Going Green: Eco-friendly Wedding Solutions

By Kara Cederquist-Green

In November 2021, Nicholas Richard Green asked me to marry him on a mountain in Colorado, and I knew all my stars were aligned. It’s not everyday a word that embodies your entire career becomes your last name. Being eco-friendly has always been something I am passionate about. In college, I learned about destination management, and I was hooked! For the last decade, I have zeroed in on sustainable tourism. I wanted to have an eco-friendly wedding, and I wanted to share the importance of sustainability with my wedding team. Below are a few tips for the bride seeking out environmentally-friendly wedding solutions!

SAVE-THE-DATES

To start, we had simple save-the-dates used from recycled paper, and we included the option to RSVP online!

PLANNING

The main efforts behind an ecofriendly wedding are largely dependent on your wedding team. When you contact potential wedding vendors, ask them about their green practices. Building your wedding team is like pulling together a group of friends— everything is easier when you share the same values! So be transparent!

FLORALS & DECOR

Flowers are undoubtedly one of the most stunning ways to dress up your venue. There are many ways to get the most out of your floral arrangements. We saved the florals from my bridal party in July to repurpose for our wedding in October. The florals were arranged as table decorations, placed in painted glass jars of all shapes and sizes. My friends were eager to donate jars and that was so exciting to me!

For the ceremony bouquets, we hired our friend and florist, Chrissy Florals. Chrissy used in-season and dried elements that matched our reused floral decor. All my bridesmaids took their bouquets home, and my bouquet was given to my parents. Through this process, we were able to minimize water usage, energy to refrigerate, and shipping waste.

DRINKWARE

We decided to rent amber colored glasses, setting one at each table. Guests used these for their drinks at a self-serve station to reduce washing/drying multiple glasses for each person. We set out bamboo straws at the bars, eliminating plastic straws entirely!

CONFETTI & GLITTER

As someone who loves nature, I can’t think of anything worse than being showered in a cloud of plastic. Plastic confetti is quite simply littering, but there are lots of biodegradable confetti options out there. For our exit, we chose white freeze-dried petals that I put inside cones made of a single page of my favorite book, the Alchemist. I found a copy of the book at my local library’s sale for $1!

VENUE

We also had the ceremony and the reception in the same place to reduce carbon emissions. Supposey Wedding Venue, located in Pensacola, Florida, is an incredibly unique, historic space. Initially we fell in love with the venue because of its natural beauty and built-in character. I knew I could significantly reduce the amount of decor and lighting (aka waste and cost) by letting the venue and its surrounding greenery do the work. Using natural light to your advantage guarantees that your photos will be fabulous!

DRESSES & TUXEDOS

Save you and your groomsmen money and help the planet by renting a tux. We used our family friend’s business, Gents Formal Wear in Pensacola. For the bridesmaid dresses, I allowed my bridesmaids to choose a different style and color of their choosing (with my approval of course). They are able to wear it again for years to come!

I believe over time wedding industry vendors will get more inquiries from brides on reducing waste for their special day. Happy Planning!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After graduating from one of the top 5 hospitality management programs in the world, Kara lived, worked, and traveled to over 50 countries around the globe— all the while learning about sustainable tourism. Kara resides out of Pensacola, FL, and works for Elysian Escapes as a luxury travel advisor. Her most recent motto “The grass is greener where you water it.”

VENDORS

Venue: Supposey Gardens

Planner: Chloe Sexton

Photo: Taylor Howton

Florist: Chrissy Florals

Gown: Bliss Bridal

Suits: Gent’s Formal Wear

Hair: Tonya Penrose

Makeup: Hayley Gurney