How You Can Plan the Perfect Eco-Friendly Wedding

Weddings, in general, leave a huge carbon footprint due to the fuel used to transport guests, energy used to create the food, waste left behind afterwards, etc. However, more and more people have become motivated to improve our planet, which has influenced many people, businesses and entire industries to incorporate more environmentally friendly products and services into their daily operations. This eco-friendly movement has even trickled down to weddings with many couples choosing to go a more “green” route for their special day.  If you, too, want to decrease your wedding’s carbon footprint, here’s how you can plan the perfect eco-friendly wedding. 

Invitations 

Sending out hundreds of paper invitations is not conducive to saving the environment, so instead of paper use either recycled paper, hemp or forego environmental wastes altogether with email invitations. Don’t worry about what your guests will think; the environment is more important than a few etiquette elitists and most of your guests will likely be appreciative of your earth friendly gesture. 

Location and Transportation

Having your wedding outside is the perfect way to show your support for the environment, but make sure you don’t leave behind any trash or harmful materials that would be counterproductive to your green efforts. If you don’t want to have an outdoor wedding but still want a green wedding, there are venues available that make a huge effort to save water, energy, reduce waste and offer organic meal options. Search around for the perfect venue and make sure to ask about their sustainability efforts. As for transportation, which has the most environmental impact, you should try to limit long distance travel, encourages walking by having the wedding in the same location as the reception and the hotel. 

The Catering

The food is one of the most important parts of the celebration, so making sure your menu tastes good, in addition to being eco-friendly, is crucial to the overall success of your wedding. If you are concerned about the cost of going completely organic, then search locally to save on the cost of shipping, storing, etc. Plus, you will be helping out the local community in the process. Find a caterer that specializes in organic meals, recycles used materials, and utilizes china instead of paper plates. You should also ask if your caterer can help you donate the leftovers to food shelters or other organizations so you can reduce waste and help others simultaneously.  

Decoration and flowers

Candles and bamboo are perfect decorative items that will make your wedding look sleek and romantic while sticking to the green theme. When searching for flowers, consider potted arrangements as an alternative to cut flowers- they can decrease waste and double up as a wedding favor. For the bouquet, try to find organically grown flowers and order from a local business so you save fuel on transportation. Although it may take a little extra effort, all of your hard work will ensure the most beautiful, eco-friendly wedding that will inspire others to do their part to help the environment. 

This article was written exclusively for Red Bow Weddings by LowCountry Barbecue, proud to be a leading Atlanta wedding caterer, serving happy couples on their big day for more 25 years. LowCountry Barbecue specializes in events, big or small, across the country; no location is too far and no party is too much.

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