3 ways to make your destination wedding eco friendly
HOW TO TRAVEL
I’m going to be honest with you, when I started getting so much demand for destination weddings, I got a bit nervous. Founding an eco-friendly company that vows to be as sustainable as possible, but specialises in destination weddings can come across quite hypocritical.
I soon came to realise why destination weddings were becoming so popular. We are living in a time where it’s normal to pack up and move to the other-side of the globe for reasons such as; self development, work and love. Many of us are no longer living in our country of birth and it would seem strange to return to a place that you have no ties to, to tie the knot.
Many of our couples fit into this profile. Rather than having all their guests fly to them, they opt for a location where they can all have an unforgettable time together, something they don’t get to do very often. And when organised intentionally, it shouldn’t mean impacting the environment negatively.
Having a destination wedding means there is less obligation to invite long distance relatives, neighbours and old friends that you are no longer in touch with, so usually celebrations are intimate and very rarely exceed 80 guests. And more often than not, the guests make a holiday out of it.
But no matter what, we can’t deny the huge release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere due to air travel, which is contributing to climate change. But, there is a way we can compensate for it with carbon offsetting.
Carbon offsetting put simply
Offsetting means buying carbon credits equivalent to your carbon impact. This means you compensate for every tonne of CO2 you emit by ensuring there is one tonne less in the atmosphere. When you offset with Climate Care you can choose to support projects that deliver value for local communities as well as the environment.
Click here to calculate your carbon footprint and continue reading to find out how we will be contributing to this incredible cause.
WHAT TO WEAR
““Buy less. Choose well. Make it last.” —Vivienne Westwood, fashion designer ”
We all go a bit bonkers when shopping for holidays abroad, we buy and pack everything just in case we need it to end up lugging around a heavy suitcase full of stuff we don’t even use.
Prepare your guests in advance with information about the location and time of wedding and average temperatures in that area so they can think about their outfits carefully. Last minute shopping influences us to make silly purchases or spend on something we don’t love and will never wear again. Adding to the mountains of disregarded textiles that suffocate the planet and destroying local industries in developing countries.
Having the bridal party choose and pay for their own attire is becoming more common. This means purchasing garments they look and feel good in and most importantly, will wear again. If you are thinking about doing this, give you bridal party a few colours, prints and fabrics they can play with, and remember not to limit them too much as they are spending their own money. Give them style ideas and information about the type of the venue you will be celebrating in. Contrasting outfits look amazing when the people wearing them are comfortable and happy.
Shopping tips
Ask yourself, Do I love it and do I need it? If the answer isn’t yes in both cases, then sleep on it.
Aim for a capsule wardrobe of beautifully tailored-made pieces that are versatile and durable and that if someday you didn’t want would highly desired by somebody else.
The third world and the environment are paying for the garments you pay so little for. Check out the following eco bloggers for ethical fashion brands:
TO GIFT OR NOT TO GIFT
Spend Money on Experiences, Not Things
Wedding Favours for guests.
Your gift to your guests is the experience you are giving them. Don’t feel like an object is more worthy than that. Investing in great food and drink, live music a gorgeous wedding location is much more valuable than a little wedding favour that usually gets forgotten about before night ends.
If you feel like it’s necessary to gift your guests something, think local and think edible; wine, chocolate, olive oil are always appreciated and not usually wasteful if in the right packaging.
Or giving guests the choice of making a small donation to a select number of charities is a great example of money well spent.
Gifts for the bride and groom.
Presents were given to couples in the past to help start their new life together. Nowadays, most couples get married after years of living with each other and have everything they need. Money is always the most welcomed and appreciated gift, which gratefully goes towards the honeymoon.
Last season, a couple of ours asked their guests to donate their wedding present to their favourite charity and their place of work ending up matching the total amount given. Now that’s what I call a memorable gift.
All images by Joy Zamora
I hope this post will give you some insight into creating a more eco friendly event. This season we will be calculating and offsetting all the km’s travelled for our events via Climate Care.
We donate €50 to https://ecosystemrestorationcamps.org every time our services are booked. To find out more about this cause and where our money goes click here.
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