Ways to make your wedding sustainable
Let me start by saying that in no way do I consider myself an expert on sustainability. However, I have two Geography degrees and I’m an ex-Geography teacher and so have had quite the education on sustainability. Part of the reason I call myself a nature-inspired wedding planner is because I believe sustainability is so important and that we should work with nature and the seasons when it comes to wedding design to create unforgettable weddings that don’t leave a lasting impact on our planet. Below I have outlined a few ways to ensure your wedding is as sustainable as possible, and I’m sure there will be plenty more I haven’t included!
Flowers
When it comes to sustainability, flowers are often viewed as a ‘necessary evil’ at weddings, with couples that care deeply about sustainability worried about the waste involved. However, there are many ways to ensure that your wedding flowers look incredible, yet are still as sustainable as possible.
Local, seasonal blooms
This is a fairly straightforward one. Most florists nowadays will only work with seasonal blooms. This is to avoid having to transport flowers in from overseas locations. For example, one of my favourite flowers are peonies and I always dreamt of having a peony-filled wedding. But I got married in July and peony season is roughly from April to June, so I knew they couldn’t feature at my wedding. Unfortunately, with climate change bringing new weather patterns to the UK, there will be times when florists will have to source some of their flowers from places like the Netherlands to ensure you have abundant florals (especially after the flooding of 2024 that decimated many UK flower farms!). But where possible, find a florist that will use British-grown blooms.
Foam-free displays
Floral foam is quickly becoming less and less popular in the floristry world and there are many florists working to create foam-free installations at their weddings. Flower frogs, test tubes, moss, and more, are all becoming much more popular and sustainable alternatives. Jenny from Tillow&Co is a great example of a wedding florist working hard to use alternative methods to floral foam - she has really innovative techniques and bespoke structures to ensure her installations are impactful, but sustainable.
Flower donation
A really lovely (although, somewhat unknown) way to make sustainable use of your flowers after your wedding is to donate them to a local hospital, hospice or care home. Make sure to get in touch with your preferred hospital, hospice or care home ahead of your wedding to check they have the capacity to receive the flowers. You could always divide them between a few locations!
Seasonal flowers and foam-free creations help to ensure your wedding flowers are sustainable.
Photo: Ditty Lens Photography
Décor
When it comes to your décor and styling, there is one key way to make sure it is sustainable: HIRE your items from a local supplier (as local as possible). I see far too often brides on social media doing their ‘Shein haul’ with all the things they’ve bought for their wedding. I could go on and on about why you should never buy from companies like Shein anyway, but in terms of weddings it really will be a waste of money, will likely be made of plastic, and will lead to high rates of pollution in the manufacturing and transportation of the items (not to mention the human rights infringements…). There are so many incredible décor and furniture hire companies all over the country - you really do not need to buy anything for your wedding. And stick to local suppliers to reduce the impacts from delivery and collection of the items.
Catering
I’m not going to suggest that everyone needs to have purely vegetarian or vegan weddings, because that isn’t realistic. However, there are ways to ensure the food at your wedding is as sustainable as possible. Lots of incredible independent caterers and venues will now only get their food supplies from local producers. Farm-to-table is slowly spreading across the wedding industry and you will be able to find caterers that work under that ethos. This is a great way of promoting sustainability at your wedding - and in your every day lives!
Seed paper is a lovely way to ensure your wedding stationery can continue to be enjoyed long after your wedding day. Photo: Amy Elizabeth Photo
Stationery
It is becoming increasingly common for people to have electronic save- the-dates and/or invitations. Yes, this reduces waste. However, for a lot of couples, having something tangible is an important element of their wedding and acts as a lasting keepsake. An electronic save-the-date is fine, but it is always nice to receive a postal invitation. This doesn’t need to have an RSVP card if you are worried about waste, a wedding website will suffice. However, there are ways to ensure your wedding stationery is sustainable through the paper used. There are lots of amazing small stationery companies that create recycled paper for weddings, or plantable paper. Plantable paper is a really lovely way of ensuring your invitations and on-the-day stationery leaves a positive lasting impact. Filled with wildflower seeds, guests can literally plant their invitation in their garden after your wedding and watch the flowers grow. And it’s great for the bees, too!
If sustainability is an important element of your wedding then I’d love to hear from you and see how, together, we can make your dream wedding unforgettable, without leaving a lasting impact on our environment.
