Your wedding day is probably the most important day of your life. You want it to be stunning and amazing, and you should. But it would help if you also remembered that weddings generate a lot of waste and increase the environmental concerns of our planet. For instance, a wedding can produce 20 kgs of plastic waste. So, a wise move would be to consider making your wedding more planet-friendly. Here's a short guide to sustainable, zero waste, and ethical weddings.
1.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
You can reduce the carbon footprint by
creating a selective guest list and inviting fewer people to your wedding. When
fewer people travel for your wedding, the carbon footprint would be smaller. Find
a slot in hotter months to ensure that the natural heat provided by the season
keeps you and your guests comfortable without the need for many air
conditioning devices.
Organize group transport whenever possible
to reduce the number of cars on the road and their emissions. You can also use
traditional modes of transportation like carriages or even horses.
2.
Choose the Right Flowers
To have a sustainable, zero waste, and
ethical wedding, you need to buy organic and low-impact flowers to decorate
your wedding. You can choose to buy local and seasonal flowers that are easy to
procure and don't need to travel much distance to reach you. You can also buy
flowers that were grown without harmful pesticides.
3.
Pick the Wedding Attire
Wisely
When you want a sustainable, zero waste,
and ethical wedding, you must pick from dresses made with eco-friendly
materials like satins, hemp-based silks,
and organic cotton knitted lace. You can also choose to rent your attire if you
don't want to wear the dress later in life. You can also ask your guests to
wear eco-friendly clothes as well.
4.
Find the Right Ring
A ring is one of the most important
components of most weddings. If it's for you, you should buy a ring from a
jeweler who follows ethical practices like ethically sourcing diamonds for the
jewelry. You can also speak to them and ask where their precious metals come
from. When seeking a diamond from a conflict-free zone, you can avoid producers
like Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Angola, DR Congo, and Liberia.
5.
Stick to Sustainable
Gifts
To make your wedding more sustainable, zero
waste, and ethical, you can ask your guests to offer you only earth-friendly
gifts like solar panel chargers, electric lights, or bamboo toothbrushes. It is
also smart to ask your guests to give only fairtrade products as gifts. Asking
guests to choose from small and local gifts is also good as it means far less
fuel will be burned to get the presents to you.
6.
Go for Eco-Friendly
Wedding Venues
Select an outdoor wedding venue to make the
most of natural light and reduce the need for artificial light. You can also
pick green hotels for your guests. Also, pick a centralized location for all
wedding celebrations so that the guests don't need to travel much to reach the
venue.
Sources:
https://alanviau.com/2021/10/03/the-guide-to-sustainable-zero-waste-ethical-weddings-part-2-planning/
https://thursd.com/articles/the-guide-to-sustainable-zero-waste-ethical-weddings
https://www.77diamonds.com/sustainable-weddings