How to have a sustainable wedding

We all dream about having a magical wedding day, after all its a once in a lifetime event. But did you know that an average-sized wedding creates between 180 kg and 300kg of waste in just one day? According to The Green Bride Guide couples tend to get caught up in the day and in the idea of creating Instagrammable moments for their guests and they forget about the environment. Luckily sustainable weddings are becoming increasingly popular and we get many couples who are conscious of their carbon footprint.

Planning a sustainable wedding is not more expensive or stressful but it may require some pointers since most people do not have experience in wedding planning.

The Future of Sustainable Weddings

At this point in time, with climate change and all the awareness about sustainability, a wasteful wedding is something you can avoid.

But before we get into it we want to point out that just as there is no such thing as a perfect wedding, there is also no perfectly ethical wedding. The prospect of planning a sustainable, eco-friendly wedding can be stressful so just follow these tips but don’t ruin your special day over it either. The very fact that you’re reading this article already deserves recognition.

1. Start with a Sustainable Wedding Venue

Airplane and car emissions are one of the first things to consider. So start by seeing how you and your guests will travel to your wedding venue. A destination wedding means air travel or travelling by ferry and a venue in a remote location means car travel. Secondly, does the venue offer in-house catering? this will also reduce the number of vehicles traveling to your location – sometimes caterers can do up to 40 trips to set up the kitchen with all the items and then dismantle and take the items back.

2. Choose a menu full of local produce

Speak to your caterer and make them aware of your sustainable ethos. Check if they can offer local traditional food and ask about where they source their ingredients from. So far there is no catering company available in Malta that offers a zero-waste wedding meal using rescued surplus produce but hopefully caterers will get there too. Choosing 30% of your menu to consist of Vegan or vegetarian items will also help decrease your carbon footprint. Finally ordering your alcohol from local wineries, and breweries is also another great option to reduce your carbon footprint.

3. Choose an ethical bridal, and grooms wear designer for a more sustainable wedding

There are a few different ways to approach ethical bridal fashion.

• You can look into buying a vintage wedding dress.
• or you can buy a second-hand dress or one from a charity store or through the Facebook page
• Swap, sell, donate, or recycle your wedding dress after your wedding day.
• Support local designers who think about sustainability in their ateliers.
• Consider jewelry that contains conflict-free stones and Fairmined metals, or use vintage jewelry from a family member
• Rent out your bridesmaid and groomsmen clothes so they can be reused several times.

4. Choose a florist that uses seasonal local flowers.

Depending on the time of year, a sustainably minded florist will know how to make your wedding more sustainable. We at TheMaltaFlorist not only grow a large amount of flowers we have a 100%sustainable production with water conservation techniques and organic growing practices. All leftovers in terms of cleaned leaves, broken stems, etc are composted and used as fertilizer for our fields. We use 100% biodegradable wool or moss or vases with water as bases for flowers and we can also incorporate plants which we will then take back to our greenhouse for care in your wedding. If you are interested in a wedding quote fill out our wedding consultation form.

Using dried flowers is an option too like this dry flower aisle that can be leased to you by the florist and picked up by them and used again in other weddings.

5. Decorate your wedding with reusable décor

Some decorations have a higher impact on the environment than others. Balloons and fireworks for example have a big impact on wildlife and whilst we cannot deny that they are nice you might want to opt for more reusable decor items like vintage suitcases, vintage typewriters, books etc that can be reused. Glassware and ceramic urns,  candelabra, and lanterns all of which you can hire from us at The Malta Florist. We also provide LED candles and non-toxic candles, and biodegradable confetti for your wedding day.

6. Give smart wedding favors for a more sustainable wedding

We love the idea of charity wedding favors. There are lots of local charities that could use your support, including Puttinu Cares, AAA, and more. You could also encourage your guests to plant a tree by giving them seeds or grow a plant by giving a small plant. or DIY your own sustainable favors.