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Everyone deserves to have the wedding day of their dreams, but that doesn’t need to come at the cost of the environment. Here’s why you should consider a sustainable wedding.
Weddings cause a tremendous amount of waste each year, with one wedding producing as much as 20kg of waste from plastic alone, not to mention the paper, glass, metal, food and general waste on top of that!
If we all do our part to make more environmentally conscious choices when it comes to our wedding day, we can protect the planet without having to compromise at all. If anything, many of these tips will actually enhance your day.
So, let’s find out how you can make your wedding day not only amazing but also more sustainable.
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Everyone deserves to have the wedding day of their dreams, but that doesn’t need to come at the cost of the environment. Let’s find out how to create a sustainable wedding.
- Go For Vintage Jewelry
- Vintage engagement or wedding rings are good for the environment and your bank account.
- Vintage jewelry is VAT exempt
- Not to mention, it is breathtakingly beautiful with a depth of history for you to enjoy.
- Ask Your Venue About Environmental Commitment
- How do they dispose of food waste? What is their recycling policy? Are they energy efficient?
- Allow Bridesmaids To Choose Own Dress
- If you choose the dress for your bridesmaids, it isn’t guaranteed that they will wear it again, and we know that wearing clothes once and never again is not very environmentally friendly!
- Allow your bridesmaids to choose their own dresses.
- Rent The Groomsmen Tuxes
- You can get higher quality suits by renting.
- It will be cheaper and far less waste will be produced
- Consider Vegan Menu
- Better for the environment, and can be elegant when done right.
- Choose In Season Flowers
- Choosing seasonal flowers will help you to capture the season of your wedding beautifully, giving a timeless and beautiful addition to your wedding décor.
- Choosing local and seasonal flowers also cut out the need to import flowers from abroad or even across the country.
- Eco-Friendly Wedding Favors
- Give out eco-friendly wedding favors. Choose biodegradable flower bombs or vegan chocolate from a local shop.
Dig deeper ➝ 5 min
Choose A Vintage Engagement Ring and Wedding Ring
Choosing a vintage engagement ring or wedding ring is both beneficial to the environment as well as your bank account!
Unless lab grown gemstones are used, the process of mining, shifting and refining precious metals and gemstones is highly damaging to ecosystems and environments all around the world.
Not to mention, chemicals such as mercury and cyanide are required to extract these materials, which are then often dumped into rivers, causing severe damage and poisoning wildlife.
So, a wonderful way that you can avoid investing in this process is to buy a vintage engagement ring or wedding rings. Although pieces of vintage jewellery would have been through the mining process once, by purchasing pre-owned you are preventing it happening again.
Also, you will be making sure that the process was worthwhile and that the beautiful jewelry continues to be appreciated. Not only this, but the value for money is exceptional, as vintage jewelry is VAT exempt.
As VAT would have already been paid on the item once, it isn’t required to be paid again, meaning you can purchase rings with the exact same quality and size gemstones and metals, but for 20% cheaper.
Finally, vintage rings are exceptionally beautiful. There are endless amounts of benefits to choosing vintage jewellery, but most importantly, it can help to reduce your environmental impact.
Is your wedding venue sustainable?
One of the most important things you can do when it comes to making your wedding sustainable is to ask your venue about their environmental commitment. One of the first things you should ask is what they do to protect the environment and reduce their impact on it. Here are some of the questions you should be asking:
- How do you dispose of food waste?
- Do you source your ingredients locally?
- What is your recycling policy?
- Do you use renewable energy?
- What are you doing to become carbon neutral?
If a wedding venue is committed to being more sustainable, they should be more than happy to discuss these things with you. If not, then perhaps it isn’t the right venue for you as a couple.
Let Bridesmaids Choose Their Dress
Another way to make your wedding more sustainable… let your bridesmaids choose their dress.
If you choose the dress, it isn’t guaranteed they will wear it again. Fast fashion is a serious issue.
So, a good alternative is to allow your bridesmaids to choose their dresses. You could say that you want a particular color, such as pink shades, and everything else is completely their choice.
This way, it is much more likely that they will wear the dress again and it won’t go to waste! Plus, it is likely that your bridesmaids will feel much more comfortable in a dress they have chosen themselves.
Rent The Groomsmen Tuxes
Now, onto the groomsmen! Bridesmaids dresses can be relatively affordable, however to buy a good quality suit, you’re probably looking at a minimum of £150-200. This is a lot of money if they aren’t going to wear it again!
So, renting the groomsmen tuxes is a wonderful alternative. You will be able to get much better quality suits than if you were buying them, it will be cheaper and far less waste will be produced as a result!
Some of the best rental places will actually alter the suits for your groomsmen party, so they will look amazing on the day. This is definitely something to consider to save money and reduce unnecessary waste!
Consider A Vegan Menu
Whilst this might not be suited to every family and wedding, you could consider offering a vegan menu. This is your wedding after all, so you should do what makes you happy.
Plus, we all know how delicious vegan food can be when done right, so you might enlighten your guests to the joys of plant-based food and encourage them to eat more of it.
Here is an example menu that will be show-stopping! We may be biased, but we can’t see anyone complaining at the sight of any of these dishes…
Starters
- Pear, Agave and Whipped Garlic Tofu Bruschetta
- Butternut Squash and Sage Soup with Crispy Chilli Croutons
- Autumn Vegetable Salad With Saffron Dressing
Main Course
- Beetroot and Red Onion Tarte Tatin with Sauteed Rosemary Potatoes
- Mushroom and Cashew Wellington with Dauphinoise Potatoes and Tenderstem Broccoli
- Asparagus, Lemon and Pea Risotto with Garlic Ciabatta
Desserts
- Aquafaba Chocolate Mousse with a Honeycomb Crumb
- Lemon Panna Cotta (made with vegan “gelatine”) and Shortbread Biscuits
- Pecan Pie and Vegan Vanilla Icecream
Choose In Season Flowers
Our next tip is for you to choose local gardeners and in season flowers for your wedding. Choosing seasonal flowers will help you to capture the season of your wedding beautifully, giving a timeless and beautiful addition to your wedding décor.
However, most importantly, choosing local and seasonal flowers removes the need to import flowers from abroad or across the country. Plus, in season and local flowers are so much cheaper than those that are out of season.
Speak to your florist about the different options during the season you are getting married to make the right choice for your wedding.
Give Back With Sustainable Wedding Favors
Last but not least, a wonderful way to continue helping the environment following your wedding is to give out eco-friendly wedding favors. One idea is to give a flower bomb to each of your guests, which is a small sachet made with biodegradable paper that is filled with seeds.
When your guest gets home, they can simply throw the flower bomb onto their garden, give it water and then watch it grow into a beautiful flowery haven in the coming months! This will help the local wildlife to thrive and will make your guests’ gardens look beautiful.
Another option would be to support a local shop who makes vegan chocolates. Make sure that it’s packaged in biodegradable packaging and get ready to show your guests how delicious vegan chocolate is!
A Sustainable Wedding doesn’t have to be complicated
With these simple changes, you won’t have to compromise sustainability on your dream wedding at all. If anything, you are likely to make it even more special and affordable by taking the environment into account. We hope that you enjoy your magical day!
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