Fiona from Savvy in Somerset shares her tips on how to have a more sustainable wedding.
Are you looking to make your wedding more eco-friendly? Making more sustainable choices when it comes to their wedding is something that more and more couples are looking to do as we see the effects of climate change on our planet.
While having a completely green wedding may be tricky, there are lots of small steps you can take to make sure your special day is as eco-friendly as possible, without being any less amazing or any less fun.
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5 Ways to Have a More Sustainable Wedding
1. Ditch The Plastic
Weddings can be full of plastic. From artificial flowers to the drinks being sold at the bar, it can seem like there is plastic everywhere.
Ask your bridesmaids and groomsmen if they have their own dress covers that could be used before allowing the shop to cover them with plastic wrapping.
However, there are plenty of ways you can eliminate some plastics from your wedding.
While the official wedding breakfast is typically served on proper plates and cutlery, it’s the evening food that racks up the single-use plastic cutlery and paper plates. Speak to your venue and see if these can be swapped out for bamboo which can easily be reused or recycled.
Avoid wrapping gifts in plastic and ask your florist not to wrap flowers in plastic either.
2. Buy Second Hand
The problem with wedding dresses is that often, they are only worn once. While the men will typically get several additional uses out of their wedding suit, the wedding dress will often remain unworn and unused for many years.
Buying a wedding dress second-hand helps to eliminate some of the carbon footprint that would usually be associated with buying any fashion item. Many pre-loved dresses are only worn for a few hours and are in immaculate condition with the added bonus of being considerably cheaper too.
The groom could always wear a suit he already owns if you want to avoid him having to buy new, and the same goes for the groomsmen.
If second-hand isn’t your thing for a wedding dress then you could opt for a simple gown that could be worn again and again. You could even dye it after the wedding to give it a whole new lease of life!
3. Grow Your Own Flowers
You might be surprised by what a large carbon footprint flowers have. Often, the flowers we see at flower markets (where your florist will be getting them from) have travelled quite a distance to be there.
Growing your own flowers for your wedding is much more eco-friendly and of course, can save costs too. Wildflowers are easy to grow and harvest, just make sure you coordinate your wedding dates with when they’ll be in bloom!
You could also make your own confetti from dried rose petals as storebought confetti isn’t always biodegradable.
4. Keep Travel To A Minimum
If you want to have a more sustainable wedding then jetting off with all of your friends and family to somewhere hot and sunny isn’t going to be an option. The closer to home your wedding takes place, the better.
Of course, wherever you get married there are going to be some guests that need to travel but choosing an area that’s easy to get to for the majority of your guests is the most eco-friendly way to go.
With this in mind, you may also want to limit the number of guests you invite in the first place. A small intimate wedding can be just as special as a big over the top celebration.
5. Choose Seasonal Foods
One of the most sustainable options is to only serve vegan food at your wedding. While this might not be for everyone, you could choose to make your starter or dessert vegan or vegetarian and discuss with your venue the best ways to make use of seasonal, local produce.
These ideas should help make your wedding more sustainable without having to compromise on the things that will make it look and feel amazing.
What did you think of these tips for a more sustainable wedding? Feel free to share your own!
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