Are these simple eco-friendly wedding tips on your radar?
Planning an eco-friendly wedding doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Discover four simple - yet often overlooked - ways to reduce your environmental impact without compromising your style.
Sandra Henri, founder of eco-ethical wedding hub, Mindfully Wed (formerly Less Stuff More Meaning), shares four high-impact ways to minimise the carbon footprint of your big day.
Image by Nina Hamilton Photography
Minimise air travel
“Whilst developing our Wedding Footprint Calculator with Edge Environment, we found that air travel has the most significant impact on a wedding’s carbon footprint,” says Sandra. “During COVID restrictions, when we were limited to local weddings with small guest lists, the footprint of an average wedding was reduced by 93%. Staying local and choosing local suppliers is the easiest way to reduce the impact of your wedding.”
Image by Sandra Henri Photography
Keep your wedding small
Micro weddings are on the rise. According to Sandra, “the number of guests at your wedding is the second most important factor when it comes to carbon footprint. Fewer guests mean less consumption, less travel, and less food waste, all of which contribute to the event’s environmental impact. As an added bonus, it’s great for your budget and far less stressful to organise.”
Image by Sandra Henri Photography
Choose a mainly plant-based menu
“By switching from a meat-based menu to a plant-based menu, our research found that you can reduce your catering emissions by 47%. That’s the equivalent of planting one tree every five guests,” Sandra says.
Image by The Sustainable Food Co
Say no to imported flowers
“It’s not commonly known that most of our flowers are imported from overseas, with questionable labour conditions and huge travel miles, as well as being heavily chemically treated,” Sandra says. “Ask your florist for locally grown flowers. An eco-florist will have connections with local suppliers and growers, so let the seasons be your guide for the most eco-friendly wedding bouquets.”
Image by Sandra Henri Photography
“Weddings and sustainability might seem like an odd couple, but we’re here to challenge that,” says Sandra. “The decisions you make about where to spend your wedding budget can make a real difference.”
Sandra’s research with Edge Environment shows that taking an eco-ethical approach can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of your big day. For an average wedding, choosing a local venue, a second-hand dress and jewellery, and a plant-based menu can result in a carbon saving equivalent to 380 trees.
Want to organise an eco-ethical wedding?
Check out Mindfully Wed's Wedding Footprint Calculator, a tool that combines industry knowledge with scientific data to help you plan your big day with care for the planet.
Image by Nina Hamilton Photography
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