It’s a nice day for a ‘green’ wedding!

Finding the right venue for your event is the logical beginning to your wedding journey and the perfect place to start asking the hard questions.

You will want to let every service provider know from the outset that you wish your event to be sustainable and ask them what they can do to meet your requirements.

Let an outdoor venue with sustainable practices inspire caterers too.

A good caterer will prioritise local suppliers, fresh organic produce and seasonal ingredients.

Sharon Thomas from Celtic Knot Events near Gougane Barra says that her clients are increasingly more environmentally conscious.

‘Getting the guests to keep hold of their glass and reusing it throughout the whole evening is especially popular with my outdoor weddings and saves on water wastage.’

When getting the word out, consider going digital! Create your own invitations with free and easy-to-use online design tools like Canva. Then simply download and send via WhatsApp, social media, or email. email their response instead. You can set up a wedding email especially for this.

who deals with handmade, recycled paper and eco-inks and avoid using embellishments like glitter or ribbons that make them un-recyclable.

Finding an amazing looking dress is top priority for many top tips: websites like Done Deal have pages of bridal dresses and accessories.

• Strike up a relationship with your local charity shops so they can be on the lookout for you. Just be prepared to clean or alter as necessary.

• Find a designer who is passionate about the environment like Alice Halliday of Skibbereen who creates each of her unique pieces by hand, using vintage, antique and locally sourced materials.

Alice suggests choosing a top and skirt instead of a dress, ‘that way you can wear them again in future as separates. You can even have a family heirloom piece reworked.’

• You might also consider rings made from recycled, reclaimed, sustainable materials, engaging a local jewellry

Avoid balloons! They take hundreds of years to biodegrade and are known to harm wildlife.

Instead, use pre-loved decorations found in online marForage greenery and blooms from your garden or greenery in the most sustainable way.

plastics.

Mags from Bumble Bee Flower Farm in Castledonovan warns that people need to, ‘stop being ostriches and start questions that sum up to mean … do you at least try to be ecologically sustainable?’ need to be more responsible.’

Renee from Flower and Leaf in Ballydehob agrees that the conversations need to start early. ‘Open the dialogue about wanting to make your wedding sustainable, instead of asking how much it will cost.’ Renee doesn’t grow all year round so she does import, paper rather than plastic.’ the sustainable option is never the cheaper option,’ acknowledges Renee. can trust to use best practices and seasonal elements with

Watch out for ‘green washing.’ This is when a business misleads the consumer into believing their product is en- from Bumble Bee. great taste.

Premier West Cork Photographer, Kate Bean has had the privilege of observing hundreds of weddings. ‘I have seen so many weddings now and honestly the couples who foHer advice is to try not to get overwhelmed by everything you see online. ‘It’s your wedding, try not to forget the meaning of it all by covering it all up with plastic things that are only going to end up in the bin the day after.’