Weddings, just like any other large event, produce a lot of “waste”. But like….a LOT of it. According to the Green Bride Guide, about 400-600 POUNDS (or 181-272 kg for you non-Americans) of waste is accumulated PER WEDDING and The New York Times estimates around 57,152 kilograms of CO2. This isn’t to say “skip the reception”, but there are ways to be more eco-friendly when planning. Here’s how:

Reduce the amount of paper goods

Weddings go through a ton of paper, from the invite suite to programs/menus to signage. The easiest thing you can do is simply reduce to the bare minimum of what you need (I mean, honestly, no one needs a ceremony program and your save the dates can be via email). However, if you insist on having a lot of each of these things, it’s recommended to print on “seed paper”. Yes, paper that is literally made of seeds so when it’s planted or thrown out, it’s reincarnated into plants or is at least biodegradable. For signage, you can rent chalkboards or glass and have a calligrapher write out what you need and then it can all be cleaned and returned post-wedding.

go local

A solid majority of wedding waste comes from importing. From food to flowers to vendors, there’s a lot going on. By selecting local (and seasonal) food, wines, flowers, and vendors, there’s less transportation and you get to support local businesses. Bonus: the food will taste better and the flowers will be prettier. Speaking of blooms, you can reduce the amount you need by taking the ceremony arrangements and reusing them at the reception. Win for the environment AND your wallet (flowers aren’t cheap, ya’ll).

Make it biodegradable

We already went over having seed paper for the paper goods, but we can do more. If you’re planning on having confetti or balloons (looking at you, bridal shower balloon arch), make sure they’re the biodegradable kind. There are even eco-friendly fireworks! Regular fireworks work up a lot of smoke contaminating the atmosphere, but the eco option is clean burning and uses a nitrogen based fuel which emits very little smoke.

Reduce fumes

Speaking of smoke, let’s talk about transportation. There’s a few different things that can impact this:

1) Provide a shuttle or a bus to/from the venue from your hotel blocks: less cars at the venue and everyone can drink

2) Have your ceremony and reception at the same venue (your guests will also appreciate this)

3) If you’re having a destination wedding (aka a location where you know everyone has to travel), keep the guest list as small as possible. Weddings produce 75 times the CO2 emissions of an average in-town wedding just off of guest travel alone.

rent & borrow

After you make a list of all the things you need for the wedding, go through and highlight everything you could possibly rent (your planner will have contacts for this as well) for your linens, decor, dishes/cutlery, or even outfits (tuxes and bridesmaid dresses). Next, see what you can buy second hand at a thrift shop. This could include welcome party/rehearsal dinner/after party outfits, decor, guest “book” options, or jewelry. Lastly, what could you borrow from a relative or close friend? This could usually be accessories like jewelry, shoes, or a veil. Or signage and decor (you would not believe the amount of stuff people accumulate from their own weddings and would be happy to let you buy/borrow!). Won’t know until you ask!

Interested in thrifting for your wedding? We have a whole blog post about it! Click here to read

give back

Lastly, find a way to off-set your wedding carbon footprint. First, use this calculator to determine how big your footprint will be. One bride I read about in the New York Times donated money to a non-profit that plants trees and others donate to other non-profit green organizations. You can choose vendors and venues that use more sustainable methods such as solar panels, insulated walls/window, biodegradable materials, and LED lights. Some companies even plant trees just for spending money with them (hello, Capital One Travel!). But my favorite (simple) way is to plant a tree for your unity ceremony. It’s the “greenest” thing you could do and it’s integrated into the wedding day. You know what they say about birds and stones.

So, go forth and plan…sustainably. Even if you’re not able to do much, every little bit helps. There’s about 2.5 MILLION weddings a year, so if each couple just did one or two things more eco-friendly, that’s a lot of impact. What will you do for yours? Let us know!

Samantha Shammas, Author and Owner of SamiaLynn

Weddings are (and should) be unique to the couple themselves. You choose your wedding party, who’s speaking or giving toasts at the ceremony or reception, the theme, etc. But in certain cases, to bring your vision to life, you have to involve the guests and give them direction. Do you want gifts? Is there a specific dress code? Are kids allowed? These are all things that need to be indicated in your invite suite, but can sometimes be awkward to write out. I’ve asked Kate Turner of Kate + Company (the QUEEN of luxury weddings) to help guide how to properly phrase certain requests in the most sophisticated way possible:

How to say "kid free wedding"

To communicate a "no kids" policy at your wedding, we recommend using your invitation envelopes to guide guests. You can use inner and outer envelopes, addressing the inner envelope to the family (Mr. and Mrs. John Smith) and the outer envelope with the couple's given names (Suan and John). By listing it this way, clearly without the kids names, it's a red flag that this is adults only! For your RSVP card, include a "number of guests attending" area. Most guests will understand and respect this rule. If needed, handle exceptions on a case-by-case basis. While you can include the phrase "Adults Only" on your reception card, we don't recommend it.

How to say "no gifts" or "money only"

It’s important to remember while giving a wedding gift is common practice, no one is actually required to buy you a wedding gift so indicating any registry details on a wedding invitation could be interpreted as rude and is a big etiquette no-no. We recommend allowing for word-of-mouth on your gift giving preferences. However, if you want to list something it's more appropriate to do so on your wedding website.  We recommend the verbiage, "Your presence at our wedding is a present enough! However, if you'd like to give well wishes with a gift, we'd appreciate you considering cash or gift cards to your favorite store. This will help us achieve our dream of turning our house into a home / taking a once in a lifetime vacation / etc. For your convenience, we've linked some of our registries below. Thank you! Sarah and Paul".

How to instruct color palette or specific themed dress code

We love being direct here so there's no confusion. Typically an attire preference is listed on the reception card. Typically you'd indicate "All Pink Attire Preferred" or "Black Tie". If you need to give more detail, we recommend moving this to an FAQ's section of your website! Two important things to remember here: (1) Black-Tie is only for events after 6pm and (2) part of being a gracious host is allowing your guests to be comfortable. Being too strict with a dress code may be a financial challenge for some of your guests causing them to forego attending your events. If that's okay with you - great! If not - make it easy on your guests! 

How to invite people for the reception only and not the ceremony

An invitation is technically two parts, the larger piece invites guests to witness your marriage at the ceremony. Then there is an insert that invites them to the reception. If you are inviting some guests to BOTH events and some guests to the reception only, you will first need a stationer that's good with variable data - that's key! Next, you'll need two variations of your main invitation. Variation One - follows standard protocol and invites guests to your ceremony, includes the date, time, location. Variation Two - the main insert will actually be an announcement and not include the time or location. Then these guests get the same reception insert. 

How to explain a "British style" wedding aka morning ceremony then evening reception

This is actually very common in our marketplace (midwest USA) because most Catholic weddings are similar - late morning or early afternoon ceremony followed by a gap and then evening reception. You'll simply use the main invitation to invite guests to the ceremony indicating the time, etc. Then a reception card indicating the details of the evening portion. If more explanation is needed, we'd suggest pushing this to your wedding website. 

Kate is a luxury wedding and event planner based in St. Louis, MO, although the company does execute events all over! As this boutique-style team specializes in the most luxurious of wedding experiences, they do only take on a limited number of events a year (aka your guest experience is guaranteed to be elite). Kate + Co has been featured in all the top industry publications, including Brides, Martha Stuart Weddings, and Vogue Weddings.

Kate prides herself with being surrounded by the best teams and has a true passion for creating gorgeous events that reflect the unique style of each couple. When she’s not commanding a room flip, you’ll find her playing tourist with her kids and husband.

Even if it’s just for gorgeous inspiration, be sure to follow Kate on Instagram @kateandcompany and check out her website at www.kateandcollc.com.

Samantha Shammas, Author and Owner of SamiaLynn