Top Tips for Planning a Sustainable Wedding

As a nation, we are becoming more and more conscious about sustainability and what we can do to be kinder to our planet. Couples are more conscious than ever of environmental and ethical factors especially when it comes to tying the knot. The search for eco-friendly weddings favours, biodegradable confetti, rented wedding dresses and dried flower bouquets is on! We have put together a list of our top tips to help you be more sustainable when planning your wedding. 

1.) The Recycled Wedding Dress

In the last year online searches for wedding dress hire have increased 132%. Brides are looking for ways to make their wedding more sustainable, reduce waste and keep costs affordable.

So many brides dream of that moment when their friends, family and partner see them in their wedding dress for the first time. Walking down the aisle feeling confident, comfortable and full of love. We only live that moment once, but imagine a beautiful wedding dress going on to empower another bride to share those wonderful feelings too.

By buying pre-loved wedding attire it can make your budget go further too. Allowing you to save money or spend money in other areas of the big day. Also, choosing a recycled wedding dress instead of a brand-new dress can save on using natural resources from an environmental point of view.

There is a growing market for recycled wedding dresses, giving you more choice. A marketplace like Recycle My Wedding is a great place to start your search, they also give 10% of the listing fee to Trees for Life, to plant trees for our future, which we think is fantastic!

Image Credit: Recycle My Wedding

2.) Venues with Values

Finding the perfect wedding venue can take time. After all, this is where you will be making those special memories with your new spouse, which you will hold onto for a lifetime. There are so many picturesque wedding venues within the UK to choose from, including stately homes, country barns, epic castles, hotels or even quirky city locations, there is something for every couple.

When researching your wedding venue consider what company values and policies they have in place, do they align with your own values? If they're providing catering, furniture or flowers for example, ask where they source their materials. Is it local, recycled, or rented?

Dewsall Court are firm believers that a million people embracing being ethical 'imperfectly' is better than a few people doing it perfectly. They pride themselves in doing the utmost to create sustainable weddings without comprising the luxury product they offer. 

Image Credit: Dewsall Court

3.) Hired Groomswear

When kitting out all of your groomsmen, you can't go wrong with suit hire. There are so many stylish tailored options for rental, with most shops offering to do the alterations for you too. Your entire party will look pristine as they take on their usher duties.

Moss Hire are a great place to start your search for hired groom's attire, especially as they have stores across the UK, so you don't all have to be in the same county to try something on. Many bridal boutiques now offer a hired service too so you may be lucky enough to find everything in one place. 

Image Credit: The Vintage Suit Hire 

4.) Food for Thought

Know your vendors, not only do you want food that tickles the taste buds but it is also important that we do our bit to source locally, keeping the travel miles at a minimum where possible. When considering your food options for the big day, try to choose foods that are in season too, this will help keep the costs lower than importing, and can make your wedding day even more special.

Delve a little deeper into where your food and drink is coming from, don't be afraid to ask your caterers where they source their ingredients and also consider what happens to your left overs. Some suppliers within the UK have been known to donate left over food to their local food banks the next day. Which we think is a great idea!

Image Credit: Feast It 

5.) British Grown Flowers

When it comes to choosing your wedding flowers ask your florist to keep them British where possible. There are an incredible selection of British flower farms offering a beautiful variety of British blooms, there really is no need to rack up those air miles. Plus, by buying British flowers you are supporting wildlife within the UK, as insects and pollinators can benefit from more flowers grown right here in the British Isles.

You can go that bit further and opt for British dried flowers for a truly sustainable bridal bouquet. Not only are these one of the latest bridal trends, they will last you for years to come too! Dried flowers are usually much more affordable than fresh too, and you can order ahead of time without the risk of the flowers going over.

Here at Shropshire Petals we lovingly create a variety of dried floral bouquets, posies and wreaths. Choose from a range of colours to fit your wedding theme or colour palette.

If you're feeling crafty and want to fancy a group activity with your bridesmaids, you can create your own bouquets or posies weeks ahead of the big day using individual flower bunches. 

Image Credit Happy Wed Photography featuring Shropshire Petals Wildflower Wheat Sheaf

6.) Eco-Friendly Wedding Favours

Last year the online search for eco-friendly wedding favours increased by a massive 1,500% and we can see why! There are so many wonderful ideas for us to choose from whilst being kind to our planet.

We really love these personalised succulents wedding favours by The Gluttonous Gardener. Not only are they a wonderful unique keepsake from your wedding day but your guests get a growing reminder of your special day!

We speak to a lot of wedding planners at Shropshire Petals, and over the year's we hear that wedding favours tend to be their pet hate. Wedding guests can often forget to take favours home at the end of the night, and the couple or venue can be lumped with them afterwards. Ask yourself, if you think favours would be used after your wedding day, or alternatively, you could make a donation to a charity of your choice and let your wedding guests know.

Image Credit: Gluttonous Gardener

7.) Biodegradable Confetti

Throwing confetti over the newlyweds is such an iconic part to every wedding! The only real contender is British grown biodegradable petals! With a variety of beautiful natural colours, option to mix your own petal colours, and huge choice of display options, Shropshire Petals is the place to go when you're looking for a sustainable confetti moment! Plus you know exactly the confetti petals are grown on our family-run farm in Shropshire.

If you're not sure how much confetti you need for your wedding day, make sure to try our easy confetti calculator. Simply pop in how many guests you've got coming, and it will work out how many litres you need for your guests to throw. Easy peasy!

There is no right or wrong way to display your wedding confetti, it's just about what feels right for you. Whether you prefer using baskets for guests to take a handful, personalised cones, cute little confetti sachets filled with your choice of confetti, or even wow factor cannons, the choice is yours.

Order your wedding confetti as soon as you know what you want and have it delivered right away if your wedding is less than 3 months away, or delivered closer to the time with Delayed Delivery if you're ordering over 3 months away.

Image Credit: Jordan Fox Photography  featuring Shropshire Petals Blush Confetti Mix

8.) E-Wedding Invitations

As we embrace the digital age, e-invites are becoming much more popular. They're quicker than getting your invites printed and they're much more cost effective than posting physical invites around the country, or world, depending on where your guests live.

With digital wedding invite companies popping up like Greenvelope and Say I do, you can create beautiful invitations for your guests, and have all of the information they require easily accessible online. So, you can rest assure if they forget the address for the church, they can check it from their phone on the day!

You can also add wish lists, more detailed useful information and rsvp's on there too. Paperless invites are a fantastic interactive eco friendly way to request your friends and family to join you on your special day. 

Image Credit: Greenvelope

9.) Repurposed Wedding Bands

Choosing the perfect wedding bands is a really special moment to be shared with your other half. Make that moment even more wonderful by choosing a piece of family heirloom jewellery. We are seeing lots of couples opting for the sentimental and sustainable option, instead of buying new.

Recently, one lovely bride had her late Grandma's gold wedding band and her partner's late Grandfather's band melted down, mixed together and turned into two new wedding rings. A beautiful sentimental gesture.

There's some incredibly skilled artisan jewellers that can create something bespoke for you, using recycled materials. Alternatively choosing a vintage piece of jewellery and restoring it, to it's former glory, is a wonderful way to breathe new life into a piece of history. 

Image Credit: Six Stories

10.) Thrifty Wedding Décor

Shopping second hand online or visiting your local charity shops, has become increasingly popular over the past few years. Whether you're searching for beautiful vintage wine glasses for your top table, decorative hair accessories or even wedding party outfits, charity shops are the hidden gems you need to be exploring. With mix match bridesmaid dresses set to be a trend for 2023, take a trip with your bridal squad and see what treasures you can source sustainably without buying new.

A Charity shop gift card could be the perfect engagement gift for a soon to be eco-conscious bride!

Image Credit: The Charity Shop Gift Card

There are so many ways to make your wedding more sustainable and hopefully some of these tips will come in really useful when planning your big day! We'd love to hear any tips you've found for being more sustainable during your wedding planning, so please drop us an email or message on social media.

Just remember nothing can be absolutely perfect, and it's better to make small changes to be more environmentally friendly than not doing anything at all. We all want to have the dream perfect wedding day, but try not to put too much pressure on yourself. After all, it's a celebration of love with your nearest and dearest. You got this!

Happy wedding planning, Love SP xx