Sustainable weddings grow in popularity
May 24—From their invitation RSVPs to their flowers, newlyweds Kelsey Chester and Caleb Siem merged with national trends and held a sustainable wedding Aug. 6, 2021, at The Capitol Room in St. Peter.
Whether it's flowers or decor, couples are veering toward sustainable options for their weddings in an industry that has long been regarded as disposable, say local wedding experts.
"Unfortunately, the wedding and event industry is a very disposable industry and finding ways to make things more sustainable is really needed," said Katie Hayes, owner of Parties & Weddings Plus in Mankato.
Here are five tips for hosting a sustainable wedding:
Invites
Depending on the size of your wedding, you may find yourself sending out a lot of invites. While some people may be OK scrapping invites altogether and switching to online invitations, most people will want something tangible to send and have as a keepsake after the big day.
Try getting your invites done by someone who uses bamboo material or plantable paper. Not only is this sustainable, but it also gives your guests something fun and quirky to do with the invitation after your wedding.
Having guests RSVP only online is one way Chester and Siem held a sustainable wedding last summer. Chester said she appreciated the real-time email updates when guests would RSVP and enjoyed receiving those throughout last summer.
"We sent out paper invites and then we did RSVPs online," she said.
Rent versus buy
Hayes is, of course, a big fan of renting your wedding pieces versus buying, as items bought often are used once and then disposed of in a landfill.
"We purchase quality items as a rental company to be used at many weddings," she said. "We also handle and care for our products and make repairs where needed to ensure the longevity of the items we invest in. Our floral work is all made in reusable rental containers for centerpieces as well. Linens, chair covers, runners and other fabrics are cleaned and reused for many events, making sure we even tackle the tough stains to avoid sending them to a landfill. We have some rentals in our inventory that we have had for several years that are still in rotation to date."
Far too frequently, couples purchase their own centerpieces, linens, chair covers, runners and other wedding accoutrements and after the wedding is done, they don't have a use for them. Hayes said she has had many people offer to give her their former wedding pieces. For a few years, she offered those donated items on consignment, but found products "sitting on the shelves with no interest for repurchase, so eventually we had to stop the program," she said.
Source locally instead of globally
Buying in-season, local flowers is another way couples can be "greener" with their weddings. Finding a florist who will use seasonal flowers as opposed to flowers that have been grown out of season and imported across the world gives your wedding a more ethical take.
"Absolutely," said florist Sara Nett when asked about choosing in-season, local flowers for weddings. Owner and lead designer of Sweet Alice floral shop in St. Peter, Nett said she's noted the green wedding trend starting on the coasts and inching its way toward the Midwest.
"It's the easiest way to reduce the environmental impact of the floral industry," Nett said of buying in-season local flowers. "Local farmers here in Minnesota produce the most spectacular blooms. Local, seasonal flowers tend to last longer as well, as they travel shorter distances to reach the consumer."
"But don't expect local flowers to be less expensive," she said. "Farmers had to work hard to create those beautiful blooms, and it requires many hands and many hours of labor."
Another floral tip comes from Chester, who had her bridal bouquet pressed and turned into a piece of art that hangs in her bedroom. "It is beautiful and it's one of a kind," she said.
Host locally
If your goal is to make your wedding environmentally friendly, it's a good idea to consider how far you and your guests will be traveling when it's time to choose your wedding venue.
Of course a destination wedding means traveling by plane, which as we all know, lets off plenty of harmful emissions.
Similarly, getting married in a remote and distant location may mean more driving for your guests.
If your heart is set on a remote wedding, pivot. The next best step might be hiring a coach for long journeys, which will be better for the environment than your guests taking a car each. The added bonus to this is that your family and friends will probably have a lot of fun on the journey there and back together too.
Switch out your decor
You can actually get a lot of beautiful decor that is environmentally friendly. For example, using bamboo and switching out balloons for rice paper lanterns will give your wedding a warm feel. And petal confetti is another option and its light colors end up looking better than regular non-biodegradable confetti.
Some couples are opting to swap plastic cups for glasses that each guest gets to bring home and use forever, said Megan Bennett-Selber, general manager of The Capitol Room in St. Peter.
"Sustainable weddings are becoming a bit more popular around our area," Bennett-Selber said. "We do have a lot of couples who have chosen to do personalized cups, where every single guest gets their own glass that they can take home with them."
Nett offers some basic but key advice. "Find vendors who know their stuff, what materials and techniques to use, what kind of waste management methods to use, how to get products with lower carbon footprints and who are committed to the core value of sustainability. No vendor can be perfectly sustainable, but find vendors who intentionally use sustainable practices however they can."
If you're looking for a planner or day of coordinator, find one who focuses on sustainability, Nett said. "They likely know the other vendors with similar values."
