A wedding is a celebration of love and an opportunity for two families to show their support for their children as they begin a new life together. But it can be much more than that. It can be a platform to show your support for the causes that are dear to you as a couple.
Are you environmentally aware and desire your love for the planet to shine through your nuptials? Or would you like your guests to know that your support marginalized communities? You can add subtle and not-so-subtle touches to give your ceremony a twist of activism without sacrificing the jubilant mood. Here are a few ideas.
Create An Eco-friendly Decoration
Research has shown that weddings generate tons of non-biodegradable waste and massive amounts of carbon. By thinking carefully about the materials you use and the suppliers you engage, you can ensure you donโt contribute to this worrying trend. For starters, you can ensure that whatever biodegradable waste your wedding produces is composted for reuse in farms and gardens.
When bringing together your team of suppliers, be sure to select those who espouse your views. You can agree with like-minded vendors that those flowers, tablecloths or chairs will be transported to your venue using means that generate minimally or no carbon dioxide. A little research into the practices of those vendors will give you the comfort of knowing that their business activities have minimal impact on the environment.
Hosting your wedding at botanical gardens will help you kill two birds with one stone. Get a stunning nature-inspired backdrop for your wedding (and those pictures) and support people doing something to protect and nurture biodiversity.
Organize Gift Donations
You can think about hosting your wedding at a venue belonging to a non-profit with a mission that youโre also passionate about. This way, you will have the comfort of knowing whatever you spent on the venue is going towards a worthy cause. As you set up for your wedding, you can find out what you can volunteer to do while youโre there.
In addition to this, you can spend the money you would have spent on wedding favors on supporting a local charity. When you share this information with your guests, they will be pleased that the money that would have been spent making them trinkets they would forget about a few days later was spent on making a real impact in needy peopleโs lives.
In this same vein, you could request that your guests make donations to a charity of your choice instead of spending at the wedding registry.
Give Out Food And Flowers
A lot of excess food is leftover at a typical wedding. Instead of throwing away this food, think about packing it up and sending it to a nearby homeless shelter. Leftovers from plates can also be stored away carefully for composting.
Patronize Your Local Industry
One way to reduce your weddingโs carbon footprint is to ensure that items are sourced from close to the venue. Instead of a photography-videography team flying in from a different state and burning air-fuel, hire a local professional who can walk or cycle to the venue.
Vendors aside, securing a wedding venue within your city will potentially save the planet plenty of airplane emissions that may have been released if guests had to fly to some exotic location. Besides reducing the greenhouse gases, Mother Earth has to grapple with, choosing a local venue will greatly ease logistics.
Not only will your actions bode well for the planet, but they will also see you make some handsome savings. You will also be making a meaningful contribution to the local economy. And if local artisans and business people can make a comfortable living at home, they will be more likely to stay and grow their town.
Start From the Beginning
Creating a positive social or environmental impact with your wedding can be done in several ways, both great and small. But you need to have a clear plan of how you will accomplish this. You can start with custom wedding invitations made from recycled materials and ensure all food waste after the event is composted. It all starts with a clear vision.
