How to Have a Sustainable Wedding
Is a sustainable wedding the antithesis of a luxurious, elegant wedding? Yes, but also no. Weddings are inherently a show of wealth, they can be egregious and excessive but if we shift our mindset, we will see that true luxury means high quality, durable and environmentally conscious. It isn’t boastful or flashy, it’s understated, and poised at the cutting edge of true humanitarianism.
SUSTAINABLE WEDDING IDEAS:
Opt for less on the table. Food should be replenished
Celebrate the foods that are in season
Cut out the beef, minimize meat and dairy
Pick a palette not a flower
REDUCE first, then reuse and then recycle or compost
Don’t give guests anything that will become garbage (wrappers or place cards or stir sticks etc.)
Make all of your waste cohesive. It should be clear that their drink receptacles are either all reusable (glassware), compostable, or recyclable. Their napkins (passed apps) or plates should all be reusable (china) or compostable (includes bamboo). The events that do the best with waste management, are the ones where they plan it so guests can’t fail and staff does the sorting.
Find caterers who partner with Second Harvest Heartland’s food rescue program (Chowgirls)
A SUSTAINABILE WEDDING = CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION
Your wedding will create waste, even if you opt to elope in the mountains. By taking actions toward preserving the environment and creating a healthy and safe economy, your event can be less harmful to our Earth. Here are three ways your wedding will impact climate change.
WASTE
Think about:
Floral. Can you do with less or with-out, opt for local, avoid floral foam? Did you know that flowers shipped from outside of the country are wrapped in plastic to deter bacterial growth? Versus local flowers, as in ones grown on a flower farm or greenhouse in Minnesota and Wisconsin, are handed off, freshly cut, in buckets of water. Those buckets are returned and reused. An astounding 80% of flowers come from outside of the US.
Food. What happens when guests are not members of the clean plate club?
Paper. Printed items before the wedding (save the dates and invites), during the wedding (programs, signage, escort/place cards…) and after (thank you cards and your wedding prints). Check out: Paper Culture
Garbage, recycling and compost - how do your venue, catering and bartending companies sort it out? Let’s be okay with running out of FILL IN THE BLANK, let’s focus on having only an abundance of love and togetherness not food waste and garbage.
Unwanted gifts + wrapping paper. Could you go minimalist in your registry?
READ: How We’re Planning a (Nearly) Zero-Waste Wedding from Unsustainable Magazine.
ANIMALE AGRICULTURE
Think about:
Greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods.
A vegan diet results in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use. Dietary impacts of vegans are 25% of the dietary impact for land use and greenhouse gas emissions of high meat eaters, 46% for water use, 27% for pollution, and 34% for biodiversity impacts.
WATCH: Eating Our Way to Extinction narrated by Kate Winslet
READ: Why is animal agriculture bad for the environment? from SURGE
TRAVEL & ENERGY USAGE
Think about:
Where can you get married that will be easily accessible for your guests?
Who has to travel to get to your wedding and how can you decrease the amount of solo travelers?
When are you getting married and how might that impact the electricity used to keep guests comfortable, or does your venue utilize solar power?
Why can’t you make choices that are pretty, make you happy and are sustainable?
LEARN ABOUT: Tourism’s carbon footprint
VENDOR SPOTLIGHT: Amy’s Cupcake Shoppe, PAIKKA, Jessica Knighton Photography, The Luminare, Luum Collective, Chowgirls Catering, J. Olson Photography, Minne Floral Co.
HOW TO PLAN A WEDDING SUSTAINABLY
Sixpence Events has meetings virtually by default to reduce transportation-related emissions, but it doesn’t just stop there. I lend clients my expertise to think about how guests can truly enjoy a sustainable wedding. Built in to every partial planning proposals is the intention to reduce waste and encourage weddings were floral, guest communication, and decor is eco-conscious. Learn more about sustainable partial wedding planning here.
