The wedding reception is a time for the bride, the groom, and their guests to let loose and celebrate. But with food and beverages, favors, cakes, decorations, and festivities, a wedding reception can easily become anything except environmentally friendly. Not only do the bride and groom feel great about doing right by the Earth, guests enjoy being part of an environmentally sensitive event, too. The following tips can help any bride and groom create a wedding reception that is both beautiful and eco-friendly.
Eco-friendly Wedding Locations
Choosing the right wedding reception location is a big part of creating an eco-friendly wedding. The closer the location is to the wedding and the guests, the less guest will have to travel, reducing the amount of traffic emissions used. Here are some other tips for choosing an eco-friendly wedding reception location:
- An outdoor reception location comes with its own natural decor, allowing for fewer decorations to be needed for the site.
- Outdoor receptions in the afternoon require less lighting needs, as the natural sunlight provides more than enough.
- Seek out a local, privately owned businesses to help sustain the local economy. Consider their environmental stewardship practices when making the a site decision.
- Avoid wedding reception sites that are too environmentally sensitive.
- Look for a site that supports an environmental cause, such as a museum or a park.
- If a reception site requires lighting, opting for candles or oil lamps provide a natural and romantic glow without using excessive electricity.
Choosing Eco-friendly Dinnerware
The demand for more sustainable and eco-friendly products has increased the variety of dinnerware available for wedding receptions. The following ideas can be used to help decrease the carbon footprint left by a typical wedding reception.
- Avoid using disposable products for serving the wedding reception food. Many catering companies will rent dishes, linens, glassware, and cutlery for a small per-person fee. Typically, the dishes need not be washed before returning them, either.
- Plastic cutlery and plates are usually not recyclable. If renting isn't an option, look for alternatives, such as bamboo plates and cutlery. They are compostable and biodegradable, which lessens the waste from using disposable wedding products.
- Shop thrift stores for serving dishes. This reuses an existing product, and will be functional for many years to come.
- Several online wedding planning forums offer sections for brides and grooms to "share" their dinnerware and decor. Sharing, or buying used, from another couple not only reduces the amount of consumption, it reduces the cost to each couple, as well.
Serving Eco-friendly Food and Drink at the Wedding Reception
It used to be that the only way people could serve eco-friendly foods at parties was to go organic, and the menu options were less than inspiring. But there are many ways to choose smart, sustainable food products that taste and look great at a wedding reception.
- If using a caterer, ask about their business practices. Do they purchase from local growers and farmers? What are the organic options? Do they have experience cooking vegan or vegetarian foods? Will water be served to every guest or only ask requested? Asking the right questions will help a bride and groom make an informed eco-friendly catering choice.
- Look for local ingredients. Using locally grown vegetables and meats supports a local economy and reduces the carbon emissions used to transport the food.
- If certified organic produce and meats are not available from a local farmer, ask a grocery store about creating a custom order. This takes advantage of their buying power, saving you money and time hunting down everything through individual farmers.
- If serving meat or poultry at the wedding reception, ensure the meat has been humanely raised and fed an organic diet without the use of hormones or other chemicals.
- Serve organic, shade grown, and fair trade tea. These products have less environmental impact and ensure fair working conditions for the people who farm these products.
- Organic wine, beer, and spirits, made without synthetic fertilizers or chemicals, offer an eco-friendly option for guests.
In addition to reducing the impact of the major parts of a wedding reception, brides and grooms can also reduce their carbon footprint in other areas. Acoustic music creates less noise pollution than a DJ or live band. Using natural cleaning agents and recycled paper products for clean-up keeps the site looking great without additional chemicals being used. These small, but mindful, choices go a long way in creating an eco-friendly wedding reception.
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Annalise Kaylor - Annalise Kaylor is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant specializing in search engine optimized content for the web. As a writer, ...
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