A lot of things can go to waste when it comes to a wedding and can be costly for your special day. There are many ways you can contribute to saving the planet with your wedding which you might not know of, as well as saving you money at the same time. There are going to be some things that you cannot help with but, this article is going to talk about what to do to make your wedding more sustainable.
Wedding Venue
You have got to find the perfect wedding venue for your big day. However, making it good for the environment can be difficult. So, you have got to find a happy medium. Travelling is what contributes the most to CO2 emissions when it comes to a wedding. If you want your wedding overseas, then there will be quite significant environmental damage if 20+ people are attending.
Making sure it is not long-distance is vital when it comes to the environment. But don’t worry, having your wedding venue quite close makes it easier for other people to get to your wedding and you will be supporting local business. Some wedding venues can be carbon neutral as well! So, make sure you do plenty of research into your wedding venue to make sure that it is eco friendly.
Another trick is to limit the number of guests. Having a small number will mean less cooking, less waste and fewer people travelling to the wedding venue.
The Food Menu
Some wedding venues do the catering whereas other wedding venues will simply offer their space and you will need to sort your own food, which often means you have more control over the type of food you choose. A good suggestion for your menu would be to make it 50% vegetarian or vegan. It is recommended you look at caterers who source their food organically, locally and in fairtrade, including your wedding cake. This way your wedding will be far more sustainable.
The catering side of things also needs to be eco friendly. Plates, cutlery, cups and straws if needed should all be reusable or eco-friendly. Straws can be paper instead of plastic which are much better for the planet as well. Try and get reusable plates and cutlery as these can be washed and used multiple times.
A Florist That Sources Their Plants Locally
Having flowers at your wedding is almost a given, so make sure to visit your local florist so you might be able to get your flowers which are grown nearby. If they do not get damaged, you can give them to friends or family who attend the wedding so they can be enjoyed. You could also dry some of them so you have a long-lasting memory of your day.
If you want to be really eco-friendly then consider using potted plants instead of cut flowers. You might automatically assume that these are going to be small but they are not. You can get large plants that will be great for decoration for the wedding.
Reusable Decorations for Your Ceremony and Reception
After any decorations have been used at parties or weddings, they will often get thrown away. For example, sky lanterns can be damaging to the environment as well as the wildlife nearby. This goes for balloons as well. Maybe even crafting your own decorations for the wedding could be a good way to be eco-friendly by reusing materials.
Focusing on reusable decoration is something to consider as well if you wish to make it more eco friendly. This could be anything such as bunting, ribbon or candlesticks which are non-toxic. Getting both biodegradable confetti and biodegradable glitter will also be good for the wedding.
Ethical Jewellery
Nothing is wrong with buying pre-owned jewellery for your special day. You can find some brilliant vintage engagement rings that are in great condition and reasonably priced and it is special to know that your jewellery has a depth of history behind it. This can avoid wastage for packaging as well as the actual materials for the jewellery themselves!.
Eco-friendly Wedding Invitations
There are a few ways where you can cut down on the wastage for your wedding invitations. The first one is that you can use the internet to send your invites. We don’t mean just a casual message on social media as well. Instead, send a video to all the people you want at your wedding with a funny video accompanied by a link to a website dedicated to your wedding.
You could also create ecards if you wanted something a bit more formal. That way, if you are inviting people from the older generation then you might need to print off a few invitations to send to them in case they do not use social media or emails.
Many people recycle paper these days. Make sure that if you do invite your guests to the wedding they are with paper cards. Do not put any plastic decoration on them, for example a few things that you should avoid putting on your card invitations is glue, glitter and plastic ribbon. This can make it impossible to recycle so, do not go overboard with the decorations on the card.
Using eco-friendly ink for your cards is a must because it reduces toxins when they are being broken down. Many places will already use soy-based ink but it is definitely worth asking if you are getting your invites printed at a shop.
Travel
For your travel, you could get everyone to get a coach to the wedding. It will save a lot of money for people and there will be a lot less CO2 emissions. It saves everyone driving to the wedding and they can also drink a lot more as well if they are not driving!
If nobody wants to get a coach then consider the drivers sharing their car with other people who are going. This is a great way of cutting down on car pollution and means you do not have to worry about getting a large car park for the guests that will be attending.
Conclusion
So there you have it, several different ways that you can make your wedding more sustainable and eco-friendly. As well as cutting down on as much waste as possible and taking care of the environment around you, you could be saving quite a bit of money!