Eco-friendly Wedding Tips
It’s no secret that we’re all becoming a little more aware everyday of how the way we live our life effects the planet. From reusable coffee cups and metal straws, to the bags for life we promise to take out the back of the car boot and reuse at least once, we all know that the energy and materials we use on a daily basis are effecting our environment, climate and planet. However, Your wedding day is the one day you get to spend it exactly how you wish. Many people have dreamed about their perfect wedding day for years, and there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from having exactly what you want on your big day.
Nonetheless, having an eco-friendly wedding doesn’t mean you have to go off-grid and marry in an open field, its simply about re-evaluating your choices in order to reduce the amount of energy and material used throughout the whole process of wedding planning, and most importantly, on your wedding day. You don’t have to limit your wedding day to do this- in fact, there’s some amazing ways that you can be more aware of your effect on the environment, whilst also having a beautifully elegant and sophisticated day!
Here are just some of the ways that you can be a little more sustainable…
Bio-degradable confetti
Many venues around the country have either already banned, or in the process of banning plastic or paper
confetti, and it’s no surprise why! It’s a nightmare to clean up, it can stain the gorgeous venue floors, and most importantly, if not picked up efficiently, it can blow into fields, be eaten by animals, litter the area and become a nuisance… and for the record, what bride wants to walk around for the rest of the day with pieces of paper stuck in their updo?!
Luckily, there’s a way to avoid this. Dried petals or leaves can be used as confetti, and can be tailored to your special day. Spend time drying petals in your wedding colour scheme before your big day, or ask your wedding florist whether they can supply matching confetti with your wedding flowers. For a cost effective alternative, head down to your local forest, pick up some fallen leaves, hole punch them, and voila! Bio-degradable confetti!
Grazing tables
Weddings are often filled with extravagant cakes, 3 course meals, dessert tables, candy carts, edible favours and so on… but how much of those edible treats are left over at the end of the night?
One amazing way to tackle this is by having a grazing table. Grazing tables are becoming increasingly popular, and we’re seeing them everywhere on Instagram right now. Not only are they super photo-worthy, they can also save you a lot of unwanted waste… no dedicated plates of food left over by guests who can’t finish their meal, no oversized cake which is cut up into tiny pieces and wrapped in napkins like a doggy bag… just a beautifully presented buffet, for guests to take as much as they please. Whatever’s left can be given out to your tipsy guests for the most elegant midnight snack possible!
Foam- free weddings
As a trained florist, I know that most wedding florists go through a crazy amount of floral foam in order to design what you’re asking for your wedding. If you’ve ordered a top table arrangement, an arch or any large arrangement, it’s pretty much guaranteed floral foam will be used somewhere in your wedding. Floral foam is used to ensure that the flowers have a consistent water source, and keeps your beautiful blooms healthy and happy throughout your big day. However, it doesn’t break down in landfill, and can’t be composted. Unfortunately, florists don’t have much choice in using this, as there isn’t much out there on the market which is safe, bio-degradable, or can be composted… and trust me, if there was a way for Florists to avoid floral foam, they would!
One way around this is to have a foam-free wedding. This way, you’re still having stunning wedding décor, but you’re also helping the environment, and having a sustainable wedding. If you’re looking to go foam free on your wedding day, this should be discussed with your floral designer, who can recommend the best ways to achieve your dream wedding look whilst also keeping this in mind. Weddings don’t have to be wasteful… and excitingly, most wedding florists adore a challenge, and would love to create something unique and exciting for your wedding day.
Using suppliers who are local to your venue
We all have that one supplier who we would love to have at our wedding, whether it’s a photographer, a florist, or a makeup artist. It’s also extremely common that suppliers will travel far and wide, at the right cost, for your wedding. However, if you’re looking to be a little more sustainable on your wedding day, it would be great to consider how far your suppliers are travelling on the day of your wedding. With so many amazing wedding venues, the North East have an abundance of amazing suppliers, from caterers to cake makers, close to each and every venue. To cut your wedding footprint down, do your research and find suppliers which are close to your chosen venue. Chances are, they’ve probably worked in your venue a lot because they’re close, which means they will know the ins and outs of the rooms, can help you with what you need, and the bonus is that you won’t have to pay for an outrageous travel cost!
Wedding Dress Recycling
Recycling an old wedding dress doesn’t mean that you have to rake to the back of your great aunt’s closet and wear her wedding dress from the 40’s (however if that’s your style, I’m sure she would love that someone got to feel as beautiful as her in it!) There’s plenty of options available in terms of recycling wedding dresses. Whether you visit dress shops which sell pre-loved wedding dresses, hire one from a wedding attire company, or scour websites such as eBay or Depop, there are plenty of ways to not only get a more sustainable wedding dress, but also a cheaper one. Remember, most wedding dresses sold in the UK are actually manufactured in countries such as china, Italy and USA, and it can easily be describes as a “fast-fashion” market- you’re quite literally ordering it, wearing it once, and either storing it at the back of your wardrobe, or it ends up in landfill. Find a beautiful used gown, make it your own, wear it with confidence and then let someone else do the same!
There are so many fantastic ways that you can be eco-friendly on your wedding day, without the sacrificing your dream day. A couple of eco-elements within your wedding can make your day more personal, give it more meaning, and can actually be a major money saver. The best part? You have get to enjoy your wedding while feeling guilt-free about your choices! If anything, it’s worth a shot…
If you'd like to see some more ideas on how you can have some eco-friendly components in your wedding, check out my "Eco- Friendly Tips" Pinterest board here: https://pin.it/9alczq4
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