10 ways to make your dream wedding more ECO-FRIENDLY

Traditional weddings by their nature aren’t environmentally friendly events. But there are ways to make your wedding more sustainable & eco-friendly. Check out my top tips.

1. location location location

One great way to make your wedding instantly more eco-friendly is to reduce your carbon footprint. That’s not to say you can’t plan a destination wedding or that you have to get married in the venue round the corner from your house. You can still plan your dream wedding in a stunning location but look for ways to shrink your carbon footprint. Consider inviting fewer guests, look to reduce the number of cars coming to your wedding by arranging a coach or encouraging car shares. Pick a venue that can host your ceremony & reception or pick two venues that are geographically close together to minimise unnecessary travel. Think about skipping a classic wedding car or look to swap it for a more eco-friendly alternative. Ask venues about their environmental policies, looks if venues are passionate about this & will help you plan a more sustainable day.

2. Menu

When it comes to food & alcohol look for vendors that use locally sourced, sustainable & seasonal produce. Also consider reducing the amount of meat in your menu, offer more vegan or vegetarian friendly options. Obviously you won’t want your guests to leave hungry but don’t go overboard with the quantity of food. Ask your vendors for help to produce a delicious menu that will help you keep your food waste to a minimum. Check out local breweries & distilleries, they are not only a great way to support the local community but it reduces the carbon footprint & makes your event a little more unique & memorable.

3. Stationary

Have you considered going digital? Whether that’s using E-invites or building a quick & easy wedding website they offer a great alternative to traditional stationary. A wedding website creates a central hub for you & your guests, you can use it to send ‘save the date’, invitations, collect dietary information & allows RSVPs. It makes it easier for you to provide guests with additional information or update them with last minute changes. It’s also a great way to help guests share transport.

If you prefer physical invites then look for designers that are eco friendly. There are lots of beautiful designs that are made on recycled paper, on paper that can be recycled & that use more eco friendly inks. Consider mixing it up & using a combination of Digital & paper invitations. Keep the paper invites for a small selection of guests that would struggle with digital platforms or for guests that you know would appreciate the keepsake.

Also think of ways you can reduce the amount of wedding related paper waste. Do your guests need a ‘save the date’ card & invitation or will one do? Do you need an order of service & if so can you reduce the quantity & encourage guests to share? Look for eco friendly alternatives to replace card, you could have hand made biscuits with their names iced onto them which would double up as a tasty wedding favour. You do skip the seating plan or allocate people to tables & then let them pick their seat.

4. Sustainable Fashion

Rather than automatically looking for a new dress consider using a family heirloom, buying a vintage wedding dress or looking for a preloved dress. If you still prefer to buy new, look for eco-designers who are passionate about using materials that are organic, sustainably produced & are Fairtrade. Also look for local designers who produce dresses within the UK to reduce the carbon footprint of your dress. A great option for the men is to hire suits. You can also hire bridesmaid dresses or ask the bridesmaids to pick their own dresses. If they’ve picked their own dress they are more likely to wear it again. If items aren’t going to be worn again look for ways to sell them or donate them to charity. Try to avoid any of your wedding day fashion going straight to landfill.

5. Flowers

Select flowers that will be in season and locally produced. Your florist will be able to help you achieve the look you want while in keeping with seasonal flowers. Think about what happens to the flowers after your wedding day, can they be taken home by your guests to enjoy or donated to a local care home or hospice? Also think about using flowers that are easier for the florist to work with, this will help reduce the amount of spare flowers they have to purchase & reduce your flower waste. Also consider skipping the fresh cut flowers & look into some of the stunning more eco friendly alternatives. Potted plants & herbs make for beautiful table centres, naturally dried flowers help set a rustic eco feel & seasonal foliage gives the drama & vibrancy of fresh cut flowers but in a more sustainable way.

6. Wedding Decor

Celebrate the natural beauty of your wedding venue & keep your wedding decor simple. Ask your venue if they have any items that you can borrow or hire items from wedding decor specialists. Try to avoid buying items & if you do look for preloved items or items that have been or can be recycled. Use natural materials such as glass & wood. Think about your lighting, is the venue naturally dark? If so can you use that to create atmosphere & use eco-friendly candles for extra romance?

7. Wedding Favours

My personal favourite is to give a packet of wildflower seeds to each guest. These are eco-friendly & will hopefully produce beautiful flowers for your guests to enjoy for years to come & help create new bee friendly spaces. If you fancy giving a sweet treat, look for locally produced artisan treats. Something that looks good, is package free & is super tasty. Another lovely idea is to make a charitable donation. You might like to stick with the eco theme & pick a charity related to the environment or wildlife or you might prefer to pick a charity that has helped you or your family. Your guests will appreciate the gesture & it might encourage them to support a local charity.

8. Gift List

Rather than making a list of material items for your guests to pick from or asking for donations towards your honeymoon, encourage them to make a donation which gives something back. Pick a charity or an environmental project that is important to you & ask your guests to support it. The charity/project might be in your local community or you could take inspiration from your honeymoon & look for something abroad.

9. Guest List

One of the reasons a wedding is so tough on the environment is due to their size. If you reduce the number of guests you can dramatically reduce your carbon footprint & the amount of waste generated. Intimate weddings are a lovely way to celebrate your wedding with just your closest family & friends. They are generally less stressful & avoid a lot of the drama of a bigger event. A smaller guest list allows you to spend more time with your loved ones & also allows you to make the day feel more personalised & increases the overall guest experience. Intimate weddings are often more memorable for the guests than bigger events.

10. Honeymoon

I’m not going to suggest that you need to stay at home & camp in your garden! It’s still possible to jet off across the world & do so in an environmentally conscious way. There are lots of stunning eco-resorts which specialise in honeymoons dotted across the globe from the Maldives to Costa Rica to Botswana. These resorts are passionate about the environment, are stunning & will give you a chance to relax, unwind & feel closer to nature. When you start to plan your honeymoon think about sustainability & look for resorts & activities that support & encourage sustainability.