10 Eco-Friendly Wedding Ideas For All Budget Types

Today, we will share with you 10 simple eco-friendly wedding ideas to make your special day extra special for you and the planet.

We can all agree that traditional wedding arrangements are often wasteful and expensive.

For instance, most wedding leave behind tons of trash in the form of discarded plastic wedding decorations, plastic cutlery, flowers and large amount of wasted food.

So we will provide eco-friendly alternatives that reduces your wedding’s environmental impact and will even let you save money!

And don’t worry because the eco-friendly ideas wedding we will share below doesn’t take out the romance of the occasion.

So, before you say “I Do“, here are 10 eco-friendly wedding ideas you can consider for your special day.

1. Choose Sustainable Wedding Rings

We wrote this part for the groom but you can also discuss with your future wife.

Eco-friendly ideas for your wedding should start from day 1, the day you asked your partner to be your wife.

You have a couple of options when shopping for sustainable wedding rings.

First, you can choose to give your wife-to-be a ring passed down in your family from generation to generation.

An heirloom engagement ring is not only sustainable and practical, but it will be extra special for the bride as it will make her feel that she is already part of the family.

And in terms of sustainability, passing down an engagement ring means no new materials used and no new carbon emissions.

If there is no ring like this in the family, you can find sustainable engagement rings in shops and online.

Also, don’t forget to ask about the gemstones used on the engagement ring and make sure they are ethically sourced.

2. Eco-Friendly Wedding Invitations

One of the most popular sustainable wedding trends today is handing out eco-friendly wedding invitations.

Traditional wedding invitation cards, in reality, will only end up as trash no matter how beautiful they are.

So, you are actually paying money for something that immediately goes to the bin after the ceremony.

Hence, the most eco-friendly way of inviting guests is to send electronic invites via e-mail or other social media platforms.

It is zero waste, reduces the consumption of materials (trees, electricity, etc), doesn’t require driving or mails to be delivered, and cheaper!

There are plenty of preset electronic wedding invite designs available on the internet.

You can also use apps if you want a personalized and themed wedding invitation.

But what if you want to use a traditional wedding invitation card? Is there an eco-friendly way?

If going traditional with the wedding invitation is the way you want to go, we recommend using sustainable, responsibly-sourced, and recyclable paper.

3. Sustainable Wedding Dress and Clothes

The bride’s dress is a main attraction of any wedding. The same is true for the groom’s and the entourage’s outfit.

Nevertheless, looking all gorgeous and fancy on your wedding day doesn’t have to come at the expense of our planet.

As you may already know, the fashion industry is a top contributor of waste and carbon emissions worldwide.

So on your wedding, opt for sustainable wedding dress and wedding clothes.

If you are planning to wear brand new outfits on your wedding, look for wedding attires made with eco-friendly fabrics.

You also have the option of renting wedding attires as it is more practical and cheaper. (how many times are you going to use a wedding dress anyway)

Third, many families keep family dress as heirloom (similar to engagement rings) and that can be an option for you as well.

4. Choose Eco-Friendly Wedding Venues

There are many ways to achieve a greener wedding venues.

Many establishments are now eco-conscious and provide green services.

And if you want to cut back on expenses, you can have your wedding reception in your backyard or in your garden.

Want to make your everlasting vows surrounded by nature?

Have your wedding on a near a beach or forest.

One thing to consider is choose a venue that is nearest to you and most of your guest.

Local wedding events will reduce transportation necessities for lesser emissions.

You can also search for “eco-friendly wedding venues” or “eco-friendly wedding receptions” to get more options.

5. Use Eco-Friendly Wedding Decorations & Flowers

Flowers are vital part of any wedding.

From the bride’s bouquet to the wedding decorations, they most likely involves flowers.

But on your wedding day, we suggest hiring services that use potted flowers and plants rather than the picked ones.

We know its a little conventional but picked flowers will have nowhere else to go but in the trash after the ceremony.

Meanwhile, actual potted plants can still continue to live, produce oxygen, provide food for bees, and can be reused in another wedding!

Of course, we can’t use pots on the bride’s bouquet but you get the idea.

What we are aiming for is the idea of minimizing the number of picked flowers at your wedding.

6. Minimize Electricity Consumption As Possible

This one is pretty tricky as we know your wedding day should be extra special and in most cases, a couple won’t mind using a lot of electricity on their wedding.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that there are no smart ways to reduce electric consumption on your wedding day.

For starters, schedule the entire event during daytime.

With the natural light of day, you don’t need to worry about using a lot of electric lights.

But if you want to have a nighttime reception, you can still minimize electricity using candles for table lights.

You can also use energy-efficient and eco-friendly appliances during the event to help cut back on electric consumption.

7. Prepare Eco-Friendly Wedding Menu

Before this article, perhaps you’ve never heard of eco-friendly wedding menus.

Well, don’t be alarmed because its not as complicated as it sounds.

You can start by looking for food suppliers that serve naturally grown meat and locally sourced organic ingredients.

Check their company profile and previous events to ensure that they are serving organic produce.

Reviews from previous clients are also available for sure.

And as much as possible, use locally produced ingredients on your wedding menu, those that doesn’t need to be shipped from halfway across the world.

8. Use Sustainable Utensils

Stainless steel spoon and fork are the most sustainable utensils to use on a wedding since you will probably be using them for life.

There are also many silverware and utensil rental businesses that you can choose from.

But if you want to go to the extent of providing utensils that matches your wedding’s theme, maybe wood or bamboo, there are a lot of other eco-friendly utensils that you can check out.

9. Hand Out Eco-Friendly Wedding Favors

There are many eco-friendly wedding favors you can choose to give to your wedding guests.

To-go food in small portions like cupcakes, salads, and fruit baskets is a good start for more unique ideas that involve food giveaways. 

You can wrap it in recyclable or reusable packaging to maintain being eco-friendly even in small details.

Another option would be to give potted plants and succulents.

These kinds of plants don’t require much attention and will emphasize your guest’s own spaces at home.

You can find more eco-friendly wedding favor ideas online.

10. Provide Proper Trash Bins

As we mentioned at the start of this article, lot of waste can expected in a massive event like weddings.

Food is not the only waste you can expect from the guest but also various stuffs they carry with them.

And while monitoring our guest trash is not something you want to worry on your wedding day, what we can do is to set up an organized disposal system that will segregate waste classifications.

This way, the guest will be guided on proper waste disposal and it makes the waste collectors job easier and efficient.

And also…

Kindly Ask Wedding Guests For Help

Not just for the wedding organizers, the venue employees, and the couple, but everyone present in the reception should be responsible for their waste.

You don’t have to help clean the whole place but at least make them responsible for the small area they occupy.

If everyone in the venue is doing these, we believe that trash created by your wedding will be managed easily.

Final Thoughts

As you may already know, weddings are often extravagant and wasteful.

From wedding decorations to food catering, these involves using materials that are not eco-friendly.

Not to mention the mountain of trash that is left in the wedding reception.

Getting married is the most memorable event in anyone’s life, but it could be messy and unhealthy for the environment.

But we hope that you can find it in your heart to implement the eco-friendly wedding ideas you learned on this guide not just for you but more importantly, so our kids and future generations can still have a safe planet to live in.

Eco-Friendly Wedding FAQ