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Sustainable Wedding - The Best Tips for a Green And Eco-Friendly Celebration

Sustainable Wedding - 12 Tips for Green Weddings

Do you want to celebrate a wedding that is as sustainable as possible? Then you've come to the right place. Every year, around 400,000 couples get married in Germany.₁ Marriage is usually a big event celebrated in private, which unfortunately also involves a not inconsiderable amount of money, ecological footprint leaves behind.

Fortunately, there is a great trend, or rather a movement: Green Weddings. Couples are taking environmental protection into account when planning their wedding and are trying to reduce the to keep the ecological footprint as small as possible. An important principle here is "less is more". Avoiding, reducing and offsetting emissions also plays a major role. In addition, the motto of every marriage should be "He who changes, changes the world."

This means that you act as a role model and bring many people at the wedding to a more sustainable life or even your own green wedding. In this article, I would like to give you the 12 most important tips on how to get married sustainably.

A brief overview for you in advance:

  1. Fair wedding fashion
  2. Regional organic catering
  3. Green wedding stationery
  4. Local wedding venue
  5. Ethical gold rings
  6. Gifts
  7. Sustainable service providers
  8. Decoration
  9. Wedding date
  10. Alternative wedding traditions
  11. The bridal styling
  12. Ecological honeymoon

1. fair wedding fashion

A wedding couple in sustainable clothing
You should take a close look when choosing your wedding dress and suit | © Simon Veith

Everyone knows the bad effects of Fast Fashion and exploitation in the fashion industry. The biggest problem with wedding dresses and suits is the long Supply chains, new purchases, materials from conventional production and ethically questionable production.

But there are many ways to break this cycle when choosing your own wedding fashion. Of course, it doesn't always have to be new. Many great suppliers specifically advertise their very high-quality Second Hand wedding dresses and suits. The fashion can also be borrow.

Countless boutiques have also specialized in nachustainable and fair wedding fashion specialized. There you can get clothes made from certified organic or recycled materials, fairly produced goods from Germany/Europe and animal-friendly, vegan clothes.

Fair fashion does not necessarily have to be more expensive, as wedding fashion is generally rather expensive. However, if you attach great importance to ruffles and lace, you will probably have to expect a higher price due to the high proportion of handwork - especially if it is new and not second-hand. Of course, you can also look at the Sshoes, underwear, bow tie/tie, handkerchief and other details for sustainability with the above criteria.

2. regional organic catering

As we all know, the way to the heart is through the stomach. But so do CO2 emissions. After the journey (more on this later), the food on offer has the greatest potential for savings. In short: why should we first feed soy to a cow when we can also eat it straight away?

Often couples and wedding planners order too large quantitiesso that vast quantities of emissions are produced. Also the Failure to use regional ingredients from organic farming contributes to this. I advocate vegan catering out of love for all animals and the world. With the right catering, you can make your guests happy and encourage them to rethink their own eating habits.

That being said, make sure you have catering that is is organic, regional and seasonal. However, each couple must decide for themselves what to serve. There is the eternal discussion whether a buffet or dishes on plates is the more sustainable option.

Food waste can occur with both options and this should be avoided. Personally, I think the solution with a buffet and sustainable take-away tableware or, even better, Tupperware that all guests bring along makes sense and is very sustainable.

3. green wedding stationery

Invitation cards, place cards and the menu can also be environmentally friendly
Invitation cards, place cards and the menu can also be environmentally friendly © Simon Veith

Invitation cards? Table decorations? Envelopes? Menu cards? Table numbers? The many stationery options for weddings are mainly about the right paper, as well as the Avoiding waste and the Deforestation.

Does it always have to be paper? And if so, which paper should it be? At which print shops is sustainably printed? Think about what needs to be on paper in the first place. The less paper (and waste in general), the better.

The invitation can e.g. newfangled also be sent by e-mail or by a Wedding website happen. The same applies to Thank you cards. If the lack of stationery bothers you, you also have the option of choosing paper that is as environmentally friendly as possible - and using recycled paper. This paper can be reused up to seven times, making it an excellent alternative to its conventional counterpart.

Make sure you use the right paper (Blue Angel, FSC, AP/VUP or Okopa seal, handmade natural paper, stone paper, seed or grass paper). The print shop should work with the desired paper and water-based printing inks. It should also either come from the region or at least ship the products in a climate-neutral way.

As an alternative to print, you can write yourself or have someone writepreferably with professional calligraphy. Do you need one menu card per guest or is one per table sufficient? Do the table numbers and names have to be printed on paper, or do you use a beautiful gemstone, the napkin or the existing glass? Can you also combine this directly with the guest gift? There are really little to no limits to your creativity.

4. local wedding venue

Here you can pay attention to the so-called landscape picking: you choose a location for the wedding that short or no journey for the majority of the wedding party has.

A no-go, on the other hand, is the so-called Destination Weddingwhere everyone has to travel abroad (especially by plane) for the wedding ceremony. There are also more environmentally friendly alternatives such as bus or train, but the local option is always the more environmentally friendly one.

The Arrival for the wedding is said to account for up to 73 percent of the emissions from a wedding - making it the biggest CO2 sinner with a lot of potential for savings. Another point is the Overnight accommodationwhich should be within walking distance if possible, or a hotel as the venue where all guests can stay overnight. In addition, when selecting the respective organizers, you can also give preference to Green electricity pay attention.

5. ethical gold rings

Ethical gold rings at a sustainable wedding
Ethical, golden rings at a sustainable wedding | © Simon Veith

Gold rings in particular can come from questionable mining. Political conflictsThe environmentally harmful extraction of toxic waste materials, transportation and exploitation are just some of the downsides of gold. So how do you get wonderful wedding rings without a twinge of conscience?

When buying gold, make sure it is Fairtrade gold from sustainable mines or from rivers where gold is extracted without chemicals. You should show or ask for the certificate for the gold used. Faith is good, control is better!

The same applies to diamonds - after all, you don't want to buy blood diamonds. What's more, there are now also many suppliers who specialize in Recycled gold to fall back on. You should avoid real pearls and other animal materials such as ivory or coral so as not to support the exploitation of animals. An old superstition says that every pearl a woman wears at her wedding will lead to a tear in the course of the marriage. So let's just leave it at that.

Some alternatives to gold rings are rings made from different types of wood, recycled paper or even ink in the form of tattoos. Another alternative is, of course, antique or second-hand jewelry that you can find at flea markets and online portals or even get from your family. As a final point, I would like to ask: do you need brand new engagement rings if you won't be wearing them after the wedding anyway?

6. gifts

When it comes to gifts, it's obvious: pure consumption and many guests will end up buying the same gift twice. It is important to avoid unnecessary wedding gifts and, above all, dust catchers. There are online wedding tables where you as the future married couple can enter meaningful gifts and the guests can mark them as purchased anonymously in order to avoid unnecessary gifts. Avoid duplication.

Besides you can get environmentally friendly gifts such as sustainable green electricity, smart home items, train tickets, car-sharing memberships, memberships with Greenpeace, Animal Equality or similar. Feel free to tell your guests about the online wedding table or the desire for sustainable gifts in the invitation. In a world full of consumer goods, time is often the best gift, so gifts such as concert tickets, special dinners, trips together, etc. are sensible investments in great memories.

7. sustainable service providers

A big wedding simply doesn't work without service providers. Their job is to make your wedding professionally beautiful and take the organizational stress away from you. There are now a number of providers who also offer sustainable, climate-neutral and climate-positive services, making your wedding greener. Wedding planner, DJ, photographer, videographer, service staff, catering, wedding speaker, musicians and make-up artist are just a few examples.

The key factors of all service providers for a sustainable wedding, which I also attach particular importance to, are, for example green hosting of the website, green banking, green electricity, green mobility, Paperless office and regional/sustainable/ecological equipment or ingredients. This may involve natural cosmetics on the one hand, but also catering, planning, travel of each service provider and also photography.

Of course, it is also important which products they use and whether they are suitable for your wedding. A conventional cake is less likely to fit into a catering that is vegan, organic and regional. So it's better to look for a vegan pastry chef. Otherwise, find out about the working methods and sustainability of the desired service providers and discuss together how you can make the wedding even more environmentally friendly.

8. decoration

Sustainable bouquet on wedding
There are many options available to you when it comes to sustainable wedding decorations © Simon Veith

The lighting and decorations contribute significantly to the atmosphere of your sustainable wedding. However, many elements also require a lot of energy. Decorative items are often only used once or are made from new materials that are not durable. As a rule, hiring high-quality materials is the most environmentally friendly solution.

Solar lights or candles, for example, which do not require electricity, can create the right atmosphere. There are even sustainable candles suppliersthat produce without petroleum and are organic/vegan. When choosing electrical lighting, make sure you choose LEDswhich require significantly less power than conventional light sources.

Fresh flowers can quickly have a negative impact on the CO2 balance, for example through the use of pesticides. The simple solution is seasonal and local organic flowers, whereby the choice of Florist is becoming very important, as unfortunately not everyone is environmentally friendly. Dried flowers are also very popular at the moment. Here too, of course, it depends on the florists and the cultivation.

The Bouquets and flower arrangements last virtually forever and can be given to guests as a souvenir at the end of the party. Or you can use them to decorate your own four walls after the ceremony. The durability of dried flowers is particularly advantageous for bridal bouquets, as they are often a great keepsake for a long time.

One of the absolute no-gos at a sustainable wedding is to buy elaborate decorations that have been produced as cheaply as possible abroad. It is much more environmentally friendly to simply borrow the beautiful candle holders, vases and signs. This also includes reusable Glass drinking straws or metal, which avoids disposable waste.

9. wedding date

Experience has shown that it is worth setting the wedding date in the fall or spring. The weather is milder and the temperatures less extreme in these seasons. This prevents high heat output and the use of energy-intensive air conditioning systems. A wedding during this period is also often much more pleasant for the couple and guests, as the extreme temperatures can be quite exhausting. But of course, beautiful summer and winter weddings also have their charm.

10. alternative wedding traditions

Releasing balloons or throwing rice and confetti are particularly popular, but unfortunately not at all environmentally friendly traditions at weddings. I would recommend a sustainable alternative, throw dried flowers or leaves. Or you can get creative, for example you can buy flower confetti or punch your own. They also make wonderful pictures. The flower girls or children also fit in with the theme. The dried flowers mentioned above could also be given as gifts.

The wedding motorcade, led by the bride and groom, is not really a sustainable wedding. Especially as it emits completely unnecessary CO2 and particulate matter. Instead, you could have a motorcade with bicycles, cargo bikes or on foot.

Another No-go are traditions that include animals. It's no longer cool to let pigeons or butterflies fly. Many people also bring their dogs to the wedding - that's okay, but you should make sure that the animals are not exposed to a lot of noise.

It's a nice tradition to build a garden on your own property. Wedding tree to plant. Who does not like to have an apple or cherry tree in their own, sustainable garden?

11. the bridal styling

Even the bridal styling can be sustainable
Bridal styling can also be sustainable | © Simon Veith

Of course, bridal styling is also an important factor for a wedding that is as sustainable as possible. Why use chemicals for skin and hair when the rest of the wedding program is natural and eco-friendly?

Meanwhile, there are also just as good alternatives with Natural cosmetics and specialized makeup artists or hair & makeup specialists. I recommend that you make a trial styling in advance to check the get to know the stylist and the selected products and to test them for a whole day. This way, there are no nasty surprises such as intolerances on the wedding day.

12. ecological honeymoon

For many newlyweds, a honeymoon is on the cards after the wedding. Most of us probably think straight away of tropical beaches and long flights - of course, that doesn't have to be the case if you Stay true to yourself and your plans for a sustainable wedding wants.

Fortunately, there are also great travel destinations in Europe that you can reach by train can. You will soon realize that public transport can also be quite romantic. Possible environmentally friendly alternatives include traveling by bus or car.

If it is to be a more distant destination, try to stay there as long as possible so that Travel distance and travel duration in an appropriate ratio stand. Then also compensate for the air travel, which is now even often offered when booking.

Wellness and relaxation should also not be missing after the perhaps stressful organizational phase of the wedding. There are many Organic wellness hotels in Germany and Europe, which are ideal for an environmentally friendly honeymoon.

Sustainable Weddings: A conclusion

Sustainable wedding cake at a wedding ceremony
Sustainable wedding cake at a wedding | © Simon Veith

I am sure that you and your partner can organize a great wedding with respect for the environment and that you won't have to do without anything. There is an exciting, ecological alternative to almost all items and traditions.

I would also like to point out that it's the small steps that count and that no wedding has to be 100 percent organic. It is possible, but not a must. Plan your wedding the way you like it best. It's your wedding, your big day - and not the wedding of your guests. You have the planning sovereignty.

If you decide to take a few tips from this list to heart and get married sustainably, your guests may well be inspired by this idea. It is often difficult to take the first step, but the next ones will be much easier and in the end it will be worth it for you and the environment.

For further assistance, I can also recommend myGreen Wedding Checklistand sign up for my Green Wedding Newsletter to receive many more tips & tricks on sustainable weddings.

I hope you have lots of fun planning your big day and, above all, that it will be unforgettable.

Stay sustainable,

Simon

PS: By the way, the wedding reception is a great way to give your Bringing sustainability closer to the family. You can find more tips in the linked article!

References:
₁ Federal Statistical Office: Population - Marriages in transition, available at https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Querschnitt/Demografischer-Wandel/Hintergruende-Auswirkungen/demografie-ehen.html. [18.10.2022].

₂ Jörg Janssen: 16 simple solutions for a CO2-friendly wedding (as at: 06.08.2019), available at https://hochzeitslocation.de/ratgeber/hochzeitsplanung/16-einfache-loesungen-fuer-eine-co2-freundliche-hochzeit. [18.10.2022].

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Simon Valentine

Simon Valentine

Simon Valentin is a sustainable wedding photographer from Cologne. He loves to help wedding couples achieve more sustainability at weddings and capture them beautifully for eternity.

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