Easy Tips to Plan an Eco-Friendly Wedding
A Guide To An Eco-Friendly Wedding
Last updated on Tuesday 11th April, 2023 at 18:15 by Trina Gill
What is an eco-friendly wedding? Well, simple answer, it's a wedding that is kind to the environment. Now, that is a lot harder to achieve than it sounds.
I recently got married and obviously, I wanted to create the least amount of waste as I possibly could. So, how can you avoid unnecessary rubbish on a day that's could potentially be literally littered with plastic? These are my tips.
Wedding Favours
I gave each of our guests a cacti as a little thank you. They were also used as table decorations and came in a terracotta pot. At the end of the night, each guest took one home with them.
The best wedding favours are gifts that your guests really can use. An alternative idea could be personalised candles with your names and wedding date.
Games
We had quite a few kids come to our wedding. To keep them entertained I went to my local craft shop and purchased x5 big 3D letter 'T' and x5 letter 'D''s (our first initials). Once at the venue we collected four long sticks and there was our homemade nought and crosses game.
I also handmade bubbles for the kids. I had some glass jars in the house, as well as those craft pipe cleaners. I used a bit of Castile soap and added it to water, shaped the pipes and there you have your DIY bubbles.
Natural, Compostable Confetti
We got married in June and during the month of May we get a lot of cherry blossom in our local park. I picked it as it began to fall and popped it in the oven at 150 degrees for about 10 mins and it was dry and ready to use as confetti. You can also put it in the airing cupboard if you have one, it just takes a bit longer. I've written the full directions in this blog post on how to make cherry blossom confetti.
If you don't have the time to make your own, you can use natural confetti that someone has made for you!
Flowers
If you have a florist, just speak to them about it. A lot of the time all you have to do is raise awareness and people realise that not everything has to be wrapped in plastic! Or alternatively, go to your local market as a lot of the flowers won't be wrapped. Another great idea is using dried flowers that you can keep for years and years!
Eco-Friendly Decorations
Our wedding was boho themed and really natural. We used gin bottles as flower vases, we had paper lanterns hanging in trees and I did a macrame course a couple of months ago so I could make a few of those beautiful macrame hoops. We also had candles in glass jars, lavender from the garden tied on with twine, and old carpets outside on the glass for people to sit on.
Catering
Speak to your catering company about what's in season and create a menu around those options. We were lucky with ours as it was a summer wedding we had lots of choices. You can also pick up ingredients yourself from your local farmers market.
All the drinks were served in glasses or bottles and all alcohol came from a glass bottle. You just have to think about what you want to serve and if you can get it in glass - i.e. tonic water. It might be a little bit pricer but you can save in other ways or just decide not to offer it. We asked them to provide paper straws for those who wanted them, but the drinks were automatically served without one.
We'd love to hear your tips - have you had an eco-friendly wedding or are you planning yours? Let us know in the comments.
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