More than ever, couples are looking to show how much they care about the planet by putting sustainability at the heart of their wedding day. With a global focus on carbon footprints, energy usage and single use plastics, trends within the industry are taking a much greener approach.
Here at Hanbury Wedding Barn, we have worked hard to improve our ecological footprint including the addition of protected wildlife areas around our lake and lagoon, our new electric car charger, removing single use plastics from our bar, and the planting of hundreds of meters of new hedgerows.
Even with all that effort, weddings can be wasteful. With a high consumption of energy, transportation, and plenty of waste. If this concerns you, then we have outlined some simple idea to help make your wedding friendlier to the environment:
Eco Friendly Wedding Favours
Wedding favours are one way in which you can keep on giving. Why not use plantable paper to print your name cards, use Kilner jars to serve up homemade limoncello or bake some sweet treats for guests to snack on. You could donate to a charity that’s close to your heart, with lots of charities proving pin badges as a token guests can take away. If you fancy something a little greener, how about planting a tree for every one of your guests or give them each a succulent plant to take home.
Working With Your Suppliers
One of the easiest ways to rack up those green points is to work with businesses who align with your eco standards, suppliers who use sustainable products, that care about their environment and who are doing their bit to reduce waste. Are your flowers grown locally? Where does their food come from? How is food waste dealt with? What is your venue doing to be more sustainable? These are a few key questions you could be asking.
Choose a Venue Closer to Home
If you add up all the miles each guest will be travelling, the result will probably be quite eye popping. By choosing a venue central to you and your guests, you can reduce your carbon footprint significantly. Discuss car pooling with them, or if you have guests travelling from one place to another on your day, why not consider a coach to take them all in one swift journey.
Think About Your Menu
If it’s fitting, you could encourage your guests to do their part too with an all vegetarian / vegan menu for your wedding breakfast. There are so many incredible options out there for your wedding breakfast, so much so that guests don’t even notice the meat is missing. Find out from them where your caterers source their produce and opt for a menu that’s in season – you can reduce your carbon footprint simply by not having Strawberries in December.
Something Old?…
Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, eBay, Recycle My Wedding – just a few sites that are packed full of beautiful items that have been used once, looking to be loved again. Many Brides are opting for vintage and preloved wedding dresses and jewellery for their day. This is a great eco option and can reduce the cost quite significantly too.
There are so many ways to incorporate eco-friendly ways into your big day. It may just be a few small adjustments you can make, but if everyone does it then hopefully, we can make a big change.