Eco-friendly weddings grow increasingly popular by the day as environmental awareness is becoming a big part of life. Having an eco-friendly wedding doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice beauty or quality. In fact, not only will an eco wedding offer you some of the most beautiful ideas, but it’ll probably save you some money as well. So from saving the trees to conserving energy, here’s how to throw an eco-friendly wedding;

Save the trees

Weddings can result in a lot of waste, particularly paper. Just think about it. Do you need that many envelopes? Typical wedding invitations are usually housed in multiple envelopes; one for the actual invitation, one for the Save-the-Date card, and one for the RSVP. For even a handful of guests that amount of paper and ink can really add up! The process of making paper is hugely harmful to the environment with the machinery and additives involved (and the fact that deforestation seems to be worsening), so consider recycled paper and an eco-friendly ink such as soy ink. Stationery made from recycled materials is just as pretty as the newly-made stuff, and far more environmentally friendly. Alternatively, look into stationery made from renewable materials such as hemp. On the other hand, you could simply send an e-invitation. There are so many opportunities with emailed invitations; you could make the invitation move, and add some music or a voice over. Not every one of your guests may have an email address. With a little creativity you could replace some paper wedding stationery immediately for alternative place cards, write guests’ names on pebbles or painted leaves, or spell out their names on plates in caramel or melted chocolate.

Save the flowers

Flowers are very pretty, coming in countless colors, shapes, and sizes, and symbolizing all manner of things. From bouquets and boutonnières to flower crowns and table centerpieces, flowers are ingrained in wedding tradition. That means there’s huge demand. Flowers produced out of season are often grown with the aid of chemicals and fertilizers and are covered in pesticides.

Ideally, you should shop locally for your wedding flowers. This way you can support local businesses and avoid shipping from abroad. Perrhaps, try to use flowers avalailble in that season to both cut costs and ensure your out-of-season flowers aren’t grown with chemical aids. You could even grow your own flowers if you’re particularly garden-savvy, or you could collect local flowers in spring and summer and preserve them. But if you do decide to import your flowers because your heart’s set on a certain type, we advise you seek fair trade suppliers.

Choose your venue wisely

Different venues have different ways of doing things whether in regard to their recycling policy, their energy efficiency, or their biodegradable materials. But don’t damn your venue to the seventh ring of hell just because they don’t have a compost heap. The best thing to do is ask about their policies when you visit. And you can always push the boat out by having the greenest wedding there ever was in the pretty outdoors, completely free of electricity, or opt for a happy medium like a gorgeous marquee.

The back-to-nature wedding isn’t for everyone though, so there are other ways to be environmentally friendly. To save yourself some cost, and the world from more pollution, it’s possible in many venues to hold your wedding ceremony and reception in the same place. You don’t have to move things around or worry about people getting lost travelling from one place to another. So take care choosing your venue; it could even be that half your work is done when it comes to decorating.

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