8 Sustainable Wedding Ideas: Wedding Sustainability Basics

On your big day together, treat the planet with a lot of love, too. A sustainable wedding is one that is:

• A low producer of emissions: Sustainable practices help you lower your carbon footprint, whether in your everyday life or at your wedding ceremony. For example, try to ensure people traveling to your event use environmentally friendly transportation. At the event itself, keep emissions low as well. By holding your ceremony and reception in the same location, for instance, you eliminate the need for transportation between the events.
• Eco-friendly: On your wedding day, strive to meet zero-waste standards. Work with a green wedding planner to figure out best practices around treating the environment with the respect it deserves. This means cutting down on litter, utilizing reusable decorations, and relying on secondhand clothes when possible rather than consuming unnecessary resources.
• Socially conscious: You don’t have to skimp on wedding style to take an ethical approach to the event. As you strive to meet your environmental goals, do your part to use socially conscious vendors for your wedding. For instance, some diamond rings contain gemstones acquired through nefarious means. You can seek out conflict-free ring manufacturers to mitigate this.

Sustainability lays the groundwork for a healthier environment. Sustainable practices help ensure an optimal climate for future generations, as well as a low amount of waste or pollution in the present day. Eco-friendly habits are just as much about reducing your negative environmental impact as they are about creating a positive effect on the wider world.

If you’re an innate environmentalist at heart, having a sustainable wedding will allow you to enjoy your ceremony and reception with a clean conscience. Consider these eight ideas for throwing a memorable eco-friendly wedding:

1. 1. Consider reusable floral arrangements. Think about using potted plants for your wedding rather than cut flowers. Talk to a florist about how you can use floral arrangements in a sustainable way. For example, you could use bouquets of flowers that are easy for you to replant after the event.
2. 2. Cut down on food waste. Try to make sure you serve just the right amount of food at your wedding. Wedding cake and dinner items alike often end up in the trash after a celebration ends. Plan ahead so you can make sure everyone has enough to eat without going overboard and producing food waste.
3. 3. Donate your décor after the wedding. Take your centerpieces and wedding favors to a secondhand store so someone else can reuse them in the future. Speak with your friend group to see if they’d like to take anything home with them. For that matter, use an online platform to sell your décor and make your money back after the event.
4. 4. Shop for vintage wedding dresses. Some dressmakers might offer sustainable wedding dresses featuring reusable materials, but it might be easier to find an old dress at a vintage or thrift store instead. Bridesmaids and groomsmen can also seek out their own clothes for the party in a similar fashion.
5. 5. Shrink your guest list. Cut down the number of people coming to the wedding venue to smaller numbers if possible. As much as you might want to celebrate with as many people as possible, fewer people traveling to your event will mean less of a negative impact in terms of carbon emissions.
6. 6. Source your wedding rings ethically. Once you exchange wedding bands, you make the jump from an engaged couple to newlyweds. Consider using rings of recycled gold or silver as you make this move into your future together. If you haven’t proposed yet, you can also seek out engagement rings featuring lab-grown diamonds.
7. 7. Try virtual wedding invitations. Take an online DIY approach to invite people to your wedding. Allow people to RSVP on your wedding website instead of using unnecessary paper. You’ll take some stress off the wedding planning process by choosing not to send these letters anyway.
8. 8. Use biodegradable paper goods. Opt for reusable glassware, cutlery, and plates rather than single-use paper goods if possible. If you want a sendoff with confetti, see if you can find a version made from seed paper. Use recycled paper for signage as well.

Have a wedding to plan? Learn how to take on the process strategically. Discover Mindy Weiss’s approach to setting a budget, choosing a theme, and sending invitations when you sign up for the MasterClass Annual Membership.