How to Plan an Eco-Friendly Wedding?
Whether it is a real-life process, or a desire to bring a little more reasonable choices to your day, you may want to make your marriage more eco-friendly. I want to share with you a few ideas today to make your day even more beautiful for the planet.
If you are looking for a vegan caterer, check out my blog post “14 Best Vegan Wedding Caterers in Washington DC”.
Eco-friendly wedding invitations
You can obviously opt for a digital invitation, the most paper-saving solution (looove paperlesspost.com). But if you still want to send paper wedding invitations, don't hesitate to think of them in a more eco-responsible way. Stationery designers offer collections and prints on recycled paper. Choose recycled paper envelopes too… And why not even print your stationery on fabric? Sounds very unique!
Depending on the number of invitations you have to send, you can also choose to make them yourself, they will be very personalized and your guests could be very surprised by your skills!
Eco-friendly wedding favors
It's a very easy way to add a reasoned dimension to your day. Homemade candles with organic soy wax, sachets of organic seeds to plant, jars of homemade jam with fruits from the local producer, jars of honey from the beekeeper from the next-door neighbor, a bowl or a pretty mottled mug, do not hesitate to choose a guest gift in an ecological, ethical, or local.
How about a donation to charity as a guest gift? A great way to celebrate sharing during your day.
Eco-friendly wedding venues
If you want to reduce the environmental impact of your wedding, choose a reception location close to your ceremony. Fewer miles and fewer cars will encourage guests to carpool. Ideally, choose a place with on-site accommodation, this will limit the trips for your guests, and therefore the impact of travel.
You can choose a sustainable wedding venue that cares about the earth as much as you do. Many venues in the countryside will try to have sustainable energy and tend to go for a zero-waste policy. What a great way to support a green business!
If you want to get married in DC, the DC War Memorial or the Jefferson Memorial are great for a green wedding ceremony!
Eco-friendly wedding caterer
Choosing the right caterer is essential for an eco-responsible wedding. Few of them offer menus based on seasonal, fresh, local, and ideally organic produce, but they do exist. Some even offer vegetarian or vegan meals. Go for organic wines, better for the planet, and just as delicious as other wines.
For drinks, water flavored with seasonal fruits could replace sodas and tap water will be put in beautiful carafes or pretty jars or lemonade dispensers. A healthy solution for you and the environment.
Remember to provide (or ask your caterer) boxes for the leftovers from dinner. You can reduce waste and eat some more the next day. However, make sure your venue has fridges available for you so that the cold chain is respected.
Eco-friendly wedding bouquets
The cultivation and transport of flowers have a big environmental impact. But it is possible to overcome this by calling on a florist who includes an ecological dimension in his creative process. Seasonal flowers, grown in the United States and from sustainable cultivation, will limit the ecological impact.
You can also opt for plants in pots, which can be replanted in the gardens, your own, or that of your guests. A simple and vegetal decoration, created from plants and foliage gleaned from your garden can also be a very nice alternative to cut flowers.
eco-friendly decor
Don't hesitate to rent your decoration! It is the most environment-friendly solution. No new purchases whose provenance is unknown and no storage. Your silverware can be mottled, LED light garlands will illuminate your reception area, and the perfect jars will make very beautiful vases or candle holders. It's recycled, diverted, you give a second life to things.
However, no more balloon releases or other “biodegradable” lanterns. It looks incredible but the impact on the environment is much more lasting. They will fly… Then fall again. The problem is, we don't know where and when. In a farmer's field nearby? In forest? At sea? The impact is catastrophic. Not to mention the fire risk for Thai lanterns.
Reduce printouts on paper. For example, opt for a unique menu presented on a slate, or for place cards made on pretty pebbles or on plants. Chic and ecological!
eco-friendly vendors
Choose committed professionals. With a qualified address book, a wedding planner could save you a lot of time and offer you alternative solutions to make your wedding more eco-responsible.
Do not hesitate to discuss with each of them your desire to have a "greener" wedding and to find together a way to reduce your ecological footprint for this day. Carpooling between providers, responsible sourcing of materials reasoned purchasing, so many small steps that put together will make the difference.
As a photographer, my immediate impact is quite low. As for my album and prints, I work with sustainable printers that uses green energy to create your heirlooms. What’s important to you is important to me!
eco-friendly wedding dress
Is it really necessary to buy a dress that you will only wear once in a lifetime, even if it is loaded with memories and emotions? This question is very personal. Be aware, however, that there are alternatives: for example, you can choose a second-hand or vintage wedding dress, rent it for the occasion, or even sew your own wedding dress if you love tailoring.
The same goes for the groom’s outfits and the groomen’s. You can even propose a "second-hand or vintage" dress code to your guests.
If you prefer to buy a dress that will be uniquely yours, there are committed brands that offer eco-responsible and made in USA creations.
