A Sustainable Wedding Guide

Tips for planning a sustainable and ethical wedding
 
1.      Consider your wedding venue. The outdoors are great! Making use of natural light will help reduce your impact on the environment. Cherry Glamping situated in the Elgin Valley, surrounded by nature, has a range of outdoor options to choose from .
2.      Eco-friendly materials. Are you having your dress or suit made? Choosing for it to be made from sustainable materials will be a step in the right direction. Consider renting your attire too!
3.      Low-impact & organic flowers. Buying local, organic and seasonal flowers as well as finding a sustainable florist will make the eco-friendly decorating easy for you.
4.      Sourcing locally. Not only does sourcing locally minimise your carbon footprint through transport, it also helps the communities you are sourcing from.
5.      Organic food and catering. Find a catering company who uses sustainable products such as reusable, recyclable and biodegradable cutlery. Ask them about their food wastage policy, food that isn’t consumed could be turned into compost etc. You could also request for the ingredients to be organic where possible.
6.      Conscious consumer wedding registry. If you have a wedding registry try make it as sustainable as possible, this can include earth-friendly gifts, fair-trade products, small and local gifts.
7.      Eco- friendly décor. Make the most out of daylight for lighting, send electronic invites to reduce your paper wastage and make use of biodegradable confetti. If you’re getting a supplier for décor, research them and ask if they have an environmentally friendly vision.
8.      Ethical conflict-free rings. Research jewellers, ensuring their materials are being sourced ethically.

What to try avoid on your wedding day to make it more eco-friendly

Balloons and confetti that isn’t biodegradable often ends up being consumed by animals, avoid using this and rather use natural confetti like petals. Transporting exotic flowers increases CO2 emissions, avoid this impact by using local flowers. Decorations that aren’t made from sustainable materials, recycled materials or that aren’t second hand pollute the environment, limit these materials or even better utilise sustainable materials.

Tips to reduce your carbon footprint 

1.      Go vintage / second hand where possible. Reusing décor, tableware and material will prevent you from buying things that will go to waste after the wedding.
2.      DIY where possible. The magic of this is you can do it yourself with materials you already have and it will also give unique elements to your wedding.
3.      Have a recycle plan for after your wedding. Set up recycle bins and arrange a plan for any leftovers.
4.      Consider the time of year. Warm seasons provide natural heat, having your wedding in a warm season could reduce your wedding's carbon footprint as you won’t have to rely on using heaters.
5.      Provide group transport. The less vehicles there are on the road the more you can reduce your wedding's carbon footprint.
6.      Have your guests stayover as close to the venue as possible. Less travelling reduces your carbon footprint. Cherry Glamping has glamping accommodation available if you wish to have your special day with us!

A useful reference/ recommended reading on this topic:
https://www.77diamonds.com/sustainable-weddings

All photographs taken by the talented Cheryl McEwan Photography at Cherry Glamping.