It’s no secret that the wedding industry produces a lot of waste from outfits you only wear once to wedding favors that get forgotten. Luckily, that means there are also opportunities to mitigate your wedding’s impact on the environment. These ideas will help you have a creative, memorable, and sustainable wedding.

5 Sustainable Wedding Ideas

1 Thrift or DIY your decor.

You don’t need to buy all of your ceremony and reception decor new. Thrifting or DIYing your decor is a great option for a sustainable wedding. Repurposed jam or mason jars work as vases. You can find all kinds of treasures at thrift stores, online second hand retailers, and even estate sales. Unique pieces can inspire a whole decorating scheme. It also can be fun to lean into a really eclectic look with thrifted decor.

At this beautiful wedding, the couple put so much thought into the details. They took the time to thrift their candles. The bride’s father made the planters on the table too. Because they used planters full of beautiful flowers, they could take them home at the end of the wedding. It reduced waste from cut flowers being tossed at the end of the night. 

2 Turn your tablescape into favors.

You can go a step further with your decor by making your tablescape your wedding favors. Mass-produced favors are rarely eco-friendly. Sustainable wedding favors can come in the form of thrifted candleholders, books from the couple’s home library, or board games. In addition to being better for the environment, they’re deeply personal and memorable for guests. 

This wedding featured board games on every table. It got guests interacting with each other. There was never a dull moment while the couple watched their friends enjoy their favorite pastime. Best of all, the guests could take the games home at the end of the night!   

3 Reuse your ceremony flowers at the reception.

Flowers are understandably a staple of many people’s wedding decor. They add joy, vibrance, and artistry to a wedding. Unfortunately, flowers are a huge source of waste at weddings, and unless you’re buying from local, eco-conscious growers, your flowers may have been grown on industrial farms using harmful fertilizers. One way to mitigate your impact is to reuse your ceremony flowers at your reception.

You might be surprised how simple it can be to move florals from your ceremony spot to your sweetheart table. Installations can be picked up and rearranged in their new location for an equally beautiful effect. Any flowers you have at the ends of aisles at your ceremony can be relocated to cocktail tables and dining areas. Not only are you reducing waste, but you get to enjoy those flowers for more than the few minutes that you’re standing beside them for your ceremony.

4 Thrift or rent your attire and accessories.

Just like your decor, you can thrift or rent your wedding attire and accessories. You can wear a previously loved outfit to your sustainable wedding and look amazing. Formal attire typically is gently used, so it’s possible to find pieces through specialty second hand retailers or regular thrift stores if you’re patient. 

Thrifting an outfit and accessories gives you the chance to reimagine what wedding attire can be. This marrier thrifted her entire elopement outfit. She created a whole retro vibe that felt so bright and authentic to her. 

5 Send evite invitations and customized thank you notes.

Reducing paper is another sustainable wedding strategy that you can incorporate in a few ways. You can send evites for your save the dates and invitations. Tools like Canva make it easy to create custom graphics that set the tone for your wedding day. 

After your wedding, you can send thank you notes via email as well. This is a perfect way to share some of your favorite images with your guests! If you find a great photo of them on the dance floor or mingling at cocktail hour, you can attach it to the thank you email. So many guests never get to see those amazing photos. People will definitely appreciate the effort.

Now that you have some ideas for your sustainable wedding, do you want more helpful planning tips? Check out 5 Ideas for a Backyard Wedding!