The environment today is in such bad shape that every effort for the betterment of it is crucial. Being eco-friendly in today’s time is not a choice but a compulsion. Sadly many people still do not realize the importance of it and continue with habits that ruin the environment. Few others, however, do appreciate the efforts towards creating a better environment and go eco-friendly in their own little ways.
The need for eco-friendly weddings
In almost every culture, weddings are considered highly important. Needless to say, due to this very fact, people waste a lot of resources during weddings. Sadly, most of us only see the pomp and the glamour. We do not see the immense wastage of food, clothes, and decoration materials etc. Since most of these materials are meant only for that single occasion, people tend to dispose of them afterward. Considering the current situation of our planet, this behavior is not just tragic, it is unacceptable. However, still, there’s no need to worry. We can also conduct our weddings in an eco-friendly way. For your reference, here are some tips on how to celebrate an eco-friendly wedding.
Some crucial eco-friendly wedding tips
1. Changing conventional invitations:
Paper invitations are the most commonly used and they also harm the environment the most. The amount of paper used is so high that it could be enough to cover up entire Manhattan. Avoid this and change the mode of invitations. From recycled paper to the tree-free paper the options that you have in this regard are plentiful. Soy inks too can be tried out instead of the conventional ones. Together these can make for very important eco-friendly wedding tips.
2. Jewelry:
The spending on jewelry in a marriage in the USA is an expensive affair. On an average around seven thousand dollars are spent for this purpose. But this does no good to the environment and in fact, ruins the resources. A great option can be some of the lesser expensive jewelry that is made from recycling old rocks. Ethically sourced diamonds too can be a great option to try out and make the wedding an absolute success.
3. Pick flowers wisely:
Among the several reception ideas, flowers form one of the most important things. But the florist you pick may not get you the freshest of flowers. In fact, the flowers imported are sprinkled with several pesticides to make them long-lasting. This, however, is a terrible health hazard for the workers working on them. You can easily replace these with fresh and local flowers. Apart from the fact that your wedding will have a very natural vibe, it will also be a lot more eco-friendly. If sustainable decoration is on your mind then these are the flowers to be used for the purpose.
4. Gifts:
An eco-friendly wedding is incomplete without the aspect of eco-friendly gifts. A lot of times the gift wraps are plastic of paper in nature and they can be easily avoided for their environmental hazards. All you need to do is educate your guests in this regard. You can also tell the guests about your preference in eco-friendly gifts and this will encourage them to find such items for you which will be beneficial for the environment.
5. A green centerpiece:
When it comes to a wedding a glorious centerpiece is much appreciated. A green centerpiece is a wonderful idea in this regard and can be a fine replacement for the ones decorated with items that need to be discarded after use and will pile up to be toxic garbage. Avoid plastic decorative and instead opt for some green decoration of leaves and beautiful local flowers. Not only will it be beautiful but it will also pave the roads for an eco-friendly wedding.
6. Take care of transportation:
When it comes to burning of fossil fuel, the cars buses and such automobiles have a huge role to play. Traditionally a limousine is what the couples use after marriage but this can find an easy replacement in alternative green energy vehicles. As far as the location of the wedding is concerned you can always opt for a location that is closer to the houses or at the center of the city so that it is easy for all to travel short distances. You can also arrange for carpooling instead of each guest taking his own vehicle and contributing further to the already polluted air.
7. The honeymoon spot:
For this, we would recommend that you pick a place that is not the usual commercial tourist spot. For instance, for making the eco-friendly wedding successful, you can choose to visit a national park or a tropical reef. A viable option for you is to explore the eco-tourism options and make good use of them. This would make your honeymoon experience unique as well as eco-friendly.
8. Photography:
Nowadays more and more photographers are choosing to go digital and it is an eco-friendly wedding essential. There are also certain things that your photographer can use to make things better. For instance, the use of disposable batteries or the LED lights makes for an eco-friendly setup. For your wedding pick a photographer who is known to keep such things in mind. This is among those reception ideas that will help you a great deal to fulfill your idea of a wedding that is environmentally friendly.
9. The food and beverage at the wedding:
As sad as the statistics may sound it is indeed true that an average American meal travels about 1500 miles before reaching you. This just means an added carbon footprint for the wedding food. If that is not what you are looking to do then you clearly do have options. For instance, you can opt for foods that are in season and thus readily available. There are plenty of green restaurants and organic caterers in the business. If you avail of their services they will help you serve eco-friendly food to your guests.
Final words
We hope that this article will provide you with reception ideas and other wedding ideas where the environmental effect will be considered. These tips for sustainable decoration can be implied at all weddings. While the quality of the weddings would not be brought down it is also going to be a positive addition to the quality of the environment around us.
