Your Wedding Should Not Cost The Earth - Literally
Posted by The Chocablock Events Team on Aug 11, 2020
For many brides, the thought of being an eco-warrior on their wedding day is a million miles away but the concept of doing the right thing by the planet is starting to become a daily habit for many. Why add more cubic tonnes of waste unnecessarily when making a few adjustments to your wedding day can make a huge difference? Why not make it the best day of your life and the best thing you ever did for our great, green world?
Thankfully in the past few years the number of environmentally friendly options across a whole range of wedding decorations, bomboniere and wedding favours and other bridal accessories has increased dramatically. Add to this some other simple changes you can make, and you’re well on the way to a green wedding.
Wedding Venue
The whole idea here is to consume as little electricity and fuel as possible so why not opt for an outdoor wedding venue that utilises sunlight as much as possible. Every state has an abundance of botanical gardens for you to choose from which provide equal measures of sun and shade for your guests to enjoy or you can approach a local farm that has a vista that you particularly enjoy and you may even luck out with an old barn that you can use for the reception.
If outdoors isn’t going to work for some reason, then a daytime wedding in a well-lit venue with plenty of windows will enable you to keep the lights off for the duration of the wedding and the photos will have their own beautiful, ethereal feel. Don’t worry about your photographer – he’ll have taken shots in far worse lit areas than this.
Finally, overseas venues are going to leave a queen-size carbon footprint in your green wedding plans as can a 100+ cars on the road to your country wedding. Think about hiring a venue that is closer by, or you can organise a single bus to ferry all your guests to the one location. Even promoting a bit of car-pooling will make a difference.
Use In-Season Flowers
While knowing what you want is important, sometimes the reality of that are worth considering. Out of season flowers tend to need to be flown in from overseas, while local flowers not only tend to be fresher, but less chemicals are required to in their growth to keep them looking good. Alternatively, you can opt for potted varieties that mean you can take them home and plant them in the garden after the wedding. How many people do you know that have their own keepsake garden?
Also consider recycling your flowers after the event. At worst, family and friends can enjoy them in their house for a few weeks as a memento from the special day, but there are also floral recycling companies that will collect your arrangements and recycle them.
Try To Avoid Single Use Wedding Supplies
It may seem more cost-effective to opt for plastic or paper plates, cups, straws and the like but these are all going to end up in the bin and the years it may take to breakdown (if ever) is a problem worth considering. Try and ensure recyclable papers are used wherever possible as well as paper straws.
Or as another green alternative, why not rent linen and dishes instead? As well as looking vastly superior, you’ll be comfortable in the knowledge that the number of plates, trays, dishes and utensils going to landfill after your wedding will be a satisfying zero.
Environmentally sustainable papers can also be used throughout your wedding stationery, from invitations to place cards to thank you notes after the wedding. This is one area where your eco-friendly options have exploded over the past 10 years.
Your bomboniere can also use the same kind of recycled paper options, be it for favour bags, favours boxes or using tissue paper instead of plastic to dress the insides.
Wear A Secondhand Dress
If it’s good enough for Princess Beatrice to wear her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the II’s vintage wedding dress, then it’s good enough for you. Not only will you save a packet on the dress but think of all the water saved by not using any new fabrics in the creation of a new dress.
If you don’t have a Royal grandmother or loving relative to donate one to you, you can hit Etsy to find one.