22 Sep Plan an eco-friendly wedding reception

Here at The Driftwood Spars, we champion sustainable wedding planning. Our aim is to host memorable celebrations, where the natural environment is simply an amazing backdrop – and not negatively affected by your nuptials. In the second of our Sustainable Weddings series, we’re giving our top tips on making sure your wedding decor is as environmentally friendly as possible. 

Wedding decor is essential for bringing your theme to life and keeping your guests entertained. However, it can be rife with single-use plastic, so here’s some ideas on how to avoid sending anything to landfill:

Hire Decor Items

Consider whether you can hire decor items instead of being bought. For example, choose to hire lanterns instead of using balloons. If you have your heart set on a single-use item, see if you can find a biodegradable version. The nightmare scenario is piles of one-use plastic items in landfill so speak to event hire companies or even your florist – often they’ll have things like centrepieces and display stands you can hire.

Adopt New Technology

Instead of printing out the table plan, why not projected it up on the wall! You can then ask your Maids of Honour, Groomsman, or the venue’s coordinator to show people to their seats. The projector can then be used to display a montage of family wedding photos your friends and family will love. You can easily borrow or hire your projector.

Light Up The Room With Candles

You’ll save electricity and give your reception a romantic atmosphere by lighting your room with candles. Naturally you’ll need to check if this is ok with the venue first, but it’s a fab idea to use candles at least in the centre of tables and turn off unnecessary lights.

In this recent wedding, guests hired their decor from Stargazey.

Use Your Friends, Guests and Neighbours

Ask your friends or neighbours if they’ve got any bunting, decorations or even a gazebo you can borrow for the day. You can also ask guests ahead of time if they have games, like Jenga or Connect 4, and set up a games area that kids and adults will love.

Register Responsibly

You’ll probably have a gift table at your reception so it’s an apt time to talk about your gift list. Think about whether you really need the items you’ve put on it, or investigate just listing sustainable, ethical products. If you don’t need any more stuff, then donations towards your honeymoon (and carbon offsetting it) or to charity are a great idea.

No single use flip flops

We understand that everyone wants to kick off their heels at the end of the night, but single-use flip flops (or cheap ones that break instantly) are a big environmental no-no. Just gently remind your guests to bring their own. Plus, what’s wrong with bare feet?!

In the next blog in the series, look out for our ideas for eco-friendly wedding favours.