Green is beautiful. One myth about sustainability that people should stop believing in is that sustainable choices or living mean less quality and more expensive. On the contrary, we are here to provide you with some excellent ideas on how to have a stylish, elegant and at the same time, sustainable wedding.
#1. Choose Your Location Wisely
It is no secret that airplanes and automobile emissions are significant contributors to environmental damage. Therefore, if you really want a sustainable wedding, you should think well before choosing your wedding location.
For instance, despite the growing trend of destination weddings, remember that it would mean lots of air travel. In addition, even a wedding venue in a remote location can represent lots of car travel. Now, I am the first to say that one should get married wherever you want, but it is better if you choose a location which requires fewer plane and car journeys.
#2. Sustainable Clothing
Indeed, the fashion industry is also one of the most polluting industries in the world and if you opt for an eco-friendly wedding, you will need to have a different approach to bridal clothing. But of course, you can still look incredible on your wedding day without doing any harm to the planet.
• You can choose a vintage wedding dress.
• You can also go for a second-hand dress or one from a charity bridal store (maybe this would be the least considered option as no one, and I really mean no one, wants to wear a second-hand dress on their big day).
• Even if you bought a brand new wedding dress, you can rewear, resell, recycle or even donate it (obviously after your wedding day).
• Besides, you can make a conscious choice to use ethical and natural cosmetics.
#3. Flowers and Decorations
Honestly, a wedding is lifeless without flowers and decorations. They bring the “look” and “vibe” of a wedding together, but they come at a cost – in both financial and environmental terms.
There are many environmentally-minded people who often recommend forgetting about flowers and to rather go for potted herbs and greenery. But, if you are as obsessed with flowers as chocoholics are to Godiva, then I am sure you wouldn’t want to ditch floral arrangements. So, depending on the time of the year in which you are getting married, you can ask your florist to choose only seasonal and local flowers.
But what happens to the floral arrangements after the wedding? Well, you can simply donate them to a local hospital or hospice.
When it comes to wedding décor, there are some popular trends that one cannot ignore. However, as much as we love them, decoration items such as balloons and sky lanterns can cause harm to the environment and depending on how you dispose of these items, they can also cause harm to the local wildlife.
Therefore, for a more eco-friendly wedding, you should choose recyclable or reusable items such as glassware bunting, ribbons, books, vintage candlesticks, macramé, non-toxic candles, biodegradable glitter and biodegradable confetti.
#4. Eco-Friendly Menu
No wedding would be complete without lips-smacking food, but how can you make sure that the wedding meal provided at your venue is eco-friendly?
• You can choose farm-to-table which promotes fresh local food.
• Organic food is also recommended as there has been no use of pesticides.
• One can also opt for a vegan or vegetarian menu as this would reduce the impact of farming, but if this is too drastic for you, I suggest you to aim for at least a 50 % vegetarian menu.
• Choose alcoholic drinks only from local wineries, distilleries and breweries to reduce carbon footprint.
• Instead of organizing the buffet yourself, you can also find a catering company with a sustainable ethos.
#5. Plan an Ethical Honeymoon
Needless to tell you what happens after a wedding.
A honeymoon is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, so of course, I will not tell you to spend it on a farm or out in the wild (unless that’s exactly what you want). However, what you can do is research ethical locations. Moreover, there are some travel agencies that specialize in such responsible and sustainable holidays.
So, will you go for a sustainable wedding? Please share your comments!