on Pinterest but not only are they expensive but getting them into your bouquet requires a huge transport journey, pesticides, preserving chemicals and a lot of power to run flower chillers.
Local flower growers are popping up all over the country as a cottage industry and they are filled with the most beautiful flowers from early spring right through to late autumn. You will be surprised at the variety on offer and because they are fresh the scent is incredible.
Speak to your caterer and ask them to work up menus with locally sourced in-season products. The colour and vibrancy will be photo worthy and I am still convinced locally produced food has a more impactful taste. Plus, only eating what we can grow has a huge benefit to sustainable living.
You never know these two simple switches might even help save some of that precious wedding budget.
Locally grown flowers look and smell amazing – Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Support Local
Now, this is being hammered home to us in various aspects of our lives so why not apply the idea to your wedding. There is such a wealth of talented suppliers that it would be hard not to find one local to your venue.
The transport costs and CO2 emissions will be less and they are most likely going to have a knowledge of the venue you are to be married at. It also directly injects money into the local community, which is a huge part of the bigger picture when thinking green and eco friendly wedding!
Source Ethical
In the past, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the origin of diamonds, but we also need to be mindful of where all our precious stones and metals come from. There are some amazing designers that work with ethically sourced products and even reuse old materials, such as gold.
All gold has the same value but to reuse requires less effort than to start from scratch with freshly mined gold. Why not create an heirloom full of love and meaning, to be worn as a wedding band from old gold jewelry?
For most people their dress is an investment, so make it a truly meaningful one. Luna Bridal offers the most beautiful range of organic fabric dresses, all made in the UK with the fabric off cuts being used to make lingerie.
The Natural Wedding Company has an extensive list of eco-conscious wedding brands, which can help with your sourcing.
Hire, Don’t Buy
It can be so tempting to buy, buy, buy, with the likes of B&M, The Range and Aldi offering wedding perfect décor at cheap prices but what will you do with it all after. Their cheap manufacturing methods mean it won’t have a lot of longevity and its bargain prices mean it will be difficult to sell on, meaning a lot ends up in landfill.
Look to hire companies for your décor needs. Not only are they much cheaper than buying, they often offer unique and hard to find pieces. With a wealth of choice on offer, why spend hours hunting round discount shops when you can find everything in one location. If you do want to buy check out sites such as Sell My Wedding for pre-loved items.
Hire unique items to create bespoke chill out zones – Image Source – Becky Harley Photography and The White Emporium
Biodegrade and Recycle
The key aim here is to prevent waste from entering landfill. It is surprisingly easy to do with many aspects of your wedding following a few easy steps.
Swap plastic confetti for biodegradable materials such as petals or a great DIY project is to hole punch dried leaves. Your venue will love you!
Swap plastic glasses and plates for those which are biodegradable.
If you don’t have any plans for the flowers following your wedding, why not take them to a local Care Home and brighten up someone else’s day.
Choose recycled papers for your stationery, handmade papers are full of texture and tone. And why not send invites consisting of one beautiful page, then share the rest of the information such as hotels, menus, taxi numbers on your own, free to create, website.
Confetti made from petals is becoming a requirement of a lot of venues. Photo by Diana Akhmetianova on Unsplash
As a wedding planner, I am a natural problem solver with a wealth of knowledge about different suppliers. I also have access to a whole network of businesses that I can tap into to help plan an environmentally conscious, green wedding.
From small details to big changes, there are lots of avenues we can explore as we work together to create a beautifully romantic, eco-friendly wedding.
I would love to hear from you! Let’s chat xoxo
CREDITS
Photo by Diana Akhmetianova on Unsplash
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash