In India, when one talks about weddings, one mostly thinks about traditional ceremonies, glamorous celebrations, cultural values, which sum up to make the big-fat Indian weddings. Sustainability, however, almost never makes it to the top priority list. Though, most guests might not be doing this on purpose, somewhere down the line they fail to see the long-lasting impact their actions are likely to have on the environment.
However, increasing intensely cold winters and hot melting summers is making most of us realize how climate change is impacting everyone and why a sustainable lifestyle is the need of the hour. Realizing this, millennial couples are on the forefront of driving this change towards sustainability.
While they themselves have become more conscious of their lifestyle choices, they are also urging their families and friends to do so. Now, they have begun bringing this consciousness to their wedding plans, since it constitutes a big part of this lifestyle change. Therefore, sustainable eco-friendly weddings are trending nowadays, making it important for hotels to come up with earth-friendly theme.
Here are some inspiring ideas that you can provide to couples and families planning their big day, which will also do some good for the environment:
Venues that prioritise sustainability
Wedding events cause enormous impact on the environment and venue lighting and arrangements are amongst the biggest contributing factors to it. Therefore, taking some small environment-conscious steps like opting for a sustainable venue can help reduce the impact on the environment.
Couples can opt for an outdoor wedding space like a marriage garden. It is one of the best ways to cut down on the consumption of manmade energy. Even for night weddings, candles can be given priority over artificial lighting.
Virtual guest lists
While wedding formats like virtual and hybrid weddings largely picked up because of the COVID-19 restrictions. However, their immense success and popularity can also be attributed to factors like cost saving and sustainability.
These wedding formats limit the number of guests attending the wedding physically, which in turn, reduces the carbon footprint and promotes sustainability. In addition to this, it increases the accessibility for international guests and gives them an opportunity to share these precious moments with their loved ones.
Minimise waste
A no-waste wedding might not be the first priority for couples when they decide to initiate their big day, though, for any sustainability-minded couples thinking about tying the knot, it’s a great way for them to begin their zero-waste journey together. The good news is while everyone knows that wedding planning is a big job, it doesn’t mean it will also include waste!
Couples and families can cut down on their carbon footprint by working with hotels to hire local vendors, and buy local and in-season flowers and food. For instance, they could opt for potted plants to amp up their wedding decor, rather than going for a flimsy fake ceiling with plastic tassels or instead of going for a tailor-made jewelry set, the bride could flaunt her family jewels or rented accessories.
Eco-Friendly Invitations
Technology gave people the opportunity to limit paper consumption as everything moved to an online space. Therefore, to avoid the relentless waste of plastic and paper that comes along with printed wedding invites, couples can choose e-invites or wedding websites. As it’s not possible in every case, when tradition calls for it and if they still wish to stick to a physical invite, this is how they can make it eco-friendly. They can go for recycled paper or use alternative materials, like leather, upcycled fabrics, and wood. Earth-friendly stationery, print invitations, programs, and menus on seed paper could also be opted for as an alternative.
Infact, WeddingWire India has introduced a unique feature for the people who want to create their own customized wedding website. By using this feature, couples can register for virtual or hybrid wedding ceremonies where they will be able to reserve their ceremony date and customise additional elements including live streaming technology, theme, customized microsite, guest list, menu curation, and more.
Conclusion
Weddings are all about celebrating love with one’s loved ones. Having an eco-friendly celebration at no point should make anyone feel overwhelmed that they missed out on making their wedding the most extravagant day of their life!
An eco-friendly wedding is less about making everything perfect and more about being thoughtful and intentional throughout the planning process. Therefore, it’s a good idea to give these guests some wiggle room so they don’t end up spending more than they can afford while saving the earth at the same time.
