10 Tips For An Eco-Conscious Wedding

Eco-conscious wedding meaning

An eco-conscious wedding or green wedding is where the couple plan to decrease the ecological impact of their special day on the planet.

At a wedding there is quite a lot of waste. Here at Great Betley Farmhouse we encourage sustainability and having an eco-conscious wedding. However much you try to be green, it’s never going to be perfect. But thinking about the impact your event will have on the environment and implementing some things is a start.

10 tips for how to have an eco-consious wedding

1. Eco-conscious wedding flowers

In a previous post we looked at how to have sustainable flowers at your wedding. Locally sourced, in season blooms and plants instead of cut flowers were just some of the tips. Pop over to the post for more ideas on eco-conscious wedding flowers.

2. Eco-conscious wedding invitations

Do you really need card and paper invitations? I know, controversial right?! So, there’s a part of me that’s very traditional. I love receiving proper cards etc. But there’s the other part of me, a more modern part, that wants to save the planet. Can the two be merged? Well, yes. You could have invitations made with recycled card and paper. That way you have your paper invitations but without sacrificing more trees. Go one step further than this and use seed paper. Your guests can take the invitations and other paper products after the wedding and plant them.

3. Wedding favours

Many people are choosing to eschew wedding favours altogether. If you really want to have them there are ways of having eco-conscious wedding favours.

If you’re using a blank canvas venue and having an outdoor ceremony consider making practical wedding favours. For example, a fan for each seat with the order of the day printed on it. Certainly the wedding season here in 2022 was scorchio and fans would have been appreciated!

I made the above luxurious 1930s style feather fan for a styled photo shoot using a blank (top photo). To this I fixed peacock and ostrich feathers, teal satin ribbon and a pearl embellishment. You could have the Order of The Day printed on coloured card and cut it to size. This you can then fix onto the fan, giving guests a practical memento of the day.

You could use seed paper for your placename cards/menu cards for each place setting. Be sure to print on them that guests can plant them after the wedding as a lasting reminder.

4. Wedding rings

Whilst gold mining produces lots of waste and depletes the earth’s reserves, there are ways of having eco-conscious wedding rings.

If you have some old jewellery that you’re not going to wear, get a jeweller to rework it. Consider buying pre-loved or antique rings. How about going for a completely different material such as wood?

5. Eco-conscious wedding venue

Choose a venue that encourages and practices being sustainable. For example, here at Great Betley Farmhouse we love a bit of upcycling, and reuse things wherever possible. Sometimes we have to have trees removed for safety reasons. We then use the chippings from the tree surgeon as weed suppressant mulch.

The willow by the gate was not at all healthy so it had to be removed. The tree surgeon chipped as much of it as he could and logged the rest. The chippings have been spread over an area we are tidying up and will be left to season. In the Spring we will plant camelia, buddleia and other plants. The camelia and buddleia I’m growing in the greenhouse at the moment from cuttings from my own plants.

We encourage couples to recycle as much as possible. If cans of drink are used there is someone in our village who collects them to recycle for charity.

6. Eco-conscious drinks

Instead of using single use plastic “glasses” you can hire acrylic ones. These are then washed and reused time and time again.

If you’re having a cocktail hour give guests their own glass and have pre-mixed cocktails in glass dispensers.

Instead of having numerous small bottles of water have a Hydration Station. Hire a water dispenser with the large bottles incorporated. These bottles, although they are plastic, are refilled and reused.

Consider metal straws rather than paper straws as they are reusable after the event.

Support local vineyards and/or breweries.

7. Wedding attire

Quite a few synthetic fabrics such as polyester contain plastic. Consider an eco-conscious wedding dress designer such as Catherine Deane.

Have fabric garment bags rather than plastic covers. You could give your wedding party their own eco-conscious wedding attire garment bags.

8. Eco-conscious wedding food

If you’re having street food vans at your wedding make sure that they supply environmentally friendly plates and cutlery. From October 2023 single use plastic plates and cutlery are being banned in the UK. So if your wedding is before that, check out what your supplier uses.

Bamboo and palm leaf plates and cutlery will biodegrade in six to eight weeks. In contrast, plastic cutlery and plates can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade!

Use caterers who focus on locally sourced and seasonal food. The more local the smaller the carbon footprint.

9. Eco-conscious wedding confetti

Paper confetti’s biodegradable, right? Yes, but it takes two to four months to biodegrade fully.

Here at Great Betley Farmhouse we only allow real petal or leaf confetti. The petals and leaves disperse quickly and when the lawns are mown they are mulched finely or collected. Paper confetti is a nightmare to get rid of between weddings. We like Shropshire Petals confetti, or you could make your own – you just need a microwave or an airing cupboard! If you have a garden pick and dry the flower petals before they go over. Alternatively source locally grown flowers to reduce the carbon footprint of buying them in.

Ancient Romans used to throw uncooked rice over a wedding couple. This signified fertility, wealth and good luck. But isn’t uncooked rice bad for birds and wildlife? This is in fact a myth, birds can quite safely eat a bit of dried rice.

10. Hire Décor or donate afterwards

Consider hiring some or all of your décor. For example, To Have & To Hire supply an abundance of items from furniture and large props to table accessories and garden games.

If you do buy items you can donate items afterwards rather than dumping them. Flowers or plants are always gratefully received by people – e.g. venue staff or guests. Some items could be sold or donated via Marketplace or Ebay.

 

Have you got some great tips for having an eco-conscious wedding? I’d love to hear them – pop a comment below!