Despite people's best intentions, weddings are ordinarily pretty wasteful occasions. From copious amounts of squandered food to discarded decor and more, as a general rule of thumb, weddings don’t tend to be especially eco-friendly. 

However, with the increase in environmental awareness across the world, particularly concerning the effects and usage of plastic, people are becoming ‘woke’ and making efforts to address their carbon footprint. Naturally, this impact has been felt in more extravagant events such as weddings, and so to help you feel guilt-free about affecting the environment, Zap! Creatives have put together our top tips on how to have an eco-friendly wedding. 

Consider a Close Location

Perhaps the biggest carbon footprint on a wedding day can be attributed to the emissions of your travelling guests. While overseas friends and relatives can’t help but clock up the air miles for your big day, it pays to accommodate those closer to home with a location that doesn’t require much travelling. 

Choosing not to get wed abroad and picking a venue that’s close to where you live, or at least equidistant for the majority of your guests, is a great way to reduce the environmental impact of your wedding. 

Eco-Friendly Wedding Dresses

There are a few ways in which you can be environmentally conscious with your weddings dress and grooms wear and don’t worry, because they won’t affect your overall look or make the big day any less special either. 

One means of simultaneously investing in something eco-friendly as well as eye-catching and unique is to purchase a second-hand or vintage wedding dress. There are some gorgeous designs out there that you can find at the fraction of the price of a new dress, all while reusing and doing your bit too! 

Another option is a dress that’s been handed down, many mothers gift their wedding dress to their daughter for the big day, something which is both symbolic and special as well as sustainable. 

Photo Credit Lily & Moon Photo & Film - https://lilyandmoon.com/ 

Eco-Friendly Wedding Invites, Decor & Favours

Many wedding favours and decorations consist of plastic or cellophane wrapping and gift bags, all of which are no good for the environment. Instead of plumping for plastic, there are some simple and cost-friendly means of making sure that your favours and wedding invites are eco-friendly. 

Planet-friendly options are especially important if you’re having a large wedding with plenty of guests; instead of plastic place cards, why not use custom printed eco-friendly paper stickers to create some unique table dressing, or even employ a specifically designed eco-friendly standee that’s unique to a particular table or guest?

When it comes to your invites, using recyclable materials should be a must, or why not forgo physical invites altogether and send out e-invites instead?

Eco-Friendly Food

Last but by no means least, you shouldn’t forget the small matter of eco-friendly food when it comes to putting together your wedding menu. We recommend looking into catering companies with a sustainable, pro-environmental ethos as well as a reputation for using organic and locally sourced foods where possible.

Not only does this mean that you and your guests can enjoy great-tasting, fresh food, but the transportation of your ingredients and the processes involved will leave much less of a footprint! 

Of course, providing a large choice of vegan and vegetarian dishes is also a fantastic way to ensure your menu is much more eco-friendly too. You can also take care of your alcoholic options by using local breweries, distilleries and wineries which will reduce your carbon footprint and help to support local businesses. 

For more environmentally conscious advice, why not check out our Eco-Friendly Marketing Ideas post, or browse our Zap! Creatives blog page for more information, tutorials and how to’s.