HOW TO HAVE A VAGUELY ECO-FRIENDLY WEDDING
go plastic free
Hold this in your head whenever you’re making any decisions - do you really need plastic straws for drinks? Will a small jar of paper ones on the bar do for those that think they’re essential? Answer - YES.
A lot of signs and itineraries are made on perspex these days so consider how you’re going to use them after the wedding. I made an Order of The Day board for a couple and it’s now up in their bathroom as a piece of art and something they will keep forever. Scroll to see it from wedding to home.
This is a classic example of one of the ways I work with couples - just making a few bits to add memorable details. It’s called Level 2 Wedding Styling
Do any printing on recycled and recyclable paper
For things like the Order of Ceremony or Songsheets, consider printing on something that can be easily recycled. In reality, the majority of these bits end up on the floor or in the bin, so avoid paper with coatings or glitter that can’t be recycled.
use biodegradable confetti
There are so many brilliant companies using dried flower petals, and you could even make your own using petals. If you want to add more colour you could experiment with using natural dyes like beetroot. My DIY Bride Club teaches anyone planning a wedding how to make things like this!
Go local
This is an obvious one but the biggest impact you could have on the environment is not flying out 100 guests on a flight abroad. There are so many beautiful and magical places in the UK, which might also be safer during the pandemic too. Do your research to find somewhere unique, Pinterest is a great place to start. I’ll be sharing my top 5 UK unusual dry hire venues very soon in another blog post.
Consider re-usable drinks vessels
Instead of washing every glass after every single drink, consider re-using drinking vessels to save on energy costs for washing. At my wedding I was inspired by a seriously eco-friendly festival Meadows in the Mountains that we went to in 2018 - you bought one tin mug to use for all your drinks whilst at the festival, you could sluice out with water if you switched drinks and even clip it to your body so you didn’t lose it! I designed my own for my wedding - see below.
CONSIDER A DIAMOND EQUIVALENT
Here is a fab article about why you should consider a lab grown diamond instead of a mined one. There are so many alternatives to consider that are more ethical. Check out Lily Arkwright - a UK based supplier of Moissanite rings to get started.