Nice Day for a Green Wedding – Your Sustainable Wedding Essentials

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This entry is from our Expert Guest series where wedding and honeymoon professionals share their best tips on creating memories that last a lifetime.

Weddings have always been synonymous with opulence. It’s your special day, after all, so it’s only natural that you’d want to start this new phase of your life with a proper, all-out celebration. But who’s to say that this joy and lavishness cannot be achieved with a little more thought put towards Mother Nature and your wedding’s carbon footprint?

In light of everything that has been going on in the last few years, more happy couples are choosing to make their vows in a planet-friendly manner.

Now, if this is not a familiar turf for you, fear not! Here are a few tips to help you concoct the perfect, romantic wedding with your future spouse that will keep our beautiful environment at the heart of the process, and your dreams will still come true.

Planning A Sustainable Green Wedding

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Pre-Loved Rings And Dresses

When you think of “ring recycling”, it doesn’t sound like something out of a fairytale, and yet, the practice has been loved for ages. Remember the ring your grandpa handed down to your dad to propose to your mom? Or the famous nana’s ring that has been sitting in a velvet box for years? Those are all perfect candidates, and they have sentimental value, as well, which always beats the store-bought kind.

The same goes for the dress! Both the bride and the groom can adjust and wear the outfits of their parents. With little changes to fit the today’s style, if that’s something you’d prefer, you will end up having the perfect dress, a family heirloom, and a unique, vintage look, all at one go.

Pick A Green Venue

Thanks to our rising awareness of our planet’s crisis, there are more and more restaurants and venues that are created specifically to provide a sustainable experience, no matter the occasion. The world is filled with resorts and charming little estates that will provide you with an enchanting setting, one worthy of your special day.

Nature-loving couples can celebrate outdoors, as well, in a place near and dear to their hearts, somewhere familiar and close for your guests, too. Renting out eco-friendly seating and catering will be a breeze once you choose that dreamy beach or a mountain valley perfect for the two of you.

Craft A Mindful Menu

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What you serve matters as much as your venue, your attire, and your decorations. Of course, you want to keep various options for your guests’ preferences, but stick to seasonal and local food, and your wedding’s carbon footprint will be much lower than you’d expect. Plus, focusing on veggies and fruits in your menu is a brilliant way to cut your impact significantly.

As for the beverages on your menu, choosing natural wine that has been made sustainably and organically, with nature in mind is yet again one of the best ways to show your love for Mother Nature. Such details will help you make even your toast a sustainable moment on your special day! Of course, locally-made beverages are also a better option than imported goods, so make sure to check the label and stay as sustainable as possible in your menu choices.

Green Wedding Invitations

Let’s move onto what’s often overlooked in wedding planning, and it can actually add to your efforts to reduce your carbon footprint. Although the printed versions are considered classic, and so many couples don’t want to forego the tradition of mailing them to their wedding guests, look into vendors that produce invitations made of recycled paper, or those that have certain green initiatives.

Alternatively, there are digital options you can use and customize to your wedding, and that are eco-conscious from start to finish. Plus, these wedding e-vites are a great option for tracking those RSVPs and making sure that all of your guests are going to come, and then coordinate with those seating plans.

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Consider A Charity Registry

Wedding gifts are a treat, and most couples end up going home with so many useful gifts that it’s hard to imagine a celebration without those thoughtful presents. However, if you already have everything you need, if your essentials are taken care of, you can consider charitable donations in place of traditional gift-giving.

This is a beautiful way to give back to a green cause you cherish, to help grow your community, or to fund a movement that you put great faith in. Plus, you can let your guests determine how much they can donate depending on the cause, so everyone’s needs will be met.

Once your wedding plans are set in motion, consider staying true to the same philosophy in your future life together – giving back to the environment and choosing eco-conscious whenever you can. Let this be a beautiful beginning to a new way of life that will help you make a difference in unity for our planet.

Help make your sustainable green wedding with a Honeyfund honeymoon registry.

Bio: Claire Hastings is an Australia-based designer and writer. She is an editor at Dolce Placard blog and Highstylife magazine, and a regular contributor to many lifestyle internet spots. She loves to write about sustainability, eco-friendly trends, and aesthetics.