5 Tips on Planning an Eco Friendly, Socially Conscious Wedding
Last month, over on the Green Union’s Eco-Friendly and Ethical Wedding Blog, I was delighted to share my five tips on planning an Eco Friendly and Socially Conscious Wedding.
The truth is that weddings are costly, so why not invest that money wisely and strive to make a difference with your spend too?! The good news is that it can be done with very little effort because there lots of eco-conscious suppliers, products and inspiration out there! You also don’t have to sacrifice style for sustainability! Here are our top tips on creating a stand-out wedding that makes a difference too!
tip 1 – invest in eco-friendly / ethical products
Possibly the easiest way to ensure the sustainability of your wedding is to choose to invest in wedding professionals that value sustainability too. As a stationer, I choose my paper sources and print companies carefully. Not only do I ensure that print companies are using sustainable paper sources and eco-friendly inks, but that they are actively striving to reduce the environmental impact of their businesses. This in turn ensures that I can offer sustainable stationery to my clients too.
tip 2 – buy local and seasonal
We are probably all trying to do more of this in our everyday shopping habits, so why should your wedding be any different? Many suppliers, such as florists and caterers will actively encourage the use of seasonal flowers and foods. It makes a lot of sense from an availability perspective and also from a cost perspective too. Equally, by buying local, you can immediately reduce the environmental impact of your big day. You will also get that warm and fuzzy feeling, knowing that you are supporting local businesses and making a difference with your wedding spend.
tip 3 – create a fundraising registry
Couples who already have all that they need to set up life together, or who don’t necessarily wish to set up a traditional gift list, could opt to support a favourite charity instead. By registering for donations to charitable organisations instead of gifts, or creating a crowd funding page, you can not only share your charitable endeavours with your guests, but raise funds too!
tip 4 – post wedding giving
There is often a lot of waste associated with wedding celebrations and whilst you can prevent unwanted or duplicate gifts by having a gift registry, what about those items from the day that might otherwise be wasted? You can reduce that waste by donating leftovers, or by forgoing favours that are often left behind by guests anyway. Leftover flowers can be given away as gifts, donated, or composted. Equally, bridal gowns and suits, paper goods, glass or metal table decorations can be recycled/ upcycled, ebayed or given to charity shops.
tip 5 – making an on-going commitment to the environment
Any thought given to reducing, re-using or recycling on your wedding day will indeed be very worthwhile. However, perhaps it is more meaningful for couples to strive to create a more enduring environmentally/ socially conscious foundation for their married lives together. After all, each decision and action we take impacts our world, so why not be intentional about the way that we celebrate our marriage and continue with our lives together?
Click here to visit the full Green Union’s Wedding Blog post.
