Fortunately, people are now more conscious of the state of the planet than before. More and more people are making eco-friendly choices that, hopefully, can make a big difference. Thus, people are looking for more sustainable ways of celebrating.

Many celebrations, including weddings, are not usually eco-friendly. Consider the problem of:

• Food waste
• Single-use décor
• Plastic packaging
• Guests’ travel arrangements
• Shipping items
• Energy use within the venue

Weddings can, therefore, make an unfortunate contribution to the mountains of non-biodegradable rubbish gathered in landfills, the carbon footprint of personal travel and the transportation of goods, and excessive energy consumption.

If you’re tying the knot soon, you may want to consider planning a greener wedding. To help you out, below are five tips and ideas you can adopt to make your wedding day both memorable and sustainable:

1. Get Close to Nature with Your Wedding Venue

The venue is the most significant factor when planning an eco-friendly wedding.

Remember that making a wedding environmentally-friendly revolves around reducing materials and energy used during the planning, preparation, and execution of the event.

While your backyard may seem like the most natural choice, you can also stage the event at a nearby park or green space. Aside from that, you can celebrate your wedding at a ranch or a farm, so long as you won’t need any additional electric lighting beyond what the sun already offers.

Similarly, indoor rainforests are not just suitable for birthday parties, educational school trips, and family excursions. They also serve as an excellent venue for a green wedding.

2. Go Paperless With Your Invitations

Millions of trees are cut down each year to make paper, including the paper products used for intricate wedding invitations. The process of making paper also tends to pollute the environment.

With these facts in mind, why not consider going paperless with your wedding invites? Today, more couples opt for digital invites sent via email or social media messaging. Aside from being more affordable and convenient, they also help reduce paper use.

But if you just cannot avoid sending your wedding invites via snail mail, don’t fret – you can still make it eco-friendly by:

• Using recycled paper and ink: Stationers use vegetable-based inks and recycled paper products to make paper invites more eco-friendly.
• Making it out of paper that can be replanted: Clever companies offer paper products that can be planted. These contain embedded seeds of herbs, flowers, and plants that allow guests to give back to nature and help bring new life in place of the trees that were toppled in the making of the wedding invitation.

3. Make Your Arrangements More Sustainable

Flower arrangements make weddings more colorful and magical. But did you know that even using natural blooms can leave a carbon footprint?

Choose vendors who offer farm-to-table arrangements to ensure your flower arrangements are sustainable. These are companies that provide flowers that are cut only a few days before they are delivered. The less time the blooms need to be preserved, the less electricity from refrigeration is used.

Of course, there are other ways that you can keep your flower arrangements more sustainable, including:

• Recycling your bouquets: Recycling isn’t just for non-biodegradable materials. You can also work with organizations that help recycle flower arrangements.
• Using potted plants and blooms: Making your wedding look enchanting with flowers doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pick them from the stem. Today, you can decorate wedding venues with blooms in plant pots and creative containers. You can even have topiaries if you wish. This will allow you and your guests to replant your decor after the event.

4. Go Green with Catering

Food is another crucial aspect of any celebration that can yield a lot of waste and contribute to the carbon footprint. To go green with your wedding food, below are some ideas you can try for healthy and Earth-friendly catering:

• Ditch non-biodegradable dinnerware. Choose Mother Nature-approved dinnerware, such as compostable paper plates and cups, or reusable china and flatware.
• Source food locally. Organic whole foods are the first and best option when going green with your catering. To lower your expenses, you can ask the caterer to source locally grown and in-season ingredients for the freshest and most affordable dishes.

The same goes for your wedding cake. Seek help from the neighborhood baker and create a tasty cake baked from eggs and dairy products from local suppliers. Sourcing within the area will also reduce the need for extra packaging and refrigeration.

5. Grow Your Party Favours

One neat idea for a green wedding party favor your guests can take home is potted plants. From cacti and succulents to herbs and spices, you can source baby plants within the locality.

If you have ample time before your big day, you can buy packets of seeds and plant them yourself. Just make sure that you have enough time to decorate, tag, and prepare them for distribution on the day you and your significant other exchange vows.

Go Green on Your Wedding

Try these clever ideas to make your wedding both unforgettable and eco-friendly at the same time. Once you’ve made the necessary plans and preparations, hire experts to make your dream green wedding a reality.