Sustainable Solutions For Your Wedding
Whenever you’re thinking about your wedding day, a million different things probably come to mind all at once. One of the things most people probably don’t think about often is the environmental impact of a wedding celebration. In a time where eco-friendly options and ideas are plentiful, it's much easier to throw a celebration that doesn’t negatively impact the planet! Our Contract Bottling Manager, Dillon, got married six months ago and has shared a few ideas he & his wife, Amber, incorporated into their wedding that made the day greener and greater!
Flowers: Flowers, bouquets, boutineers, and centerpieces are a staple at every wedding but not always the most sustainable option. In some cases when certain plants are out of season, flowers are grown overseas and flown to the US for events and weddings (yikes). When we were thinking about flowers for our big day, we chose to work with a local florist who grew her own flowers! Amber also chose blooms and arrangements that were in season in our area as well to cut down on the environmental impact! We also used (borrowed) potted plants to place around the event to keep everything looking and feeling green! You may also consider donating the leftover flowers after the event to local hospitals or nursing homes to brighten someone else’s day after your big day is over.
Drinks: Plastic cups create a ton of waste at events and end up straight in the landfill. If you’re planning to have self-serve refill stations at your event, you may consider opting for an aluminum cup instead of plastic! The aluminum cups may end up going home with your guests, but can also be easily recycled instead of going in the trash. We also chose to serve drinks in aluminum cans and bottles (AKA RAIN) to make sure our drink options were sustainable! There are also a lot of options for recycling bins that don’t look like the traditional blue bin you put by the curb if that doesn't fit your vibe.
Food Waste: Buffets are notorious for the amount of food waste they create - not everyone is great at estimating how much food they’ll actually eat and what happens to the leftover chicken in the chafing dish? We tried to estimate how much food we needed based on the number of RSVPs we got back in - we were still a little off and ended up with extra food, but we planned ahead and had to-go boxes on standby for any of the guests who wanted a to-go piece of pork and broccoli. There may also be some local places in your community such as food banks or homeless shelters that would accept donations, just do some calling prior to the big day to make sure any leftovers are packaged correctly prior to donating!
Good luck on planning your big day and maybe some of these suggestions will help keep your wedding planet-friendly!