A sustainable wedding is what more and more people aspire to
A sustainable wedding that better reflects your own day-to-day philosophies. Here at The Real Flower Petal Confetti Company, we think that a more sustainable wedding is a more considered, more thoughtful, more unique wedding – quite simply, one that is more you.
There’s no need to throw all the traditions and conventions out the door (unless you want to!). Simply making careful, mindful decisions about your wedding day, prioritising the reduction of waste and excess, and looking to use and support similarly conscious wedding suppliers, will really help increase the positive influence of your big day.
But, as ever with weddings, it can be difficult to know where to start.
We’ve teamed up with some fabulous sustainable wedding creatives to help guide you on your own path…
Wedding Planning
Why not start by choosing a sustainable wedding planner? Let’s face it, their job is to do all the hard work for you! Their expertise will help guide your decisions and create the day you dream of. And, furthermore, by choosing a planner who shares your ethics and eco-friendly ethos, you know you can trust them. They will recommend brilliant suppliers who will also be like-minded in their working practices.
Location location location
Alternatively, if you are more of a DIY couple, then we’d always suggest that you start your wedding planning by considering your venue. This first step throws up so many other key considerations that will help shape your whole wedding: The budget, the date, the style, feel, and vibe of the day, what you want to eat, who you want to be there….? So many elements are tied together by consideration of venue and location. So it’s a great place to begin!
Aspects to consider
You might want to consider an existing venue over building your own event in a garden or field. Bringing everything in can really add to the wedding footprint. But have a good talk with the venue about suppliers: If you can’t choose your own caterers or florists, you might find your choices cannot be as environmentally friendly as you hoped.
Think about how far everyone will be travelling to get to your big day. Additionally, how will your guests get between different parts of the day? If you need to move from a ceremony in a church to a reception venue, think about how much travelling this requires. Could you, for instance, hire a coach to cut down on car journeys?
Ooh, and less guests = less impact. But don’t forgo a big party if that’s what you really want. Perhaps just make different choices in other areas.
Blooming Green create the most beautiful bespoke wedding bouquets from their own season flowers.
Fabulous flowers
Ideally, you do want a venue that will let you bring in the very best local, sustainable wedding creatives. Spend some time looking for amazing people that share your ideals and visions! Like Jen and Bek and the team at Blooming Green in Kent. Just one of the UK’s many passionate florists who offer us an eco-conscious alternative to imported, greenhouse grown and air freighted flowers. Blooming Green grow all their own blooms, therefore they are totally fresh and seasonal. In addition, they are chemical-free and no dig too! (The no dig approach is great for nurturing sustainability within the soil. We are currently transitioning to no till on our farm.)
Seasonality is key when it comes to making sure you have sustainable wedding flowers. But there are lots of other things to think about too. For example, find a florist who doesn’t use green foam in their arrangements. It is hideously harmful to the environment. Blooming Green also offer a “Pick Your Own Flowers” option – so you can get truly DIY if you wish!
Blooming Green create the most beautiful bespoke wedding bouquets from their own season flowers.
Little details, big decisions
Little details can have a big impact on the sustainability of your wedding day. This is what we are all about here at The Real Flower Petal Confetti Company! The confetti moment is a magical, not to be missed, quintessential wedding day experience. But it is just a moment. So choosing natural, 100% biodegradable, homegrown confetti petals, rather than plastic or paper confetti, will reduce waste and litter. Consequently, it improves the eco-friendliness of your wedding. (It’s also so much prettier!)
Our eco-friendly wedding decoration petals are another great example of this. If you scatter wildflower petals instead of glitter, you can sweep them up and onto the compost heap! No mess, no waste, no plastic, no worries. Please take a look at our eco-friendly wedding blog: Everything you need to know about petal confetti and sustainable wedding decorations if you’d like to learn more.
Have your cake AND eat it!
Perhaps the most important little detail is your wedding cake? (We’re big cake fans here!) With food, like flowers, seasonality is key. If you’ve always dreamt of strawberries on your wedding cake, then you really need to choose a June day to get married. But there is a little more to think about here too…
Tiny Sarah’s Cakes are incredible – colourful and bright, cute and quirky, modern and totally unique to you. Sarah’s cake creations are all vegan, her cake boxes are plastic free, she uses compostable cellophane, and recyclable paper and cardboard for all her stationary. These little touches are what add up to make a big difference. But most importantly, she shares your values about putting together a wedding that is a true reflection of you two as a couple. Sarah won’t replicate someone else’s cake because you are not someone else – you are you. She will ensure your cake will reflect that. That’s the sort of baker you want to create the cake of your dreams.
Tiny Sarah’s Cakes believe that life is too short to eat bad and sad cake, and that you deserve to enjoy a fabulous wedding cake without compromising on your ethical and environmental views.
Share the love
Supporting your local economy is a very important consideration when looking to create a sustainable day. Are you adding something positive to the world with your wedding day plans? Are you helping local people create local jobs and live a good life?
50 cheap plastic wrapped wedding chocolates, mass made in China, bought via Amazon, will add no joy to your wedding or to the planet. Buying 50 handmade chocolates from your local deli will make their day! Possibly their whole week!
Yes, costs will be greater buying local, but the benefits are so much greater too. All this adds to the positive value of your wedding. You are celebrating love – be sure to share it around!
Outstanding individuals
Capturing that love, the incredible day you will have put together, and the values it’s extolling, is the job of a very special person – your wedding photographer.
Emma, of Freckle Photography, based in the South West, is a wonderful example of a sustainable wedding photographer. She is a visual storyteller, who shows how your wedding really felt, not just how it looked. “I’m best described as a mega relaxed photographer who will make you feel comfortable and happy. Like your fave snuggly jumper. I create a space for you to just be you and tell your wedding and life stories.”
This is another extremely important booking. Certainly, you need to find a photographer who understands what you want your wedding day to be. As a result, they will be able to properly capture it within the frame of their cameras. And then the pictures and memories will sit on your mantlepiece forever.
All the amazing confetti photos on this blog were taken by Emma!
One of Shakti’s gorgeous handcrafted fairtrade gold wedding bands
Symbolic purchases
One good way to ensure your supplier really means what they say, is to look for accreditations such as B corp status. B Corps are for-profit businesses that have reached the peak of social and environmental standards, accountability and transparency. And if you are looking for your wedding to reflect these values, then what better way to do it than with your rings? The one item that will symbolise your wedding day for the rest of your lives…
Shakti Ellenwood Precious Jewellery was the first artisanal goldsmith in the UK to become a B Corp. Shakti’s stunning handcrafted jewellery is made only with ethical 18ct Fairtrade gold and conflict-free stones. Fully traceable and sustainably sourced. Her earthy, organic, colourful pieces are created from materials meticulously chosen from trusted sources around the world. Most importantly, her pieces support artisanal miners, benefit local communities and respect the environment. This commitment ensures that your wedding rings will be truly beautiful from the inside out.
One of Shakti’s gorgeous handcrafted fairtrade gold wedding bands
The dream dress
If you’re the bride reading this blog, you may well be wondering why we’ve not yet mentioned sustainable wedding dresses?! Perhaps the biggest one-off purchase of the whole event.
There are a few ways to make your dress more sustainable: By far the easiest is to choose a dress you will wear again and again. (Keep this in mind when choosing bridesmaid’s dresses too. Make sure they love them and want to re-wear the items.) But if you want a statement outfit that you’d rather keep as an heirloom, choosing the right dressmaker is crucial.
Look for designers who put eco-conscious practices front and centre. It is no longer about choosing between style or ethics: There are some incredibly talented designers offering dresses and bespoke gowns that will tell the whole story you want your dress to tell. “The most important gown of your life can be made respecting the environment and people in it” is how Miina of Indiebride London describes it.
Indiebride prides itself on being an ethical bridal wear brand. Sustainability is woven into their work and lives as much as the beautiful embroidery on their dresses. They will ensure that you know who made your wedding gown, where the fabrics and laces were made and even where the material for making those laces and fabrics came from. They seek full transparency. This is a really important element to look for when booking suppliers.
A stunning Indiebride wedding gown
A sustainable wedding – very much not an impossible dream
Avoid as much single use, disposable, meaningless, gratuitous, excess “stuff” as possible. Choose suppliers and creatives wisely. Make considered purchases and bookings. Create beautiful, happy, joyful memories. Construct a day that is real, honest, extraordinary and truly you, and you’ll succeed. Enjoy!
With love from The Petal People x
Written 14.02.2023
This is a collaborative post. It is not sponsored and we will not earn any money from these recommendations. We are simply all like-minded sustainable wedding professionals and suppliers.
