Four ways to make your wedding more sustainable

Words: James Hodge; Image: Pexels

Weddings. A time to celebrate a couple’s love for one another that will hopefully last a lifetime. However, the most important day of many people’s lives is just twenty-four brief hours – and often, we don’t think about the long-term impact that our single celebration has on the world around us.

Your special day has potential to leave a permanent footprint on the planet. With just a few tweaks and changes to your day, you can do your bit and help sustain the environment alongside your everlasting partnership.

Here are a few tips to make your wedding more sustainable.

Give Back To Mother Nature

Flowers are a fundamental part of any wedding – the corsage, the bouquet and the décor all adding beauty and romance to your celebration. There isn’t a more iconic symbol than the humble rose to demonstrate a person’s love for another.

Why not incorporate the natural world into your wedding? In many cultures, it’s an ancient tradition to plant a tree as part of your ceremony, representing the symbolic joining of the couple. Now a popular trend, planting a tree will help clean the air, improve soil and support wildlife.

On a smaller scale, you could share this gesture by gifting your guests a packet of seeds. Cancer Research UK’s forget-me-not flower seeds are a lovely takeaway that guests can plan in their garden and memorialise your day. 

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

We love that weddings are an opportunity to get everybody together for a party – far-flung friends and family uniting together to eat, drink, be merry and celebrate the happy couple.

Bigger weddings have become synonymous with better weddings, but a smaller, more intimate celebration can be equally special. Do you really need every neighbour, co-worker and second cousin present in-person on the big day, or are there ways you can cut numbers?

Instead, provide a set-up for virtual attendees. Rather than encouraging travel via plane, set up a camera and allow them to watch the ceremony from afar, reducing your wedding’s carbon footprint and saving them money better spent on your wedding gift!

Biodegradable confetti

One cherished wedding tradition is the throwing of confetti over the bride and groom. Who hasn’t imagined the moment they have walked down the aisle arm-in-arm with their dream partner under the fall of glitter and colored paper?

However, often, confetti isn’t environmentally friendly and many venues discourage its use due to the mess that it makes. One popular alternative is guests blowing bubbles.

If tradition is important to you, Cancer Research UK’s dried wildflower petal confetti is an eco-friendly option. Not only is this confetti biodegradable and dye-free, it’s hand-grown and hand-packed in the UK, making it responsibly sourced, making a more natural and colorful confetti to sprinkle on the happy couple. 

Sustainable Wedding Favours And Gifts

Gift-giving is key to having a memorable day – whether from bridal party to guests, or from guests to the bridal party. Wedding favours make for a lovely token to guests, themed and chosen especially to reflect the marital pair. Whilst we all love a bit of glitz and glamour, many favours are less sustainable. However, Cancer Research UK’s wooden heart wedding favour are not only a sustainable reminder, but are stylish and emotive.

When it comes to the wedded pair, it may also be worth asking if you really need wedding gifts. A donation to a charity of your choice – for example, Cancer Research UK – is not only better for the environment, but will help save lives and make the world a better place for everyone.