Every couple wants that perfect wedding where they exchange vows and rings in a beautiful setting that they have spent a lot of time planning and setting up. It’s the most special day of a relationship, as you commit yourself to your soul mate for the rest of your lives. Creating the perfect wedding involves incorporating everything that you envision and generating a wonderful atmosphere in the process.

One of the biggest trends in wedding planning is making ethical and socially conscious decisions that make your wedding eco-friendly and sustainable. It can be easy to overlook this with all the excitement surrounding marriage, but there are some simple tweaks that you can make to your wedding to reduce your carbon footprint.

This article will take a closer look at eco-conscious wedding planning decisions that you can incorporate into your special day. Continue reading for some ethical inspiration for your wedding.

Ethical Wedding Decisions to Incorporate

Minimise Wedding Guest List

Inviting fewer guests to your wedding will lower your carbon footprint. Not as many people will have to travel to your wedding, which will result in fewer emissions as not as many guests will be driving on the road. If you have a smaller group attending your wedding, it also makes it easier to be more eco-conscious as you have more flexibility with the venue.

You might think having fewer guests will reduce the excitement of your wedding, but it’s quite the contrary. Embracing intimacy can make the occasions feel even more special, as everyone can play a more significant role in your wedding. This can also create heartfelt conversations with those that are closest to you.

Choose the Right Venue

The place you choose to have your wedding can have a huge impact on how sustainable and eco-friendly it is. Selecting a venue with green certifications or an outdoor setting that requires minimal energy use. Non-traditional venues can make your wedding feel more unique and it could be an experience that all of your guests will never forget.

Some ideas for an eco-conscious wedding venue include parks, botanical gardens or even your own backyard. If you require your wedding to be inside a traditional venue, you can make tweaks such as getting sustainable blinds in Watford that prioritise allowing more natural lighting into a building, as opposed to using artificial lighting that can increase your carbon footprint.

Waste Reduction

There are several ways that you can reduce waste for your wedding. Reusable wedding decor is all the range at the moment and can be created using a variety of materials like recycled fabrics, reclaimed wood and biodegradable balloons. You can also use a range of flowers that have been locally picked or sourced.

You can also reduce waste by sending out digital RSVPs rather than paper versions. However, if your heart is set on paper invitations, make sure that it is paper made from recycled materials.

Eco-Friendly Wedding Attire

The wedding dress is one of the biggest decisions a bride can make in the build-up to their wedding day. You’ll want a dress that fits your body while also complementing your style preferences and luckily there is so much choice for this. Going for an eco-friendly wedding dress is very important if you’re looking to create an ethical wedding. Using recycled or eco-friendly materials like Tencel or Curpo can be your best choice. The groom can also use eco-friendly materials for their suit.

It's important to ensure that your guests are aware of your sustainable wedding wishes. They can all make an effort to ethically source their wedding outfits too. Second-hand and rental wedding outfits can be easily found online and are always a great option for being more eco-conscious at a wedding.

Organic Catering

When choosing catering for your wedding reception, it’s important to source local and organic food to reduce your carbon footprint. Sourcing locally means that the food needs to travel shorter distances to reach its destination, which reduces fuel emissions and supports local farmers simultaneously.

Going vegetarian or vegan for your menu can also lessen the environmental impact of your wedding, but we understand that this choice isn’t for everyone. The most important part is ensuring that all your guests are happy while making sure your catering choices are as sustainable as possible.

Green Transportation

For guests making the journey to your wedding, you should promote the use of eco-friendly transportation. Having everyone travel in one vehicle, like a mini-bus, means that there will be fewer emissions created as less cars will be on the road. Some weddings require flights to reach the destination, so if this is the case, you should seek out the most sustainable airlines possible.

You can take this a set further by hiring electric vehicles for your guests to use to get to your wedding. There are now so many electric vehicle charging bays available for these vehicles, so your guests can travel to your wedding safely while also taking care of the environment.