What is a Sustainable Wedding Planner?
In a more environmentally conscious era, where couples are increasingly mindful of the carbon footprint of their weddings, I am sure many of you are wondering what it is that us sustainable wedding planners do to make weddings more eco friendly.
It's a good question, the answer for which I am sure varies a little from planner to planner, but today I am going to fill you in on what my company does behind the scenes to make weddings a little greener, and hopefully clear up any myths on sustainable events being more expensive, overly limiting, or out of reach in some way.
Having grown up on an organic smallholding with the Black Mountains and rolling Welsh countryside on my doorstep, I have always had a close connection to nature and a passion for preserving it. My parents raised us to make considered, sustainable choices (before it was really a thing!) so, many years later, when I came to setting up an events company, sustainability was always going to be at its roots.
For all businesses striving to be more eco-friendly, it's about doing the best we can with the resources we have, always looking at what can be improved on, and pledging to keep sustainability at the heart of all decision-making.
It's not possible to claim to be perfect, but sustainability is always on my radar and present in all the choices I make, which transfers to the events I co-create having less of an environmental footprint.
Below is a list of everything our little company is currently doing to work towards a more sustainable future in the events industry.
Office
We use 100% green electricity to power our office.
Our office is based in my little rural Welsh cottage (as featured in Country Living!), reducing the need to travel to work and heat a further space.
We source 100% recycled printer paper and keep our printing to an absolute minimum.
Everything in our office, from furniture and furnishings to lighting, computers, phones, and even in-trays are either vintage pre-loved finds, or reconditioned items. We have a very strong "don't buy new" policy.
All our banking is with Triodos Bank who only make investments that have a positive impact on society and the environment.
Our Cloud provider uses 100% green energy.
We stick to online marketing only, avoiding flyers, posters, or any excessive printing or waste.
We use all-natural products for cleaning our spaces and our stock, our storage containers are all made from recycled plastic and our business benefits from all the sustainable living choices my household has made.
For every new couple we work with we make a donation to our two favourite tree-planting charities JUST ONE TREE & TREES FOR CITIES
Events
We only cover Wales to minimize travel (and it's so beautiful here why would we need to go any further!).
We also keep our suppliers local to reduce any unnecessary travel.
We locally hire in everything we need from decor to napkins, meaning nothing is single-use.
If we are looking for something that we can't hire, we always source pre-loved items.
Imported and heavily sprayed flowers are bad news on so many levels. We work with local florists who grow their flowers in Pembrokeshire and share our green ethos. If they don't have everything we need, they buy in chemical-free blooms from other UK growers.
We make careful choices with our floristry displays, opting to always have our flowers in water in repurposed vessels whenever possible. Oasis is a massive cause of plastic pollution, as are all the little plastic tube alternatives used for floral installations. We are also aware that moss takes many years to grow and, if treated as a disposable product, is not a sustainable solution. For floral installations that can't be in water, we have a selection of reusable bases that we have made using chicken wire and responsibly sourced moss from the UK. Over winter all our moss bases live outside where the moss thrives and is fresh for a new season.
We do our best to make sure flowers are enjoyed for as long as possible by sending them home with friends and family and we compost all our green waste.
From string to pins, floristry wire, and tape we choose natural materials and avoid any plastics.
We do everything we can to make sure there is as little waste as possible at every event and make sure waste is separated and recycled.
When making supplier selections ourselves, we work with companies who share in our ethos and source local produce.
From rings to honeymoons, we offer advice and inspiration to couples on how they can make less impactful choices.
So, as you can see, it's simple behind-the-scenes choices that make a difference. A sustainable approach can work for any couple, wedding style, and budget. Whatever type of event you are planning, there will always be considered tweaks that can be made to reduce the overall impact of the day, even if it's as simple as supporting the businesses that make ethical choices within their business - Little steps go a long way towards a future of greener weddings.
If you are interested in eco friendly weddings and would like any advice or support with your big day please get in touch with us here
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