As populations rise and industrialization booms, the world is searching for a way to give back to the earth and work toward a more sustainable future. Included in this search are the brides of today and recent years who are looking to include more eco-friendly choices in their weddings. Sustainability in the wedding industry can look like the three pillars that we all know – reduce, reuse, recycle – but it can also look like building up the community by supporting local small businesses, giving back through donations and reselling, and preserving the earth by leaving nothing but love behind. Planning a wedding with sustainability in mind is not only easy, it’s budget friendly. Keep reading for 8 easy tips to bring more sustainability to your upcoming wedding.

Don’t Invite Waste with Your Invitations

Invitation suites are gorgeous with their filigree and floral borders, but between the personal note, the RSVPcard, reception details, venue directions, accommodation information, decorative sleeve, and the invitation itself, there is a lot of paper involved. Once the invitation is hung on the guest’s fridge and the RSVP is sent, most of that pretty paper will inevitably end up in the trash. Not only is this wasteful, but it also leaves the important day-of information susceptible to forgetfulness. You can solve both these problems by limiting your mailed invitations to just the necessary pieces and including a web address or QR code to a wedding website (like The Knot or Zola) where they can find any additional information. If you want, take it a step further by printing your invitations on recycled or seeded paper, or cut out the paper invite entirely and go fully digital.

Choose a Location that Works for You

You’ve probably heard before, “location, location, location.” This is especially important when planning with sustainability in mind. While destination weddings are beautiful, keeping your wedding close to home not only saves you money, but also reduces the impact of carbon emissions from air and car travel. Opting for an outdoor or naturally beautiful venue can also work in your favor, helping you achieve that perfect wedding day aesthetic without the need for extensive floral arrangements and decor. 

Shop In-Season Florals

Shopping locally for in-season florals is not only a great way to support a local small business, it also saves you money. Out-of-season florals must be imported from greenhouses and warmer climates, using hundreds of gallons of fuel and adding a heavy load to the carbon footprint. In-season florals can be sourced from local farms and nurseries, saving your florist on shipping costs and you on your invoice. As an added bonus, local, in-season florals are also fresher, meaning they will last longer once they’re in your hands. After the ceremony and reception are over, consider giving back to your community by donating the florals to residents of a local hospital or nursing home. Alternatively, consider decorating with live potted flowers and plants that can be planted once the festivities are over.

Don’t Let Food Go to Waste

The after-ceremony meal is easily one of the most expensive elements of a wedding, so you want to make sure none of the food, or your money, is going to waste. Plated dinners may be more expensive than a buffet, but they help significantly reduce food waste by giving a more accurate count for how much food is actually needed. However, whether you are serving a plated meal or buffet, you can help eliminate excess food waste by either donating any uneaten plates or sending extra food home with your family, wedding party, or vendors. 

Rent, Don’t Shop

Rentals are sustainable by nature as they offer quality and luxury items to be used at a fraction of the purchasing cost, and they are available to be used and reused multiple times. Renting all your china, glasses, and flatware eliminates the need for single-use paper and plastic products that end up in landfills. Renting linens and decor lets you have that luxury look without having to purchase multiple items that you use only once and then have to wash and store – or throw out. 

Reuse and Resell Decor

Sometimes the exact items you are looking for your wedding are not available for rent. In this case, see what you can find secondhand before hitting the stores. Check out the local thrift shops or antique stores, take advantage of wedding resale events. These events are catered specifically to wedding decor, enabling recent brides to sell their used wedding items for upcoming brides to use. This is a good place to hunt down those specific decor items, trendy signs, and staples like electric candles and flower girl baskets. Once your wedding is over, you can return to these events to resell your own items, continuing to move the cycle forward and keeping items out of the landfill.

Give Wedding Favors with a Purpose

When thinking of ways to thank your guests for their attendance, choose wedding favors that your guests are guaranteed to use. While monogrammed koozies and keychains may seem like a cute idea, the reality is most personalized wedding favors end up in the trash. Opt instead for favors that are either consumable or useful. Consumable favors like local honey, mini jam jars, or his and her snack bags are always crowd pleasers, and sourcing useful items like artisan soap bars locally is a great way to support the small businesses in your community. If you want to add a personal touch, you can easily personalize gift tags or packaging, or even stick to a personalized theme that matches your wedding aesthetic or your personal interests.

Don’t Leave Your Send Off Behind

One of the best ways to care for our earth is to leave it the way we found it, and this is especially true when it comes to sending off at the end of the night. Throwing rice at for the newlyweds is an age-old tradition symbolizing fertility and prosperity, but its frequency at modern weddings is diminishing in favor of more eco-friendly throwing options like birdseed, dried flowers, or leaf confetti. Other options like bubble wands and streamers both minimally impact the environment and make for some fun colorful send-off photos. Whatever you choose to use, just remember to be mindful of what you leave behind.