HOT TOPIC: SUSTAINABILITY

This issue we asked our experts to tell us how to plan a wedding sustainably

Snap Happy

Emily Brown from Emily Brown Photography (www.emilybrown.photography) says: My brand and its ethos are based on my personal passions for sustainability and an overall respect for the natural world. You may not think there’s too much a wedding photographer can do to help you achieve a sustainable wedding, but there’s actually quite a bit. In 2022, I was accepted as a member of the Sustainable Wedding Alliance Here are some of the ways in which I strive to work in an eco-friendly way. It’s about making small changes that mount up to make a big difference.

• We use a green energy supplier, but all energy used is generated from solar panels. To be certain, all charging and electronic use is traced using smart plugs.

• All batteries are rechargeable and any office waste is recycled or repurposed.

• We have invested in an electric vehicle, with the intention of retiring my petrol car entirely.

Reuse And Recycle

Evie West from The Country Blush (www.thecountryblush.co.uk) says: If you’d like to make your wedding as sustainable as possible, I’d start by thinking carefully about the suppliers you choose to use. Make sure you select a venue and other professionals who are striving to be as eco-conscious as you and who are local to where you’re getting married.

When creating your menu, your caterers should use foods that are in season and use local produce wherever they can, to reduce the impact on the environment. When styling your big day, hire as much as you can and choose things with a dual purpose; for example, doubling up favours with place names. Who doesn’t love a little gift personalised with their own name?

Dried flowers are also a great alternative to fresh, and you can repurpose them to use them around your home or gift to your family and friends after the wedding. What you choose to wear can strike another green note, as you can purchase pre-loved gowns and outfits, or hire them. There are some great suppliers who even rent out bridesmaids’ dresses.

• To combat any unavoidable carbon emissions and mileage, I’m partnered with TreeSisters, who plant trees in areas of deforestation. I donate a non-negotiable amount monthly, equating to the planting of 800 trees per year.

• All contracts are sent electronically.

• All newlyweds are given a plantable card, embedded with wildflower seeds, as a thank you for booking and a donation is made to TreeSisters on their behalf following every marriage I photograph.

• I offer a range of sustainable products, enabling my clients to showcase and treasure their memories without harming the environment.

• Wedding albums and prints are crafted using only sustainablysourced/recycled materials, and all USBs have been replaced with handcrafted wooden print boxes made in Cheshire.

• My website is running on green energy and I track the amount of carbon that is produced when visitors click on the site via www.websitecarbon.com

Let Your Love Grow

Kate Mitchell, also known as Celebrant Kate (http://celebrantkate.co.uk) says: Here are my top tips for planning a sustainable wedding day:

•Look for photographers who use water-based ink and are carbon neutral. You can’t tell the difference in the quality of their printed photographs, but the planet feels the benefit.

•Use recyclable or plantable invitations, place settings and menus. Give your guests the opportunity to have a permanent reminder of your wonderful day in some flower seed-infused paper, which will bring them pleasure in the months to come.

•Choose an eco-aware supplier and ask questions. For example, I use ribbons that were once plastic bottles, compostable and plantable paper for scrolls and certificates, and donate two trees in the couples’ names for each wedding I undertake, in a woodland they can visit together.

•Wedding favours are often left behind, so be sensible when making choices. Edible options are always popular, so your favourite sweets with a custom label is a great idea, or go for the traditional five sugared almonds in a reusable bag. Another option is a wooden gift –a wooden pen bearing your wedding date makes a gorgeous treat.

Bring Me A Hire Love

Joanne Scott from The Wedding Dolls (www.theweddingdolls.co.uk) says: There are more ways than you think to make your wedding day as sustainable as possible. Lots of small gestures can make a big impact on the environment. Don’t go out of your way to search charity shops and boot sales for décor items. Travelling around week after week sourcing items that you’ll have no use for after the wedding isn’t helping to keep your carbon footprint down. Instead, hire what you need. There’s a misconception that it’ll cost more, but in the long run buying your own styling items that you can’t reuse or resell just creates waste.

Flowers are crucial to the look of your wedding day; we get that, and aren’t saying you can do without them, but you can make a conscious effort to go as green as possible with your blooms. The best way to do this is to go seasonal and go local. This will dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of flying in out-of-season varieties and it’s more cost effective too. Just ask your florist about their supply chain to make sure the blooms are grown locally, rather than provided by a wholesaler who actually gets them from overseas. Always ask your florist too whether they use floral foam in their designs, as this equates to single-use plastic and won’t break down in landfill.

Guests often prefer to use their cars to get to the venue as it can be out of the way, but this will leave a heavy carbon footprint. Why not encourage loved ones to take public transport to get them close, and arrange a coach to collect them all, take them to the venue, and back again at the end of the night. It will reduce pollution and avoid the need for lots of cars to be collected the following day before your hire period runs out.

A bridesmaid’s dress doesn’t have to be worn just the once. You could give your bride tribe a colour palette and let them pick a gown that’s gorgeous and glamorous, as well as being one they’d happily enjoy wearing again and again. This way, it doesn’t have to sit in the back of the wardrobe for years before being thrown out.

Give Back

Toastmaster, Julie Lucas (www.instagram.com/julietoastmaster) says: Lots of couples I speak to are keen to make greener choices when planning their weddings, and there are so many ways to do it now, from catering to recyclable invitations and decorations all readily available. A few of my favourite ideas include swapping out a wedding favour for a charitable donation, a really nice way to make a difference and avoids buying multiple, single-use items.

Another thing to be mindful of is your venue styling. Consider renting decorative elements rather than buying everything new. Alternatively, if you do buy new items, look at new ways you can donate them afterwards so that they can be enjoyed by others once you’ve finished with them.

Everyone loves the iconic confetti shot after you’ve tied the knot, but as an alternative to paper confetti, why not go with a plant-based approach? Rose petals, lavender, or other fresh herbs will give your photos a stunning array of colours while being biodegradable.

Once you start looking, you’ll be surprised how many little things can make a big difference to the environment when you’re planning your big day.

Lead The Way

Samantha Richards from A Touch of Kent (www.atouchofkent.com) says: With the UK holding close to 280,000 weddings per year the average celebration produces more than 20kg of plastic waste. That’s a lot! In 2023, as a society we’re becoming a lot more conscious of our carbon footprint and how we can reduce it. So, how can you plan your wedding while maintaining sustainability?

•Use your table centrepieces as aisle ends. Whatever you choose to have as centrepieces, double these up and walk down the aisle with them too. Not only does this cut down on wastage but it saves you money too.

•Use seeded paper for wedding invitations. That way, when the day is over, guests can throw their invites into the garden, allowing nature to take its course and growing beautiful wildflowers.

•Use artificial flowers instead of fresh. Faux flowers are now more realistic-looking than ever. If you can’t tell the difference, neither will your guests.

•Signage hire. Find a supplier who can create personalised acrylic signage for hire. That way, you can have exactly what you want for your big day and they’ll clean it and reuse it for the next couple.

Into The Woods

Karina O’Donnell from Simply Ceremonies (https://celebrant-uk.co.uk) says: It’s so important that we all consider how to incorporate sustainability into weddings and there are many ways this can be done within your ceremony too.

You could choose a green venue. Look for a local celebration space, one that uses renewable energy sources, or consider holding the ceremony outdoors in a natural setting. Celebrant-led weddings offer the chance to hold your (non-legal) “I dos” anywhere a landowner will allow, including woodland, fields and gardens.

You could also consider using natural materials such as wood or stone for your ceremony arch, or incorporate potted plants to line the aisle, which could be utilised again as centrepieces at dinner, before being given to guests to take home as beautiful mementos.

Finally, when considering confetti, there are many eco-friendly options to throw, such as dried flower petals, hole-punched leaves, lavender, and beautifully-scented herbs. Alternatively, get your guests to source vintage bells from local charity shops to ring as you exit as newlyweds, and blow bubbles over you instead of releasing balloons or lanterns.