In honor of Earth Day this month (April 22nd), we’re sharing tips on our favorite area of expertise: green weddings! Naturally Yours Events prides itself in being an eco-friendly wedding planner, and we’ve got plenty of hacks to help you make your wedding less wasteful. Here are just a few simple ways to incorporate the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle!) into your wedding.

1. Rent, don’t buy. You might think that buying your own inexpensive linens that you found on Amazon is a good idea, but we’re here to tell you it’s not. Aside from the extremely low quality of the linens (thin, cheaply made, and not ironed), the problem is that you most likely won’t know what to do with them after the wedding. Who wants to deal with dirty, food-stained linens? Once you realize that dry cleaning them costs even more than buying them, you’ll probably end up tossing them anyway.

Photo by Studio Starling

2. It’s unnecessary to buy paper programs for every single guest. Most couples just take one program to share, so count on ordering enough for about 70% of the guest list. This will result in less paper waste and a lessened paper cost.

Photo by Allison Williams Photography

3. Choose to serve a plated dinner. Due to the reduced amount of portions (as compared to family style and buffet style), a plated dinner will yield less leftover food. This means that less food will end up in the garbage at the end of the night. Additionally, when compared to a cocktail style reception, less cutlery and napkins will be wasted and thrown away.

Photo by Studio Finch

 

4. Donate your flowers at the end of the night. Nothing is more tragic than throwing away gorgeous, fresh blooms at the end of a wedding. Choose a florist that would help you donate your flowers to nursing homes or hospitals. Even without the help of your florist, you can donate them yourself by using Random Acts of Flowers.

Photo by Z+V Photography

5. Allow bridesmaids to choose their own dresses. Give your bridesmaids a specific color or color palette, and let them to choose a style of dress that they feel comfortable in. This way they can purchase a dress they’ll wear time and time again, instead of getting something that they’re not comfortable in and will live in the back of their closet forever. Type A brides don’t need to worry – you can always approve the dresses before the wedding!

Photo by Coach House Pictures

 

There are plenty of little hacks to make weddings more eco-friendly. In a notoriously wasteful industry, small modifications go a long way. For information on more green wedding vendors in Chicago, please visit the Green Wedding Alliance website. If you’d like to learn more about eco-friendly events and weddings, please contact us at info@naturallyyoursevents.com!