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On Christmas Eve 2018, it happened. My now husband suprised me with a proposal outside one of our favorite restaurants overlooking the water. He got down on one knee, and even though I was shivering from the cold, I more than happily accepted. At that point, I didn’t know anything about my future wedding but I knew one thing: I wanted to make my wedding as ecofriendly as possible. When I began my research, there wasn’t a ton of information out there. Though by day I’m an environmental science teacher, I didn’t know where to look or what companies to go to. My wedding might not have been as environmentally conscience as I intended (my husband insisted on the filet mignon option), but I think I did a pretty good job! I’ve compiled some tips on how to make your wedding more ecofriendly and sustainable below.

1. Choose an ethically or sustainably made wedding dress!

I scoured the internet to find companies that made their wedding dresses in an ethical or sustainable way during my search and I found a lot of amazing options. In July of 2019, I headed over to Brooklyn to find the wedding dress of my dreams. I went to Schone Bride because I read they carried a lot of amazing ethical wedding dress designers. I picked out my dress with Rebecca Schoneveld herself. Ethically made dresses should be sourced and made locally. Rebecca hand makes her dresses!

You could also choose to rent your wedding dress, shop second hand for your wedding dress, or find a company that values sustainability like the few mentioned below!

Leanne Marshall

Reformation

Honua

2. Choose dried flowers instead of live blooms!

I absolutely love flowers and have always been a plant person (I even studied plant science in college)! It may have come as a suprise to some that I opted for dried flower bouquets and center pieces instead of live ones! Why? Dried flowers are more sustainble!

My bridal bouquet was purchased from an Etsy store, but we handmade the bridesmaid boquets from wildflowers in our area! Peep to see some paper flowers in there as well! Dried flowers are more sustainable in that the can last much longer – years, even. They are a great, local choice and require less refridgeration, water, and energy than do live blooms!

3.Skip the favors and opt to donate to a charity!

Wedding favors can be costly, as we all know. Depending on what the favor is, it can end up generating a lot of waste in the end. One way to cut down costs and consumption is to make a charitable donation instead! We gave each of our guests three wooden tokens so they can pick which of our three charities to donate to. They could add all three in one or spread them out! One of the charities we chose was the Nature Conservancy, which is all about protecting the environment (hense, being ecofriendly)! We also chose two other charities that meant a lot to us including the American Federation of Suicide Prevention and the Spina Bifida Association.

Conclusion

There are many ways you can make your wedding “green” and this article is only the tip of the ecofriendly wedding iceberg! I’m excited to share more tips on making your wedding as sustainable as possible, and tie my love of wedding photography and environmental science together! For now, here are a few more details from my own wedding day!

Vendors:

Venue: Renault Winery & Resort

Photographer: Ashley Mac Photographs

Videographer: Joe Reggio Productions

Dress: Schone Bride

Shoes: Bella Belle

Makeup: Say I Do Hair & Makeup