Sustainable Flowers For A More Environmentally Friendly Wedding
Sustainable flowers are defined by the amount of damage they cause to the planet. Many flowers you can buy are unsustainable for a number of reasons. This includes being flown in during off season, or stems being wasted. Sustainable flowers are those which are grown locally and are grown or picked to order.
Tips for sustainable flowers
If you are looking to have a more environmentally friendly wedding with sustainable flowers, these eight tips will help:
1. Source Local Suppliers
Shopping locally is always better for the planet and ensures that you are getting sustainable flowers. Find a local florist who sources their produce from growers that are closer to their store. This will reduce the number of miles the flowers accumulate on the road or in the air. Ask your chosen florist where their growers are located. They will also be able to suggest more locally grown flowers than perhaps you were thinking of.
2. Choose Seasonal Blooms
Another way to ensure getting sustainable flowers is to choose seasonable blooms. For example, Peonies are in season in the UK between April and June, but in Australia from October to December. That would be a LOT of airmiles to have them flown in for say a November wedding! Or if flowers are specially grown closer to home out of season it uses more energy, water and chemicals in order to achieve this which makes them unsustainable.
3. Plants in Place of Cut Flowers
Choosing growing plants rather than cut blooms will ensure that you are using sustainable flowers. They have the advantage of lasting much longer than cut flowers. Keeping their roots intact means that you’ll be able to replant them after your wedding. You can then enjoy memories of your wedding long after the day. Or you could give them to guests as a thank you gift. At one of our weddings this year the groom’s mum planted up old wellies – for a festival style wedding they were perfect decorations! They also left some here for me as a thank you – I still have them!
4. Foam Free
Floral foam is very damaging to the environment. It’s mostly plastics which take forever and a day to break down, and is toxic to animals. Using vases and natural elements such as moss are far more environmentally friendly. Depending on the style of wedding you’re having, you could have an eclectic collection from local charity shops. Or your local florist will probably hire vases out.
5. Recycled Ribbon
Another way of having sustainable flowers is to use recycled ribbon. Off cuts from your wedding dress and/or bridesmaids dresses can be used to wrap bouquet stems or buttonholes. Biodegradable jute or hemp could be used, or perhaps raid a local fabric shop for offcuts. Your florist may have ribbon spare or leftover from other jobs.
6. Keep it Small
Smaller bouquets and arrangements require fewer cut flowers. This means a smaller impact on the environment. Posies, corsages and single stems are great style options rather than large bouquets.
7. Make Your Sustainable Flowers Multitask!
Flowers used during the ceremony (e.g. at the ends of rows of seats) can be taken and put onto the reception tables. This will not only be a great way of having sustainable flowers, but also save you money. For other money saving ideas check out our previous blog post here.
8. Dried Flowers
Often couples dry out their fresh flowers from the wedding or will have them pressed. However, for the eco-concious dried flowers are a great sustainable flower option. Potentially they can last for years in the right conditions, rather than weeks. If you’ve bought the dried flowers you can use them around your home or regift to members of the wedding party. There are also companies who hire out dried flower arrangements for events. For example, one of our couples this year used To Have & To Hire for their dried flowers. Not only were they delivered to the venue, but collected again afterwards to be reused.
Keeping it Green After The Wedding
Hopefully these eight tips have given you ideas on how to have a more eco-friendly wedding with sustainable flowers. Why not carry that forward afterwards?
- If you use fresh flowers perhaps the venue or florist can reuse some of your flowers in another arrangement or at another event.
- Perhaps you could donate fresh cut flowers to a local hospital, hospice or care home.
- You could dry your flowers and use them as gifts.
Do you have other tips that could help in the quest for environmentally friendly and sustainable flowers? Please do leave a comment!
