Sustainable Weddings: The Trend That Thankfully Isn’t Going Anywhere

When you think about your wedding day, what do you picture? You and your fiancé looking your best, the smiling faces of your family and friends, all the beautiful details you’ve been dreaming about coming together to create your personal fairytale day…

Sound about right?

We all love to picture that day being everything we dreamed, but the one thing you might not be imagining is the heaps of waste that may be left behind on a one-way trip to your local landfill. According to the Green Bride Guide, the average wedding produces 400 lbs of garbage and 63 tons of CO2. But thankfully, there’s a bright side to focus on here.

The serious issue of wedding waste is being discussed more than ever, making sustainable weddings a growing trend that will hopefully be here to stay.

So, what does it mean to have a sustainable wedding?

Some think it means sacrificing a lot of the personal and fun details you’ve been dreaming about, but the truth is it doesn’t have to. An upside to this growing trend toward sustainability is that eco-friendly options are more readily available to consumers, and there are a ton of resources for inspiration out there. Your wedding can be stylish, fun, and eco-friendly. It just might take a little more thought and effort when planning.

If you want to host an environmentally-friendly wedding, it comes down to being conscious of your choices. Rather than simpling thinking about what looks good, look at the lifecycle of materials as well as the emissions produced, electricity, and resources required for every element of your wedding. For example, balloon arches may be all the rage, but what happens when the day is over? Are they biodegradable? What are they made from? Can you reuse them?

Asking yourself what will happen to each and every item you choose to have at your big day will help you make positive environmental choices that you can feel good about.

Are sustainable weddings more expensive?

Some people think an eco-friendly event comes with a bigger price tag, but the fact is, they can actually be even more affordable because a green wedding focuses on reducing excess waste and reusing items. Yes, there may be some items that come with a higher price such as a sustainable menu, but by working with your caterer to select in-season options, you can reduce the bill and still serve great-tasting food. Going meatless can also help with the costs as well as the environmental impact.

Want to know where to start?

Take a look at this Eco-friendly Wedding Guide that will help you plan your wedding in a sustainable way. From the stationery to the decor, lighting, and flowers—you’ll get ideas for easy ways to make your wedding the greenest it can be!

Looking for eco-friendly wedding stationery & favors that won’t create any waste? Plantable paper from Botanical PaperWorks is made from recycled post-consumer and post-industrial materials embedded with seeds. When you plant the paper in soil, the paper will compost away, and wildflowers will grow and bloom. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate your wedding and give back to the environment.