How to Plan a Sustainable Wedding

As much as we love a big celebration, the impact of weddings on the environment is huge.

Research suggests that the average wedding produces the same amount of CO2 emissions as 5 people would in an entire year. The reason this is so high is because the average wedding brings together a large number of people, usually from different areas of the country.

With a little planning and thought, however, couples can improve the carbon footprint of their wedding. From the travel required to gather everyone in one place to the food waste produced by the meal, there are many things to consider when it comes to planning a sustainable wedding.

To help you, The Lawrence team have come up with a list of ways to reduce the environmental impact of your wedding. A completely sustainable wedding is extremely difficult to achieve but even choosing one or two ethical and eco-friendly choices from the list below can make a big difference.

What is a sustainable wedding

A sustainable wedding, or an eco-friendly wedding, is a celebration designed to minimise the environmental impact of the event. This involves making thoughtful choices that reflect a dedication to sustainability including eco-friendly wedding invitations, local and seasonal wedding flowers, local wedding suppliers and reducing travel emissions. The goal is to reduce wate, conserve resources and support sustainable practices, ensuring that your special day celebrates not only your love but your commitment to a greener planet.

Ideas for a sustainable wedding

1.       Ask plenty of questions when viewing wedding venues

Choosing a wedding venue that aligns with your eco-conscious values will significantly reduce your wedding’s environmental impact. Always make sure to visit a potential wedding spot before making any decisions and ask them if they’ve hosted a sustainable wedding in the past. Be sure to find out if any special measures need to be taken to accommodate this.

2.       Choose local and seasonal wedding flowers

Opting for flowers that are in season and grown locally can be a way to significantly reduce your wedding’s carbon footprint. Flowers for weddings are often imported to the UK, thereby emitting a lot of emissions. Not only is choosing local and seasonal wedding flowers better for the planet, but local blooms are often fresher and more affordable that imported flowers.

For more information on this, you can read our guide on the best wedding flowers for each season.

3.       Hire wedding décor

One of the easiest ways to make your wedding as green as possible is to hire your wedding décor, meaning less waste. Not only is wedding decoration rental more environmentally friendly than buying your own decorative items that are thrown away, discarded or sold afterwards, but it is also cheaper, provides a stress-free service and relieves you of the headache of sourcing your own decorations.

4.       Send sustainable invitations

Sustainable wedding invitations are a simple but effective way to significantly reduce your event’s carbon footprint. Digital wedding invitations or the use of a wedding website minimise paper use, as well as offering easy RSVP tracking.

If you prefer to send out physical wedding invitations, there are tons of beautiful, high-quality eco-friendly materials available for your wedding invitations in the market such as recycled options, plantable seed paper or bamboo paper. What’s more, you could consider hand-delivering as many wedding invitations as possible when you see guests to save the carbon miles on postage.

5.       Reduce food waste

Reducing food waste at your wedding is both eco-friendly and budget smart. While buffet-style catering can lead to excess food, sit down meals allow for precise portioning and tasty menus, minimising leftovers. Additionally, couples can embrace locally sourced, seasonal food or vegetarian or vegan food to reduce your wedding’s carbon footprint.

6.       Choose environmentally friendly confetti

Throwing confetti is a common wedding tradition, but have you ever considered where it ends up after the celebrations are over? Confetti is one of the worst sustainability offenders at weddings because it is typically made from materials that won’t degrade naturally.

Dried petals are a great wedding confetti alternative to non-biodegradable options. These not only retain the aesthetic appeal of regular confetti but also break down naturally in the environment without leaving a lasting mark.

7.       Reduce travel emissions

Choosing a wedding venue near to where you live over a destination wedding will naturally have a smaller impact on the amount of CO2 emitted as a result. What’s more, hosting both your wedding ceremony and wedding reception in the same place, like at a hotel wedding venue, means there’s no need for guests to travel from one place to another which will lower the level of travel emissions.

8.       Wear sustainable clothing

Consider wearing a pre-loved wedding dress or wedding suit, renting wedding attire or buying from designers who use ethical practices and sustainable materials. Thankfully, it’s easier than it’s ever been to find a wedding dress or a wedding suit that has been manufactured from sustainable materials. Renting your dress or suits for weddings is also a viable option and there are plenty of bridal rental services out there.

9.       Plan an eco-friendly honeymoon

When it comes to planning your honeymoon, remember that flying will increase your carbon footprint. Choose a destination or accommodation that values conservation or, even better, keep it local to reduce travel emissions. Additionally, many couples choose to ask for a contribution towards their honeymoon which avoids the waste of any unwanted wedding gifts.

10.   Use local suppliers

Rather than asking someone to travel the breadth of the country, look for wedding suppliers in the area local to your venue. Working with nearby wedding florists, wedding photographers, wedding makeup artists and more cuts down on transportation emissions and supports the local community. It sounds simple, but it’ll make a massive difference to your wedding’s overall carbon footprint.

Weddings at The Lawrence

We’ve taken an in-depth look at what you can do to make the planning and execution of your wedding day as sustainable as possible. At The Lawrence, we cater for many types of unique weddings to suit different styles, budgets and needs. Our intimate wedding venue in Lancashire is the perfect destination for an eco-friendly wedding and we welcome all your creative ideas. We’re happy to discuss ways you can reduce the environmental impact of your wedding at our venue and our friendly team are on hand to help you every step of the way. Ready to book?

Get in touch with the team to discuss our wedding packages in more detail.

Discover Weddings at The Lawrence