A lot of love with a little footprint…

Whilst what’s in vogue for both weddings and events changes All. The. Time. Sadly, something which seems to remain a constant with events is waste. Spending hours (if not days) building an event set only for it to be pulled down within the hour of an event being finished is sadly the norm. Seeing backdrops, registration counters and stages being piled into skips after a few hours always makes me so mad. Surely there is a more sustainable way!? With solutions beginning to appear, like the amazing Paper Carpenter, and companies facing increased scrutiny to reduce their environmental impact, the events industry is changing slowly (read: S-L-O-W-L-Y). And for now, even though slow, progress is still happening which is always a good thing.

Weddings, however, are another beast entirely. Whilst companies have a public responsibility and a customer base to answer to about their impact on the planet, couples planning a wedding obviously don’t have such pressure. This makes it easier to end up ordering favours from Argentina or 1,000 balloons before you’ve even really clocked the environmental damage you are doing. The average UK wedding creates around 14.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide in just one day*. Thats right, just one day!! Putting that number into perspective, in order to stick to the UK’s emission targets, each household should be reducing their emissions to 4.5 tonnes per year by 2030**.

There are so many changes which you can make to reduce the environmental impact of a wedding. Whilst the things making the biggest impact (reduce your numbers or go meat free to feel the most smug) can change the entire structure of your big day, and therefore understandably may not be something you want to do, there are a number of things which you can do… which really won’t affect your amazing day at all! I could probably talk (write) for hours on this but below I’ve narrowed down my favourite waste saving/footprint reducing tweaks…

Stationery. Whilst I am a complete sucker for pretty stationery, I can honestly say that I have never kept a paper invite, needed to refer to an order of ceremony programme or held onto a Thank You card much longer than the courteous week on the mantle piece. Using a web based platform such as withjoy you can send save the dates, invites, monitor your guest list, create schedules and send thank you emails after the hangovers have long subsided. All with zero paper waste anddddd no cost! BOSH.

Flowers. Flowers are pretty much a part of everyones wedding decor, whether they feature prominently or not. Try to source dem fleurs which are local and in season to reduce your carbon footprint and donate everything to a hospice after to brighten someone’s day.

Food & Drink. Something a lot of couples would class as the most important part of their day (and these people are correct, because it is!), is also a huge part of the large carbon footprint weddings create. Whilst a fully vegetarian or vegan menu may not be your cup of tea, go for a locally sourced menu (farm to table anyone?) and in season produce to keep that footprint down. Also, I have two words… ORGANIC PROSECCO. Feel better about what you are drinking, less hangover and you can stock up from Aldi.

Dress. Maybe taking centre stage with the food and drink as a very important part of your wedding. Go for vintage or charity shop dresses if that’s your thing but, if not, there are also so many gorgeous sustainable options such as the Reformation collection. OR, if you fall in love with a brand new dress which is way over budget (speaking on behalf of a friend of course…) how about repurposing your dress after the wedding? Alter the length and dye that bad boy for a gorgeous dress you can wear for years to come.

Car Share. Sharing really is caring. Hook up guests who you know are doing the same/similar routes either by car or taxi for some car pooling.

Some very simple changes really can make a difference, to your emissions but not your day!

Looking for someone to help plan your environmentally friendly day? Get In Touch!

*http://dothegreenthing.com/issue/our-big-fat-ungreen-weddings/

**https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/5CB-Infographic-FINAL-.pdf