Your guide to a sustainable wedding

As awareness around sustainability grows, many people are finding themselves wondering how to have a greener wedding. While we firmly believe that nobody should feel guilty on their wedding day (it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, after all!), we understand that many people can be concerned about the environmental impact of the big day – or are at least interested in ideas for simple, sustainable changes to make.

Image credit: Shutter Go Click Photography

Read on for our tips for a more sustainable and ethical wedding; small steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint and do a little good while still having the wedding of your dreams.

Ideas for an eco-friendly wedding

Go local

Image credit: Louise Barry Wedding Photographer

A sophisticated destination wedding is a dream for many couples, but there’s a huge link between air travel and environmental damage. If you can avoid the air miles and find your dream venue a little closer to home, you can enjoy the day knowing that you and your wedding party haven’t contributed to harmful aircraft emissions.

You can also go local with other aspects of your day to reduce your wedding’s carbon footprint. Buying your decorations, wedding favours, flowers, wedding dress and/or suit from local suppliers reduces travel miles and supports local businesses – win-win!

Eco-friendly catering

Your wedding menu is one area where you can make small changes that make a big difference. It’s no secret that mass industrial production of meat is bad news for the planet. While we’re not suggesting cutting out meat altogether, taking a little extra time searching for a caterer with a sustainable ethos is well worth it.

Try to find a caterer who works with organic, local, seasonal and/or ethically produced ingredients. It’s also a great idea to introduce a few vegetarian and vegan dishes within your menu – we promise you they’ll be packed with just as much flavour as their meat alternatives!

Find an ethical wedding dress designer – or go second-hand

As the ultimate in ‘wear it once’ fashion, wedding dresses and the word ‘sustainable’ don’t often go hand in hand. There are a few things you can do to be a little greener, though. If you’re buying your wedding dress from a designer, try to find one who works ethically, with fair conditions for their workers and sustainably bought fabrics.

You could also consider helping another bride get the dress of their dreams at a reduced cost by reselling your dress after your big day, or by donating it to charity. Alternatively, another great sustainable change is to purchase second-hand or vintage yourself.

Get married outdoors

Image credit: Shelley @ Toast of Leeds

Not only is an outdoor wedding a stunning way to exchange your vows, but you’ll also save on the energy and lighting costs of an indoor ceremony thanks to the sunlight. Incorporating nature into your big day is a lovely way to appreciate the beauty of the great outdoors.

Whether it’s a woodland fairytale forest wedding, a ceremony in a pretty flower garden, or a festival-style extravaganza, an outdoor wedding is one your guests won’t forget in a hurry. It’s guaranteed to look spectacular in your wedding photos too, thanks to the abundance of natural light.

Throw a plastic-free (or reduced) wedding

Partying without plastic on your wedding day can help make a big difference. Avoid contributing to plastic pollution by renting glassware and china from your caterer or a third party. This is a much more eco-friendly practice than using plastic, and it looks more elegant too. If you do go for disposal cups or plates, opt for paper over plastic – same with straws.

You should also be mindful that some synthetic confetti contains plastic that won’t naturally degrade. Using dried flower petals is a lovely, greener alternative.

Ethical wedding tips

If you’re interested in eco-friendly weddings, you may also be wondering how you can have a more ethical wedding. An ethical wedding aims to have a positive societal impact, and there are a number of ways you can go about this by doing a little good on your big day.

• Charity collections. We’ve seen some couples incorporate charity buckets into their wedding celebrations, which is a lovely way to support a charity close to your heart.

• A charity registry. A wedding gift registry traditionally helps couples settle into married life together. If you don’t need material items like a toaster or champagne flutes, why not ask your guests to make a charity donation on your behalf instead?

• Supporting a charity with your venue choice. Did you know that holding your wedding at Lineham Farm directly supports the work of Leeds Children’s Charity? We think there are plenty of great reasons to choose Lineham Farm as your wedding venue, but supporting our charity is the best one. Every penny raised from venue hire goes directly to local children who need our help.

We hope this taught you a little more about the simple steps you can take to have a more sustainable and ethical wedding.

Lineham Farm offers a blank canvas that you can use to create the wedding of your dreams. If you’d like to find out more, please download our free brochure here.

If you’d like to experience the beauty of Lineham Farm in person, we welcome couples to come and visit us for a tour. Get in touch with our team to arrange a visit on 0113 3783939 or weddings@linehamfarm.co.uk.