The average wedding is extremely wasteful, and environmentally friendly options are rarely as stylish, am I right? Wrong! Our goal is to provide sustainable wedding options without compromising on style. A win-win situation!
There are countless options... If you don't feel comfortable finding your suppliers yourself, let us. We'll let you know exactly how much effort each supplier makes to be sustainable so you can make an informed decision without the hassle.
Here are our top tips for minimising the negative impact your wedding will have if you're planning it alone:
1 - Have a smaller guest list
It's an easy way to cut the carbon footprint of your event, and probably costs too if that's helpful! You can have a smaller venue or even elope, less travel, less waste, and you'll still have the best day ever.
2 - Choose a venue close to where most of your guests live
One of the worst offenders is travel - so selecting a venue which means the least amount of travel possible for you and your guests is the best way to cut emissions.
3 - Go seasonal
For your catering & flowers it will make a big difference if you use local produce rather than shipping things in from around the world. You could also choose vegetarian, vegan and organic options for your menu.
4 - Choose local suppliers
Just like your guests, if your suppliers don't have far to travel, they will be creating less carbon by getting to your wedding. If they're local, they will likely have worked at your venue before too, meaning they're more experienced and can offer more value.
5 - Avoid single use materials
Hire instead of buy - there are so many suppliers out there who offer beautiful hire options. Whether you're looking for additional props, decor items, furniture, silk flowers, photobooth etc. Please don't opt for single use options which create waste and usually, are much lower quality.
6 - Give back to the environment
Offset the carbon produced by you and your guests. Make sure you use a reputable company to do this, we use Ecologi to offset our carbon and if you sign up, we'll both get 30 sparkly trees! Visit: ecologi.com/flamingofern to find out more.
Give wildflower seeds as favours, or plant trees for your guests. You could also donate to charity for each person who's coming to your wedding.
7 - Choose vintage or Pre-loved Items
Buy a pre-loved dress and have it altered for the perfect fit - did you know that one of the biggest UK wedding blogs has a whole section of their website dedicated to buying and selling everything wedding? Check out Recycle My Wedding by Rock My Wedding: www.rockmywedding.co.uk/recycle
Rock My Wedding also donate to Trees For Life and so do their recommended suppliers... pssst, we're one of them!
8 - Choose stationery & signage wisely
For your on the day stationery, choose signage designs which can be kept or re-used - they can make fantastic decor for your home! Cut down on menu's by having one per table rather than one each.
For your invitations and posted stationery, you could choose recycled paper, seeded paper, or have no paper at all! See our next tip...
9 - Make use of technology
Consider having a wedding website and sending your invitations electronically. I know we all like to think your invitations that you've put so much hard work into are going to be saved forever, but ultimately most of them will end up being thrown away. Save on costs and be more sustainable by having all of the information about your wedding on your wedding website. There are so many plus points to this option...
- you can update it instantly if anything changes
- you'll likely be able to download all of the guest RSVP's with one button click so way less admin time for you
- you can make it just as pretty - if not prettier - than a piece of paper, think videos and music!
- you can fit much more onto it than you would put on paper so you can tell your love story to those who might not know all of the details
10 - Book an environmentally friendly honeymoon
We've already mentioned that travel is one of the worst offenders, so staying local, ofsetting your carbon and choosing providers who operate in a sustainable way can go a long way to make a difference.
We honestly could go on forever, and we haven't even mentioned biodegradable confetti because that's just too obvious.
The fact you're even thinking about this is fantastic, go you! We appreciate that it's a lot, but any effort it better than none and you're already on the right track.
If it really is too much then we can, and would love to, do it all for you.
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