how to plan an environmentally-conscious wedding

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🌿 ask your venue/caterer about their policies concerning food wastage - ie: "what will happen with all the leftover food from our wedding meal?"

🌿 buffet dinners tend to produce more waste than plated meals, so consider having a plated meal or stations that make food to order for your wedding meal.

🌿 ask your venue/caterer if they support local growers by buying locally sourced foods from the area, or search for caterers and venues that are committed to lowering their carbon footprint.

🌿 search for a venue and hotel accommodations for yourselves or guests that are Bullfrog Powered or LEED or B-Corp certified to know that they take the environment and sustainability seriously.

🌿 plan a seasonal menu with your venue/caterer using local foods that are in season (ie food that doesn't need to be shipped from far away).

🌿 if you're having a wedding where many guests will have to travel, consider setting up a shuttle bus to bring them to and from the venue, thus cutting down on fuel emissions caused by all your guests having to provide their own transportation.

🌿 utilize facebook groups such as PALZ wedding zone Toronto or local buy/sell groups to find previously used decor items - most items for a wedding are used for only a few hours and are perfect to reuse! and you can save some cash buying used instead of new at the same time. after your wedding, create a listing and pass along your decor items to someone else!

🌿 or, rent your decor instead of buying.

🌿 ask/request that your florist use only locally grown blooms if you'll be using florals in your decor.

🌿 request that your venue/caterer not use single use plastics at your wedding - have pitchers and jugs for water instead of plastic bottles and real dinnerware/glasswear for appetizers, drinks, dinner, and late night food.

🌿 hold all your wedding day events at one location (or as few locations as possible), thus cutting down on the fuel emissions of all your guests driving from one location to another.

🌿 use public transport when in the city - it's fun!

🌿 go paperless when sending out your wedding invites and thank you cards! or if you are mailing out invitations, try to stick to as few pages as possible.

🌿 consider going vegetarian or vegan for your wedding meal! cutting down on animal based products helps reduce carbon emissions.

🌿 check out second hand dresses - again, most dresses only ever get worn once, and after a good dry clean they're as good as new. or check out rental options, like rent the runway. and once you're done with your dress, consider selling it or donating it to a shop like the brides project.

🌿 consider going vintage or finding responsibly sourced stones when ring shopping or looking for jewelry for the big day.

🌿 hire vendors who live near where your wedding takes place.

🌿 skip things like plastic flip flops for dancing which will mostly go untouched or only used for a few hours.

🌿 make a donation to your favourite green organization in lieu of favours.

🌿 or, give each guest reusable mugs/glasses as favours that can be used for beverages all evening long (and beyond).

🌿 ask if your florist will pick up leftover florals after the wedding day for composting, or consider donating them to a senior's home to stretch out their enjoyment a little bit longer.

🌿 here in southern ontario where we're based, we live close to many great options for local growers for wine, beer and other alcohol, so don't forget to buy local for your wedding day beverages too!

🌿 stay local for your honeymoon and cut down on the emissions caused by air travel.

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a few eco-friendly wedding vendor recommendations:

floralora flowers based in prince edward county

propeller coffee co wedding venue in toronto

the food dudes catering based in toronto

we believe in the inter-connectedness of all things and that the current state of the climate is the single biggest issue facing us today. and while these suggestions may seem very small and perhaps inconsequential, we believe that small gestures add up, and that when one person makes a choice, it can affect many others into making better choices too, in all areas of life. like a ripple effect. that is our hope anyway!

hopefully this list gave you some ideas, and if you are in the wedding industry and want to let us know about your business' sustainable practices we'd love to connect with you at hello@jennanddavestark.com