14 Ways to Have a More Sustainable Wedding
Say “I do” with a planet-friendly approach to tying the knot
Illustrations by Anna Rabbit (Witchwood Stories)
By Sophia Sanders
Weddings planning can be stressful, and planning a wedding when you’re concerned about your environmental impact — even more so. Considering our planet in your wedding planning, even just for one specific area, can lower the impact of your special day on the planet. Sometimes these changes are easier than you think!
1. Thrift your dress. Arguably the most important part of your wedding day and a great place to start greening your wedding is with your dress! Buying second hand saves materials and emissions that new dresses create. Additionally, as wedding dresses tend to be worn only once, they are a perfect candidate for an almost new thrift purchase! Stillwhite is an online marketplace specifically for secondhand dresses. Poshmark, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and your local thrift store are also great places to look if you have the patience to search for your dream dress in your size.
2. Reinvent the bridesmaid look. Fast fashion extends to the wedding industry in the form of big companies that cater specifically to wedding attire. Consider picking a color theme (i.e. pastels, jewel tones) and have your bridesmaids wear a dress they own or buy a dress they’d be likely to wear again! If you want a more uniform look, bridesmaids dresses are abundant in secondhand marketplaces.
3. Don’t forget the suits! This sustainability tip is actually already a common wedding practice: suit rentals! Ask your groomsmen (or groomswomen, or whoever is in the market for the suit) to rent if they don’t already own a suit in your color. Keeping your colors general also is useful; a common suit color like charcoal gray may already be in your wedding party member’s closet and is useful beyond the wedding.
4. Don’t fall victim to “it’s tradition.” Some wedding “traditions” are wasteful. Ditch any that don’t speak to you. You don’t need to get photos of you and your bridesmaids in matching robes (pro tip: ask your bridesmaids to wear button-down flannels they already own for the day of the wedding!) You don’t have to buy a garter just to do a garter toss. You don’t have to buy a new pair of shoes just for your wedding day.
5. Make your accessories your “something borrowed.” If you subscribe to the “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” tradition, consider borrowing accessories like jewelry, shoes, hair pieces, etc. from friends or family members. Don’t want to wear your mom’s wedding dress from the 80s? See about borrowing her veil! Borrowing is sustainable, it saves you money, and it brings a really sweet sentiment to your wedding ensemble.
6. Upcycle your decor: Admittedly, upcycling and thrifting your decor will give your wedding a more eclectic look, which isn’t everyone’s thing — I get it! But it is a great way to save money and reduce one-time use items. Upcycle old jars to hold tea lights or flowers, or reuse your mom’s old garden lanterns as centerpieces. Some wedding-specific signage is pretty useful, and Facebook Marketplace is a great place to find wedding-specific decor! Jamie Wolfer on Youtube has a great video about how to thrift for your wedding (tldw: thrift early and often).
7. Don’t buy it, rent it. A lot of people forget the sheer amount of things you can rent for your wedding day: arbors, tables, chairs, plates, glassware, linens, and even centerpieces are all available for rentals in most areas. This is a great option; you don’t have to store these things prior to your wedding, and when your wedding is done — poof! — they’re off to be reused by another couple.
8. Picture-perfect table settings: If rentals aren’t in the cards for you (rentals often require staff to bus tables), there are some other options for your table settings. You can purchase secondhand plates either in sets or individually (for a more shabby-chic vibe) and sell or gift them after the wedding. If you need to do disposable (say, for a backyard wedding), there are some absolutely beautiful bamboo or palm leaf plates and cutlery options. Be sure to provide your guests with a compost bin to ensure these plates actually biodegrade as intended. For drinkware, say no to red SOLO cups! Consider making cups your favors (fun thrifted glasses or custom-printed reusable cups). The more unique, the better; guests are more likely to hold on to their cup if they know it is theirs.
9. Good Eats for the planet: Many wedding caterers have sustainability initiatives (in terms of the food on the menu and how it is packaged and served) so let your caterer know that this is important to you. Another great option, and the route I personally chose, was to hire our favorite local restaurant to cater our wedding. For more casual affairs, a wedding potluck would be a really fun idea!
10. Pick local blooms: There is some debate on the most sustainable options for your wedding day blooms. Some options are: 1) search Facebook Marketplace or Ebay for secondhand fake florals (they exist! Usually in whole sets of bridesmaid bouquets), 2) contact your local florist about in-season flowers, or 3) substitute traditional floral arrangements with potted plants. If you go the real floral route, consider donating them after your big day to a local care facility. If you go the faux flowers route, consider re-selling them or gifting them to another couple for their wedding day!
11. Raise the bar: The ever-important bar. While some waste is pretty much inevitable (liquor does have to come in some sort of container), you can limit it by not providing single-serving drinks (like cans of beer). Instead, consider getting a few kegs. Have guests come to the bar to get their cup refilled with whatever tickles their fancy. Limiting your bar options to a small selection of beer, wine, and cocktails will also cut down on the amount of alcohol waste after the wedding and it is better for your budget.
12. One ring to rule them all. Sustainability has become a new trend in jewelry, much like it is a buzzword in fashion. The downside here is that jewelry companies are willing to tell half-truths to lure you in. Do your research carefully; if the jeweler has a vague sustainability or sourcing statement with no details or evidence to back it up, they probably aren’t actually sustainable. To avoid mining ethics issues, lab created stones (chemically exactly the same as mined stones) are a wonderful alternative. Moissanite is becoming a popular diamond substitute. Etsy has some great options for jewelry created by small businesses. Here are some more sustainable ring companies.
13. Give your wedding items a second life! If you have wedding decor that you know will collect dust in your basement long after the wedding, pass it on. Some decor can be kept around your home as a sweet reminder of your happy day. Things that aren’t sentimental (like the often unheeded sign requesting guests to refrain from taking smartphone photos during the ceremony) will be appreciated by another couple. If you want to clear everything out in one fell swoop, hold a wedding yard sale. A lot of these wedding-specific signs and decor have serious demand in the secondhand market and Facebook Marketplace is always a great way to offload anything in good condition.
14. Make your wedding your own. Your wedding should be a reflection of you and your significant other. Pick what is important to you and start your planning from there. This applies to wedding sustainability as well. You do not have to have the perfect eco-friendly wedding, but every eco-conscious choice you make is appreciated by the planet. As sustainable Youtuber Shelbizzle says, “You cannot do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do.”
July 21, 2022 (from the archive)
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