If you’re a bride or groom-to-be who is mindful of your carbon footprint in your day to day life, your wedding is yet another occasion to get your green on. There are many eco-friendly options that allow you to have the wedding of your dreams without sacrificing your vision. Check out these tips to ensure you’re covering your bases while planning your own wedding!
Think About The Ring
Before anyone even proposes, consider the different factors that make a ring eco-friendly. Due to the fact that many rings are made from metals that are mined from the Earth, you may need to do some research to find jewelers whose practices you feel most comfortable with. One great alternative to consider would be buying a ring that has been made from recycled metal or repurposed gems. Perhaps, you could create a very sentimental engagement ring from a piece of jewelry that already meant a lot to your partner-to-be. Another option you can think about is asking your family if there are any family heirlooms that are ready to be passed on to another generation of your soon-to-be-family.
Your Engagement Wardrobe
Between your engagement photos, showers, and other celebrations, there will be many instances in which you might feel like you need to supplement your current wardrobe. However, buying brand new clothing for each occasion can take quite a toll on your carbon footprint. Formal clothing also tends to be a heavy hitter in the “single-use” category. This can be problematic because wearing the clothes you have and wearing them for longer periods before disposing of them is one of the best ways we can reduce our fashion footprint. A great way to think green is by shopping secondhand when you need to get an event-specific outfit. Save yourself some time rummaging through a thrift shop and try looking for styles and brands you love on an online consignment retailer such as thredUP, to give the gift of life to your new outfit.
Connecting With Your Guests
Whether you’re announcing your engagement, inviting people to the wedding or trying to communicate important information about the big day, there are many opportunities to use environmentally friendly alternatives in the process. Between emails, social media platforms, and wedding websites, modern couples are streamlining their wedding invitations and details online. Doing this digitally not only prevents waste but also makes guest lists and RSVP’s a lot easier to manage.
If you and your partner are a bit more traditional and still want to send out invitations, be sure you search for companies that are at least utilizing recycled paper. Consider a company that is questioning the status-quo and is using eco inks and green electricity while making their wedding invitations. By shopping from an eco-friendly stationery enterprise like Words with Heart, not only are you helping support an earth-conscious company but you’re also supporting their mission to raise funds that go to education programs for women and girls.
When You Wed
Another important factor to consider in your eco-friendly wedding planning is when you’re getting married. The time of year you plan your wedding will have implications on what meals you can serve at the reception dinner. In order to be able to source your meal locally, you will want to serve foods that are in season. This cuts down on the distance the food is traveling and therefore reduces the meal’s own carbon footprint. If you have your heart set on certain flowers being in the bouquets or as decor, you will want to be sure you are getting married at a time when they are in bloom in your area. Florists often have to ship flowers from other countries when specific flowers are out of season, so keeping this factor in mind may help to reduce your carbon footprint by a significant amount.
