We all want to make the world a better place for the next generation right, so why not start with an eco-friendly wedding or elopement?

I love weddings, but they can be wasteful. From creating hundreds of paper invitations to flowers grown in the wrong season. Many attributes of a traditional wedding are not best practices to preserve the environment. Following just one of the following eco-friendly suggestions can help make the world a little bit of a better place.

1. Ditch the Paper

There are several websites that are making it easier than ever to send your invitations and save the dates. While I don’t love this because I really enjoy photographing all the stylish paper products, it is by-far the easiest suggestion and very eco-friendly. Creating evites reduces the emissions used to deliver mail to your guests and reduces the number of paper products being created.

Websites that will send your evites include:

www.withjoy.com

www.evite.com

www.theknot.comwww.greenvelope.com

If evites aren’t your thing, consider using recycled paper or paper you can plant. The company Paper Culture is amazing for this. Etsy also has many bio-friendly paper products.

2. Avoid Out of Season Florals

Out of season florals will use additional resources that in season local flowers wouldn’t need, making them less than ideal for an eco-friendly wedding. When a plant is capable of growing in the current season, there is no need to produce an artificial sunlight or access an abundance of water.

Shopping local is another great way to limit the resources required. This will eliminate the need for large refrigerated trucks traveling long distances. It also helps the local economy, which is always a plus.

There are also some pretty amazing floral alternatives. You can consider using wood florals. They are customizable and look amazing! They can be reused too! Wood florals are typically created from a fast growing and abundant marsh tree, so they do no use many resources or take a long time to replenish.

Silk or cotton florals are great too! Some are absolutely gorgeous and they can be saved forever. This is not as eco-friendly as local or wood flowers, but is a close third and still a green option.

3. Limit your Guestlist

We want everyone we love to be present at our wedding, but one of the easiest ways to reduce an environmental impact (and reduce cost) is to lower your guest count. Less people means less food, less table décor, smaller venue, less guest travel, and less invitations to send.

If you are having a hard time deciding who should attend, think about their presence in your life. Have you talked to that person in the last year? Do you see them playing an important role in your future? If the answer is “no,” it’s okay not to invite them.

If you’re worried it will cause conflict inviting someone and not someone else, don’t invite anyone at all and elope. I’m just kidding… kind of. I eloped and will always encourage it. In all seriousness though, if someone doesn’t respect your decision not to invite them and is visibly upset about it, they don’t deserve someone as incredible as you in their life.

4. Buy Second Hand

From dresses to décor to jewelry, anything that is used more than once is helpful reducing harm to the environment and staying with that eco-friendly wedding theme. The textile industry is one of the largest users of non-renewable resources. It’s always exciting to buy a brand new dress that is one of kind for you, but what about finding a stunning vintage dress that is no longer produced like the one above. It’s just a different kind of one of a kind.

If a second hand dress isn’t your thing, there are companies that make amazing dresses from recycled material and are more conscious of using sustainable resources. We Are Reclamation sells amazing dresses made from recycled material. If you want to save some more money, they rent outfits as well!

Second hand items are an excellent way to have an eco-friendly wedding or elopement.

5. Go Plastic Free

Ah the “P” word. We probably all know of this one from our every day life as an easy way to be more eco-friendly. It’s far easier than you might think too. Avoid single use items, like plastic silverware and plates. Instead use real dishes that can be washed and reused. If you don’t want that hassle, try single use bamboo tableware. Bamboo is another tree that grows quickly with very few extra resources. It’s actually an invasive specie in Georgia. It grows so fast, it can be considered a renewable resource.

When decorating, instead of purchasing cheap plastic décor, find items you would decorate your home with. Look for second hand items to save some money. Rent items, especially if they are plastic. The more and longer an item is used, the less harmful it will be to the environment.

Happy Planning

With Love

-Juniper & Oak