With the ongoing pandemic continuing to be a global priority, David Attenborough is currently reminding us of what our world could look like if we don’t take action.
We know that your wedding will be one of the greatest days of your lives but weddings can also generate a lot of waste. We’ve popped together 10 easy eco-friendly ideas that you can incorporate into your day that will help the environment and award you with Mother Nature brownie points!
David Attenborough: “Live the way you want to live but just don’t waste.”
Make your own confetti
Natural petal confetti is biodegradable and completely eco-friendly. Making your own confetti is cheap, the resources are in your garden and, best of all, it’s free!
Method:
Grab yourself a baking tray and cover with grease-proof baking paper. Spread the petals out on it so they are not touching each other. Then put in the bottom, warming oven to dry. Length of time for this will depend on how hot your oven is and the petals you have chosen. (Approx 15 minutes or so.) Dehydrating petals – if you have a dehydrator, you can dehydrate your petals that way. Follow your dehydrator’s instructions and keep checking to make sure they are not getting too dry!
Microwave drying petals – a microwave can also be used to dry the petals. Just keep an eye on them!
Air-drying – Put some tissue or kitchen roll on top of a baking tray and spread out your petals. Then put them somewhere warm to dry out like your warm airing cupboard.
Sustainable wedding cake
Source organic & local ingredients if you can, and it’s also a good idea to source reusable décor like log stands rather than using ribbons or plastic cake toppers. Our top tip is to make everything edible and share it with your guests the following day if you don’t manage to finish it all on the day.
Eco friendly menu
Food is a great passion of ours! We have a hugely talented Michelin-trained head chef, David Cox, who has developed exquisite and exciting seasonal menus using the very best local seasonal ingredients including a vegan menu!
A vegan or vegetarian menu would reduce the environmental impact of the wedding meal, even if it was just for one course!
Did you know..
Not only is our food locally sourced but our Iscoyd gin is made at a local distillery just down the road!
Three Wrens Cheshire Distillery is set in beautiful Cheshire countryside, surrounded by over 50 edible plant varieties, including; roots, shrubs and flowers. All are handpicked and used in their delicious gins.
For our Iscoyd gin, we actually hand-picked petals from our own gardens! (Much to Archie, our gardeners delight! 🤣)
Be mindful of your stationary
Many sustainably-minded couples choose to send their wedding invitations out digitally, but if you’re like us and still love receiving an invitation the good old fashioned way why not speak to you stationer about the options of printing on recycled paper.
Wedding favours
Charity wedding favours are a wonderful way to show your support and donate to a environmental charity that may be close to your hear all the while giving your guests a meaningful keepsake from your special day.
Wildflower favours not only donate to some fantastic Charities such as Action against Hunger, Elephant Family charity and the retreat animal rescue but it gives your guests something unique and personalised to take home with them while being able to give back to the environment!
Or why not turn your table plan into favours just like how Carla & Sam did for their day…
Centre Pieces
Why not opt for potted plants or dried flowers rather than fresh. You could incorporate these as favours too and ask guests to take them home! Everyone loves a plant!
Transport
Cut fumes and arrange a bus or a shuttle for your wedding guests! Rent a vintage double decker and make it an experience to remember for all your guests.
Venue Décor
Hire don’t buy! There are plenty of companies now that have a range of items to hire which will save you having to throw anything out post wedding.
Hire your wedding dress
We would all love to own our wedding dress but they can be quite pricey and they do take an enormous amount of space in any wardrobe!
A hired wedding dress means more to spend on those shoes that you’d probably get more use out of!
Plan an ethical honeymoon
Your honeymoon is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so we’re not going to tell you to spend it camping 5 miles from your home (although, we love the idea of that too!)
Just be mindful and do a little bit of research before you settle on a location and try to support locally-owned hotels, stores and attractions when you get there.
We hope you’ve found these tips useful!
We’d love to know how you plan to be greener for your wedding day!