Earth Day is coming up, and it has us thinking about our favorite green wedding ideas.
Did you know that the average wedding in the United States produces 400 pounds of garbage and 63 tons of CO2?
The pressure to put on a picture-perfect day comes with the impulse to buy plenty of smaller items to make your wedding more beautiful. These extra purchases usually mean that paper goods are tossed, extra food is thrown away, and wilted flowers are dumped in the garbage after a few hours of wedding day fun.
By no means are we saying you should skip out on the gorgeous wedding details you’ve always dreamed of, we have a few minor changes and suggestions that can ultimately make a big difference to how your wedding impacts the environment.
Planning a green wedding does not have to be more difficult than planning a normal wedding. There are plenty of different eco-friendly wedding choices, and these are a few of our favorites!
Natural Wedding Rings
Harvesting diamonds and mining for metal can be harmful to the environment. Eco-friendly engagement rings are manufactured with a low impact on the ecosystem and do not violate any human rights, rules, or regulations. If you’re a socially conscious couple, an ethically sourced engagement ring is perfect for you.
The True Gem is a sustainable jeweler located in Dallas, Texas that recycles gemstones and metals to create stunning sparklers.
Rent Dishes and Linens
It’s common to use disposable products for pre and post-wedding events like bridal showers and brunches; however, we’ve found that most of these items eventually end up in a landfill. We recommend renting dishes and linens instead to help reduce that waste. Check out the extensive linen collection at BBJ Linen, located in Dallas, Texas.
You can also try requesting sustainable, compostable, or reusable dishware from your catering company.
Donate or Compost Flower and Food Waste
At the end of a wedding day, the leftover food and flowers are often thrown away into a landfill. Try talking with your caterer about what will happen to your leftover food and make a plan to have it donated or composted.
Floral centerpieces are beautiful no doubt; however, fresh-cut plants aren’t always the best thing for the environment. Your flowers can be composted with your food or donated to someone who can still make use of them. You may also want to consider potted flowers and things that can be reused at homes such as orchids, plants, herbs, and trees.
Eco-Friendly Wedding Invitations
You can create some of the most gorgeous wedding invitations on recycled paper, or other alternative materials like upcycled fabrics, leather, or even wood. If you’re looking for something that is extra earth-friendly, you might want to consider printing your invitations, menus, and programs on seed paper. Seed paper is biodegradable and will sprout into beautiful blooming flowers once planted in a pot of soil.
Wedding Venue
Are you looking for a venue to host your sustainable wedding? We’re saving dates at the Sanger Mansion today! We have both an indoor and outdoor venue that can accommodate up to 300 guests.
We’re here to bring your wedding vision to life with our in-house photographer, florist, wedding planner, bridal suite, and so much more! Once we finish transforming the mansion, our indoor venue will have three floors with guest rooms to accommodate both your bridal party and family and our outdoor venue will be complete with a blooming vineyard.