Green Weddings: Eco-Friendly Tips for Sustainable Celebrations
Imagine your dream wedding not only celebrating your love but also honoring the planet. As you exchange vows under the open sky, surrounded by the tranquil beauty of a natural setting, every detail—from the sun-powered music serenading you, to the locally sourced decorations adorning your space—underscores your commitment to sustainability.
Opting for an eco-friendly celebration isn’t just a choice, it’s a statement: a declaration that your union respects and cherishes the environment. By embracing these green choices, you can step into a new chapter in harmony with the earth, creating memories that are as green as they are glorious, and setting a precedent for a future together that values stewardship and sustainability.
The Green Wedding Venue & Location
When choosing the location for your special day, it can be hard to decide whether you want your ceremony to be subject to nature’s elements. If you are hosting a summer wedding (or even a fall or spring one!) then an outdoor wedding may be the easiest way for your ceremony to be more sustainable. Energy uses such as lighting, heating/cooling, and music amplification.
While some of these, like music amplification, are inevitable even outdoors, using a green energy source can make all the difference; an example of a green energy source would be a solar generator. Along with this, choosing a local venue that belongs to a friend or relative can be cost-effective and sustainable.
Green Wedding Decorations
Most of the waste resulting from wedding ceremonies comes from food and decorations. While everyone wants their wedding day to be beautiful, implementing reusable decorations and glassware can be a large help to the environment we live in. For example, booking with a vendor who uses cloth napkins or supplying your own can cut back on a significant percentage of disposable materials. Another practice that many brides like to spearhead in their wedding planning is DIY (do it yourself) projects for a generous portion of the decorations they may need. Not only is this more sustainable, but it is also often cheaper for the bride and groom to decorate this way.
Another uncomplicated way for couples to decorate sustainably is to use natural elements. A hand-crafted bouquet, wedding arbor, and even seating charts are beautiful alternatives to their store-bought counterparts. If crafting is not your choice of past-time, purchasing used wedding supplies is another suitable alternative. Places like thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace are great to check out when looking for wedding supplies.
Clothing & Linens
Choosing the perfect wedding dress can be an incredibly difficult decision to make. That said, shopping for a dress second-hand could land you with your dream dress at a fraction of the cost. Shopping this way can also give new life to a dress that a bride wore previously. On top of that, donating the dress after the wedding is another great option.
In the same way, tablecloths and napkins can be bought second-hand to reduce the production of linens. If a couple does not prefer shopping second-hand, prioritizing the use of fabrics with low carbon emissions can be a viable choice. Of course, shopping for new sustainable items can be costly, but if the couple can afford it, it is a simple and often relatively easy change to make. Shopping with sustainable designers can present a steep price tag, but it is a worthwhile change to make when striving for sustainability.
Renting Options for Green Weddings
A good approach for couples looking to have a green wedding is to rent as much as possible. Renting can be a good option for those who do not enjoy crafting or shopping second-hand. Renting silverware, glassware, linens, etc. makes using the supplies more than once possible, while also providing plenty of options for the bride and groom. This also cuts back on waste from the routine use of the products. Along with the sustainability benefits of renting, it also bolsters the flow of money throughout the wedding business.
Donating After the Celebration
After the big day ends, having leftover wedding supplies cluttered everywhere can be overwhelming. To combat this, donating anything unnecessary to keep is a wonderful way to maintain sustainability even in the aftermath of the planning. Some things that may be good to donate include glassware, linens, decorations, and even dresses, in some cases.
When employing these sustainable alternatives in wedding planning, simple steps can make the biggest difference. Pleasantdale Chateau makes it possible to achieve a beautiful green wedding that is good for the environment and your wallet.
