How to have an eco-friendly wedding without losing your mind
It’s no secret that most weddings come with a hefty to do list. There’s a lot to prepare for on the day, from deciding what to eat to how to keep your guests happy and entertained for a whole day, while also making sure you’re enjoying yourselves too. If you’re environmentally-minded or keen to have a homespun wedding, the additional pressure of trying to keep your wedding eco-friendly can add to the stress.
Weddings certainly can come with a lot of waste, but that doesn’t have to be the case at all. Through some idling googling, I learnt that weddings in 2017 accounted for almost 5000 tonnes of plastic waste, which is just a mind-boggling amount. So I got to thinking about all the ways of keeping your footprint small and having a wedding day people thoroughly enjoy. I’ve put together a short list of things to do to have a wedding without costing the earth, and it’s just a springboard for ideas. You might have more ideas than I go through on here, or you might choose to only do a few of these things. Either way, it’s awesome that you’re thinking about how to have an awesome wedding without creating a ton of waste.
Let me know if you think I’ve missed anything out! I’d love to share more ideas.
Location, location, location
There are so many incredible wedding venues around that put sustainability at the core of their service while also offering a DIY option. Some, like many barns and tipi wedding venues, are also working farms or part of a larger eco friendly business. The world is your oyster when it comes to choosing the right venue, so think about the overall vibe you get when you look around, how flexible you can be with the space and if it’s right for the number of guests you want.
We all have different priorities for a wedding day, but if you’re thinking environmentally then you might want to choose a licensed venue so you can have your ceremony there too. Some of these even offer glamping/camping on site, so you can keep the party going and have everyone in one place.
Sustainable Suppliers
The most effective way to keep your wedding plans environmentally sustainable is to choose suppliers local to your venue. Of course it’s perfectly possibly you fall in love with a supplier’s work and they’re not based close by, but in the main it’s definitely feasible to book suppliers local to your chosen venue. Make a list of the suppliers who’ll attend on the day - usually venue, photographer, florist, caterer, makeup artist, hairdresser, possibly a DJ or some form of entertainment if that’s your bag.
If you’re at all daunted in your search for the perfect suppliers then ask your venue for recommendations, or do a venue hashtag search on instagram. Usually once you’ve hired someone they’ll help you find other people they know in the business and the ball will get rolling.
Eco-Friendly Flowers
You have so many options here! There are so many incredibly talented florists who’ll work with you to make beautiful bouquets and more. Whether you’re after wildflowers and greenery, or something big and bold, they’ll guide you to what’s in season and where it’s grown. Some florists even have their own cutting gardens, like this one in Nottingham that belongs to the ever so talented Frond & Bloom.
You can absolutely buy British here. There’s a big trend right now for dried bouquets too, or a mix of dried and fresh cut flowers. Going for some dried means that you can keep them afterwards too!
earth-friendly Favours
These are the little gifts you give to your guests as a thank you for coming to your wedding. I’m a big believer in gifting things that are either beautiful or useful, a la William Morris, and I think that rule definitely applies to wedding favours. I’m not suggesting you go for a Bridesmaids style puppy gift (although I certainly wouldn’t mind) but you can give thoughtful, useful or beautiful little gifts without compromising on your principles here.
Low-impact ideas for wedding favours that won’t stress you out include:
Handmade chocolates, seed bombs, handmade soaps, personalised shells, plants, shots of homemade gin liquers in little jars…generally if you can eat it, drink it or grow it, people will be happy.
Sustainable styling
Weddings have a reputation for being wasteful, but can’t they be planet friendly too? How you decorate will have a big impact on the sustainability of your wedding. If you’re DIYing it, then you’ll have to source everything. But does that mean you need to buy it all and bin it?
NO! You can beg and borrow things, buy and repurpose after the wedding, and of course, hire items from a stylist. You’re not limited to illuminated letters that spell LOVE here either - you can get very creative. This barn wedding in Devon was decorated with fairy lights (borrowed from friends), a dried floral installation and things the couple found on the beach. The only items they bought specifically for the wedding are the lengths of white tulle, which can be repurposed anyway. No plastic was created in the planning of this wedding!
Greenery, such as eucalyptus and hops, paper cranes hanging from the ceiling, handmade pompom garlands - these things all work perfectly to fill the space and give off certain vibes without meaning an overflowing bin the following day.
What to do with your Wedding Dress?
Whether it’s a dress, suit, shoes, or accessories, there’s often the question of what you’re going to do with it after the wedding. Some people couldn’t countenance selling their dress on, but wedding dresses do take up a lot of space. If you’re like Jess here and you go in the sea in your dress, it might be pretty difficult to sell it on afterwards. But it’s bulky and heavy and not easy to store. How about passing it on to a photographer to use for styled shoots? How about taking it to a seamstress and seeing if they can salvage any of it, then selling it on to a bridal shop? How about donating it?
There are a few wedding dress donation schemes around - Gift of a Wedding donate weddings to couples facing terminal illness, and Cherised Gowns upcycle used wedding dresses for babies who’ve passed away. You can also take it to a local charity shop, of course.
conscientious Confetti!
I bloody love confetti! But I hate plastic. Thankfully there are a few options for those perfect confetti shots that don’t induce guilt.
Tissue paper confetti is biodegradable, bright, and stays in the air for ages before landing at your feet. A lot of churches don’t allow it because it can get slippy when wet. It takes about 2 weeks to degrade.
I love this stuff Paper Confetti
Real and dried flower petals are allowed pretty much anywhere and degrade quickly, but they don’t float about in the air for as long. They smell great too! If you have the space and patience, you could grow and dry your own wildflowers for confetti and keep it all in a big bucket for folks to grab a handful from. Alternatively you can buy a personalised mix from Adam Apple Confetti and support a tiny business.
It goes without saying that any amount of plastic is not sustainable, and makes earthworms sad.
good clean fun
Planet-friendly ways to keep everyone happy that I’ve seen at real weddings:
Garden games (think coconut shy, croquet, welly wanging, races)
A flash mob walk with a brass band through Llangollen
Pumpkin carving
Beer pong
Pub quiz
A ping pong tournament.
Appeal to your guests’ competitive streak and slyly convince them to be their own entertainment. They’ll have a laugh, probably start chatting with folks they don’t know, and you’ll be able to put more money behind the bar for everyone to enjoy. Winner winner!
A guilt-free feast
I’m not going to sit here and tell you to go full vegan on your wedding day (unless you’re actually vegan, in which case, fill your vegan leather boots of course!). But there are plenty of ways to make sure your wedding food actually all gets eaten, tastes amazing and comes from sustainable sources.
Whether you have a sit down meal or you’re choosing food trucks to cater your wedding is totally up to you, but there are plenty of choices to make either way.
You could have a roast with meat from a local farm, ensure that all ingredients in your meal come from ethical sources, use seasonal veggies and have a cake made with fairtrade ingredients.
You could serve local cheeses, buy a cask of craft beer from a local brewery (they’ll tap it for you and everything, so you just help yourselves) and get hire an ice cream truck from a local dairy. If you’re in Cheshire, I highly recommend a Cheshire Farms Ice Cream Trike.
