SUSTAINABLE CHOICES

regularly ask their couples for feedback on their services and always seek to learn more about inclusivity. “We regularly engage with organisations to learn how to understand different communities better and offer them a service that supports them and their families and friends,” says Dan. Last year, in their drive towards inclusivity, they worked on a project for non-binary wedding couture, offering non-binary people images that better represented who they are and how they want their image to be portrayed.

It’s that commitment to always capturing the images their couples want that make Fern a winning choice for your wedding.

1. Travel and accommodation

Weddings bring people from all over the place so reducing the number of journeys they need to make by holding the wedding in one location can really help. Provide a bus for transport rather than have guests arrive in lots of cars and think about the impact of guests staying overnight. Can your venue host guests or is there accommodation nearby?

2. Styling on the day

Using a planner or styling company means you are likely to reuse styling elements, rather than buying new and throwing away. If you do buy items, consider selling or donating to future weddings.

3. Wedding favours

Consider donations to environmental or sustainable projects as an alternative to gifts.

4. Flowers

Ask your florist what options have a low environmental impact. How far do the flowers travel? Are there local or native options?

5. The venue

Does it have an environmental policy or a sustainable approach within the business? We’ve visited places that generate heat through ground source pumps or solar panels and others compost waste to use on their gardens. If you are planning an outdoors wedding what impact will you have on the place? Can you return it to how it was before you arrived?

6. Food

Choose a catering company that has an ethical approach to sustainable food. Are their ingredients locally sourced?