5 Tips for an Eco-Friendly Wedding

5 Tips for a (Stylish) Eco-Friendly Wedding

So you’ve got yourself an engagement ring (ethical of course), congratulations! Now the fun begins. Well, now the planning begins. White or champagne? Peonies or lilies? Chicken or fish? (Or vegan? Will dad even eat vegan food?) Classic or boho? Winter or spring? At least you won’t have to compromise your green beliefs – we’ve got you covered with some fun, budget-friendly, eco-friendly wedding tips right here. Read on, earth lover!

Invitations

This is a really simple one – use recycled paper. That’s it! Easy peasy! Try and stay away from bleached paper – chic wedding invites don’t have to be bright white. The byproduct of the bleaching process almost pushes the environmental impact into the same boat as using unrecycled paper. That being said, there are companies that only sell recycled paper invites, or use innovative materials (bamboo, recycled cotton etc.). They know what they’re doing so when in doubt just ask them!

Want to avoid paper and postage all together? Email. Email’s been around for a while now, and it’s absolutely an acceptable form of communication. You might have to make a couple of custom invites for your grandparents (or that weird uncle who lives “off the grid”), but no worries! You can make them even more personal and specifically suited to the recipient. Cute!

If you’re still stuck on wanting to send out paper invites, that’s totally fine. It’s your day! Do what you want! We’ll like you anyway! Check out plantable seed paper invites – once the wedding’s over your loved ones can pop them in the ground and they’ll grow flowers or herbs that will remind them of your (undoubtedly) gorgeous day for a long, long time. 

Go Local

Once you’ve picked your venue and location, have a look around the area for your suppliers. I will almost guarantee that you’ll be able to find a local caterer jumping at the chance to cater your big event. Ask them if they can source the majority (or just a part) of your menu and alcohol locally. Not only is this a great way to support smaller and new businesses, but it will probably be way more fresh and delicious than buying from big suppliers. Include the farm names on your menus for a cute way to let your guests know they’re eating locally sourced food. 

Flowers are also a great one to be sourced locally. You might have to give up on the idea of peonies in Sydney in winter, BUT there’ll be plenty of other options for you to choose from. Being sourced locally means that you’ll reduce your carbon footprint. You could also use potted plants, blooms, or topiary as centerpieces and decorations. You and your guests can then take them home to replant and boom, no wastage. OR donate your flowers to a hospital or nursing home – there are companies like this one that can help you do this and come on, as if that’s not the cutest thing you’ve ever heard of?!

Leaf Confetti 

This one is pretty self-explanatory but can we just say - how bloody amazing is this idea? With all the a*******’s trashing our parks with their gender reveal parties, isn’t it great to see that we’re still coming up with such amazing, out of the box, eco-friendly ideas to celebrate in a conscious way? Anyway, enough venting! Instead of using plastic or paper confetti, use confetti made out of fallen leaves. Simple! You can absolutely DIY this (get your mates, rake, and hole punchers out!), but if you search hard enough you can find companies to do this for you. 

Wedding Favours

Everyone likes a pressie – that is, unless that pressie’s from a wedding. Honestly, who has kept a wedding favour for longer than like 3 months? Who’s even had a bag big enough to take theirs home in? Yes, they can be cute and yes, they can be used for place cards but it’s definitely worth having a longer, considered think about what to provide. The cookies always taste bland, the candles are pointless (and usually not made with very eco-conscious wax), and an awful lot of favours end up being a tad kitschy. (Sorry to everyone whose wedding I’ve ever attended.) 

So if you’re going to spend the money, why don’t you make a charitable donation on behalf of your guests? This can be done in a beautifully presented way, that can double as a place card and can help offset some of the harder to avoid (or inevitable) non-green parts of any wedding. It’s a really feel-good way to introduce a bit of world-wide love into the event. And don’t we all need that feeling in our lives?!

Want to provide something a more tangible? You could do personalised plantable seed packets, mini honey or preserve pots (try to find them locally), tea leaves, a set of Bamboo Raw Straws. If you’re having a larger than life wedding (when that neighbour from when you were 6 has to come – according to your mum), we can personalise our Bamboo Raw Straws on orders over 1000 units. Bundle a few up with some twine or straw with a recycled paper name tag and you can put your names, the all-important wedding hashtag, date - basically whatever you want directly on them. Cute, fun, special!

The Dress

This one’s a tricky… But not impossible. We completely understand that not everyone will have access to ethical bridal wear. One really simple way to do this is to buy a second hand dress – Still White is a great site to check out. There are over 50,000 dresses to choose from. 50,000. In a broad range of sizes, which is a HUGE departure from most second-hand clothing sites and stores who rarely carry fashion-forward clothing in sizes 12+. And they’re cheaper – win, bloody win. 

There are also designers who focus on ethically sourced materials like Mother of Pearl, and  Sydney-based Lost in Paris who source their lace from European vintage markets. Dreamy!!

The Round Up 

It goes without saying that you have to do what’s right for you and your wedding budget. Compromises will need to happen if you go down the eco-conscious route and you’ll (almost) never be able to have a completely ethical, environmentally impact free wedding. So just have fun with it, think outside the box, get as many people to help you as possible (you’ll never be able to be a bridezilla again), do your best, and have a ripper of a day. Oh, and grab a pack of our Wheat Stem Raw Straws for your welcome cocktail! They’re cute af, we promise.