From Guest Blogger Ash: Tips for a Sustainable Wedding
The thought of a wedding brings a smile to almost anyone’s face. Celebrating lasting love, weddings are special days indeed. Usually, a lot of planning goes into the any wedding, but what most people don’t think of is the impact of these occasions on the environment. Even people who are environmentally and socially responsible in their everyday lives, often forget to adhere to their moral principles while planning a wedding – and of course, it’s easy to do so while getting caught up in the excitement of a wedding. Sadly, our special days can have many environmental repercussions, and that’s why it’s important to try and keep these wonderful occasions as eco-friendly as possible.
Today, I’m going to share some tips you can follow to make sure your wedding is sustainable. While this may sound like somewhat of a task, implementing these ideas is actually quite easy. By taking these seemingly small steps, you will not only have a wonderful wedding, but also help sustain our beloved environment.
Invitations
Make invitations and envelopes from recycled paper. Recycled paper has a lovely texture and can be very unique, making each invite one-of-a-kind. Get a local calligrapher to write out the invites, thereby eliminating printing. This was you will be saving lots of energy that would have been used in the printing process, simultaneously creating stunningly delicate invites with a local finish.
If you’re willing to forego paper invites altogether, then sending out electronic invites is a great way to lessen your impact on the environment. Another benefit of electronic invites is that the RSVPing becomes so much easier, and you can include everything from online maps to the wedding destination to your favorite song as a couple!
Attire
Did you know that most brides spend upwards of $1000 on a wedding dress? Thankfully, there are much cheaper and more sustainable ways of obtaining a wedding dress than buying one brand new. Upcycling a gown used by a someone in the family or a close friend into something unique that is fit for your wedding is a great option – you will be lowering your environmental footprint, saving money, and wearing something that carries meaning. If you can’t let go of the thought of having a wedding dress that is only “yours”, then considering buying one from a label that specializes- in eco-friendly clothing, or a designers that specifically make sustainable gowns.
For your jewelry needs, consider choosing brands like Ritani that promote sustainable wedding jewelry. These brands ensure that majority of the materials used to create your trinkets are recycled thereby allowing the mining processes to be kept to a minimum. You will treasure the jewelry you wear on your wedding day, so it’s best to make sure it is ethically sourced and produced.
Food and Drink
A simple of rule of thumb when choosing your wedding food is to go local. Try and stick to seafood from sustainable fisheries, and if it isn’t in season, then swap out the seafood from your menu entirely. You’ll be surprised to find that some of the tastiest items are those that don’t really travel far, but are freshly picked and minimally prepared – it’s no wonder farm-to-table restaurants are all the hype lately. Not only does this immensely reduce your carbon footprint, but the local farmers and growers will thank you for the positive effect your choice has on their businesses and community.
Transportation
Even though it’s something we don’t think about often, weddings consume a lot of fuel. From guests traveling a long way to attend your special day, food being brought in from various locations, to possibly flying to your honeymoon destination, fuel consumption at weddings is much higher than we acknowledge. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t invite guests from afar, or give up on your honeymoon to lower fuel consumption. But, there are certain things you can do, and encourage others to do to lower your impact on the environment via decreased fuel consumption.
Try and pick a reception location that is within close proximity for majority of your guests. Encourage guests to carpool to and from the wedding, rather than driving separate cars. In terms of food, try to serve as much local and in-season produce as possible. Finally, make sure your getaway vehicle as you ride off into the sunset (a.k.a honeymoon) is as environmentally friendly as possible.
As you can see, there’s a lot you can do to make sure your wedding affects the environment as little as possible. Most of these tips are easy to execute, and are based on sustainability principles that you have probably heard of before. Including these ideas in your wedding planning processes will have seriously positive consequences on your surroundings, and will surely leave you feeling satisfied and fulfilled after your big day!
