Typically, weddings are memorable days. But planning a wedding could be a handful because of all the planning and expenses that go into it. However,  it doesn’t suggest that you should waste resources to get married.  

Weddings can be a source of unnecessary wastes from leftover meals, to gift items, decorations, and even outfits. In all of these, you can achieve an eco-friendly wedding and leave a zero impact on the environment after your day. To achieve this, you’ll need to focus on tying the knot and avoid extras. Opt for sustainable options like reusable or biodegradable decorations and encourage guests to gift experiences rather than physical items. Additionally, consider donating leftover food to local shelters or composting it to minimize waste. When preparing for the day, focus on prewedding packing essentials to avoid overpacking and reduce the carbon footprint of your celebration. Start your new chapter by embracing sustainability even after the festivities with thoughtful postwedding checklist tasks. For instance, consider donating or reselling wedding attire, repurposing decorations for future events, or recycling them responsibly. By making conscious choices throughout the entire process, your special day can leave a positive, lasting impression without negatively impacting the environment.

1. Keep Your Decor Simple

Decorations add color and beauty to parties, but the fact is that when you use things like balloons and ribbons, they turn out to be a waste. You can recycle preserved flowers, paper decorations, or any item.

To achieve a zero-waste wedding, you could use dried eco-friendly flowers like Lavender or palm leaves for your floral designs. Beautiful live plants could also come in handy. Asides from adding life to your wedding, guests can also take it home to plant. 

You can also use a preserved bouquet for other purposes. Another way to avoid waste is to take those flowers to churches or hospitals where they can be used. 

2. Choose Your Dress Wisely

Choosing your dress is one of the essential things when planning your wedding. To maintain a waste-free day, you can borrow, rent or search for thrift stores online for second-hand fashion to purchase low-budget dresses. You can also use these pre-owned dresses for your bridals. 

This way, you will not only save cost to make a dress that you would only wear once. If you do not want the exact look of the dresses, wedding boutiques or tailors could also help to make alterations to fit your style. Another good part is that we could give these dresses out to charity stores. In case you do not mind giving them out. 

3. Keep Your Wedding List Small

The more guests, the bigger the waste. One way to avoid waste is to keep it simple. Keep your guest lists as minimal as possible. To achieve a zero-waste event is not an effortless task. But you will implement your no-waste ideas when you can control your guests. 

You will better plan your catering, decoration, and venue with smaller guests, which might be difficult with more prominent guests. 

4. Plan Your Menu 

There is always a lot of leftover food at weddings. The way to reduce this is to estimate the menu sufficient for the number of guests you are inviting. Please work with a caterer to give a proper estimate because they are experienced. The number of people you are expecting should determine the quantity of food to avoid unnecessary waste. 

Of course, there will still be uneaten food because you can’t be so perfect in your predictions. In that case, use the leftovers to some homeless people or even food banks in your community. Another thing to note is to ensure that you use plates and napkins instead of disposables to be reused. You can either rent them or use the ones you have. 

5. Make Your Venue Easily Accessible

Your choice of venue affects how the event will turn out. It would help if you made your motive of zero waste known to your planner or whoever is in charge. This will allow them to apply ideas that will aid the solution. You could take advantage of some outdoor venues like gardens, parks, or backyards because they do not require a florist or extravagant decoration. This type of space will help to reduce waste to the minimum. 

It would help if you also choose a venue that will be easy to reach. Do not choose locations that require traveling for both you and your guests. It would save cost and also help to reduce environmental impact. You can consider streaming your day to those that are far away. 

6. Use paperless invitations

You can minimize your waste when you use paperless invitations. Some websites can customize your invitations, and you can send them electronically to all your guests. It makes it easy to reach several guests without taking much of your time. 

Suppose you are interested in printed invitations, programs, or thank-you notes. You can find printers that use recycled paper.

Making a zero-waste wedding possible is not a simple task. But with the approach of avoiding the unnecessary and keeping it simple, you are on a journey to achieve your goal. You can borrow, rent or use the things you already own.  Additionally, focus on sustainable choices by opting for local, seasonal flowers and reusable or biodegradable decorations. When it comes to the dos and don’ts of engagement rings, consider choosing conflict-free or vintage options to align with your eco-conscious goals. Every thoughtful decision contributes to creating a meaningful celebration with minimal environmental impact.

Telling your guests to send money to you or make donations on your behalf is another good idea instead of receiving gifts you might not need after the wedding. Monetary contributions will allow you to get the things that you know you need.

Infographic created by Grown Brilliance, a lab diamond engagement rings provider