The Eco Wedding Formula: 6 Insider Hacks for a Greener I DO!
Celebrate your love sustainably! We did the math and found the 6 biggest sources of carbon and waste in weddings. These must-know eco wedding hacks will help you plan a zero waste, sustainable wedding. Let's plan a wedding that reflects your values, from wedding ideas and decor to your wedding dress and food choices.
TL;DR: The Eco Wedding Formula
We’ve cracked the code for a low-waste, eco-friendly wedding that won’t drain your wallet or your energy.
Introducing.....the Eco Wedding Formula
Flights + Food + Flowers = 3Fs
Decor + Dress + Disposables = 3Ds
3Fs + 3Ds = Happily Eco After
Nail these six key elements and you’ve got the best bang (or bloom?) for your buck without compromising the planet or the party.
1. Flights
Your wedding day is all about celebrating your love. Whether it’s a dreamy destination wedding or an intimate mountain elopement with close friends and family. But here’s the secret: location, location, location. It really matters when it comes to cutting down your carbon footprint from flights.
Choose a spot that minimizes travel to reduce emissions. And if a tropical destination wedding is your heart’s desire, no worries! You can balance it out by gifting tree-planting favors to your guests. At Earthical Events, we offer seed paper cards that symbolize one tree planted per guest helping you create a wedding forest and leave a lasting positive impact.
Pro tip: Combine wedding favors and offsets
2. Food (farm to table fresh!)
If 50% of your meals are plant based and you pick a caterer that does farm to table (a.k.a local and seasonal), you are already ahead of the curve! Your wedding is leaving the planet better than it was before.
Also, did you know that food that travels a lot loses nutrients? Sometimes up to 70% before it gets to your plate? Not to mention it loses its taste and it’s harder to know what chemicals or farming practices were used.
Pro tip: Skip beef, and you have already cut your emissions by 30%-40%.
3. Flowers
Say it with me, "local and seasonal." It's simple, flowers that grow locally at your wedding location support the local economy. They will most likely be grown using organic practices and they play a huge role in helping the pollinator population.
Fun Fact: One out of every 3 bites of food you eat is the work of a pollinator.
Also make sure your florist composts the flowers. This starves landfills (yay!) and also makes sure your wedding flowers go back to the local soil system for farming. Once again, making the world a better place just by choosing the right florist.
Big No: Don't DIY with grocery store flowers. They are usually doused in pesticides and other chemicals.
Pro tip: Get a florist that exclusively uses local & seasonal flowers. We have a lot of them available at Earthical Events - Florists
4. Decor
Everything from easels for signage, table cloths, napkins, guest seating charts as well as big items, like farm tables and chairs, are all usually available at a sustainably focused venue. This is a key area where you can save a lot of money and help the planet just by choosing the right venues and planners.
You can avoid hundreds of pounds of waste just by making the right venue and planner choice.
Pro Tip: Planners and Venues that offer decor cut waste and help your budget
5. Dress
The most exciting part that happens before the wedding! It's also a great statement piece that can reflect your values. Simple mantra, if you get a pre-loved dress you have avoided about 10,000 litres of water. Want to fact-check that? WRAP UK’s research breaks it down.
Pro Tip : Think how much water usage you can reduce by getting bridesmaid dresses from Rent the Runway
6. Disposables
Disposable cups, plates, forks, spoons are the biggest source of landfill. Even if you use bamboo ware or compostables, very few composting facilities can handle them. Did you know that you can rent glassware and plates at 50 cents a piece? Yup! It's quite cheap and it also classes up your wedding.
If you are all about doing-it-yourself (DIY), you can also thrift for these items. However, be mindful the hours could easily add up and finding the perfect theme/match could be exhausting. We recommend facebook marketplace instead.
But seriously, just look at Earthical Events rental and decor vendors! We have quite a few options here that won't break the bank.
Pro Tip: Venues, caterers and planners know easy rental solutions. Just ask!
In Short
Your wedding can be a moment of joy and a ripple of good for the planet. With these 6 smart choices, you can make the greatest positive impact.
Remember The Eco Wedding Formula
Flights + Food + Flowers = 3Fs
Decor + Dress + Disposables = 3Ds
3Fs + 3Ds = Happily Eco After
Earthical Events - Celebrations made beautiful, easy, and sustainable.
