Have you seen the waste and garbage after a wedding ceremony? Are you concerned about your wedding too? You can transform your wedding into Zero-waste Wedding ceremony by accepting in a sustainable way.
The wedding season is not about to change in India, but if people are aware of pollution, they can contribute to saving the world by adapting to sustainable alternatives. In this article, we are going to explore how to plan a sustainable wedding.
An Eco-friendly Pre-wedding Planning
Here are the zero-waste wedding tips and ideas:
Invitation Card or e-Vites
Source- Pinterest
When we are transforming our skills in a digital environment, why should we use physical cards for invitations? There are plenty of options, such as designing your card personally or hiring an agency to make your card. The best part of zero-waste wedding is that you can share this with your relatives without moving from your home. Emails, WhatsApp, and Messengers are becoming as essential as water to us. People who are living in and with this generation are aware of operating a smartphone or messages. Besides, you can convert your card into different formats like pdf, docx, jpg and others.
Sending gifts is another trend that is rising in India within all religions. If there are some situations where you have to send physical cards and you can’t ignore it, make the number as small as possible. For example, make a list of elderly people and only order physical cards for them using eco-friendly or recycled paper if possible.
Closer to Nature:
Source- Pinterest
Selecting outdoor venues for your wedding would be another step to take your wedding ceremony towards sustainability. What we suggest by outdoor venues is, that you can utilize a garden or a lawn near you or of a complex. If your residence offers you a beach or a scenery of hills or even woods, what will be the best backdrop for a wedding photoshoot?
Moreover, open-air venues help in reducing carbon footprints from multiple airconditions, lights, and electric goods. There are hundreds of bungalows are available that offer large banquet halls including open-air gardens and lawns.
If you are planning for a destination wedding, then you must avoid a large number of guests due to a large carbon footprint. You need multiple vehicles or flights to fly away from the location. It will cause the emission of CO2. However, plan for a smaller group of guests and make a mini-trip destination wedding and choose green hotels.
Green Wine and Dine Services
Source- Pinterest
Stay away from an elaborate menu and exotic items that majorly end up in waste. You can reduce your stress by avoiding food waste by selecting mindful zero-waste wedding plans:
Make a list of the invitees and keep the counts. Share requests for RSVPs. Besides, you can create your own wedding website where you can upload the latest updates for your wedding, and even more by sharing the link, you can share invitations and RSVP requests.
According to their response, count the plate per head and the menu and ask the catering services to stick to the requirements. Select bio-degradable paper plates and cutleries for all meals and snacks.
Diya Mirza, a well-known actress from Bollywood, chose an eco-friendly wedding for herself. To avoid the wastage of food, she confirmed vegetarian and non-vegetarian guests and planned accordingly.
Source- shaadiwish
Adding local and seasonal fruits and dishes will be a plus point for a sustainable wedding menu. Besides, it supports the farmers in their livelihood, although on a small scale and reduces the transportation expenses of exotic cuisine items. Plan to share the leftovers with the poor people and villagers or with the local people before making them excess.
Minimalists’ decor ideas
Source- Pinterest
Maintain a minimalistic theme to confirm zero-waste wedding decor. Adding too many decorations will cause a lot of waste. By adopting a few alternatives, you can make the wedding sustainable without sacrificing its essence:
For a small wedding ceremony, use decorations from your own home. When you select a venue, say yes to the elements like candles, lamps, and wall hangings. As a part of decoration, use dried flowers, fallen twigs, leaves, and other “garden waste” for smaller events.
Look for biodegradable confetti and a flower pot made of coconut shells as a centerpiece on tables. Use nimbu-mirch strands for decoration instead of artificial flowers and garlands. Alternate decorative artificial items with zero-waste wedding elements like hanging plants and fresh flower strands from the local market.
These also support local flower shoppers and reduce carbon emissions related to transport. use furniture made of recycled materials or wood or rot iron instead of fancy decorative interiors. As synthetic fabrics are harmful to nature, rewashing them is a significant negative activity towards the environment.
Lighting Arrangements:
Source- Pinterest
Ignore the bright LEDs and flashy lights to avoid entering your name and contributing to light pollution. These light arrangements increase large amounts of electricity and will also raise the cost. Even a report said a typical Indian wedding costs around 2 lakhs only in lightening.
Besides, there are multiple options, and solar-powered lights are available, which will be a practical and sustainable investment. You can choose fancy solar lanterns and lamps from the decorators that people are using in their weddings for a rustic touch.
Dress Consciously:
Being trend lovers, we are spoiled with heavy lehengas and detail-worked wedding gowns, from designers to brands. The unfortunate truth is that the wedding attire is a ‘one-time wear’. Additionally, the process and the raw materials that are used in factories are often unsustainable. To secure sustainability in your garments, you can embrace a more conscious zero-waste wedding selection.
For example, you can repeat the wedding attire from your mother or grandmother. You can check Yami Goutami, an actress in Bollywood, how perfectly used her mother’s traditional attire for a pahadi wedding. Being an actress, she chooses to repeat the wedding outfit and keep her jewellery minimal. These timeless pieces can never be out of fashion.
Step 2: On The Big Day
Integrate sustainability into your routines:
Our Indian weddings are diverse and mix-cultured. Pre-wedding rituals differ by region, each with its extraordinary significance. You can maintain Zero-waste wedding practices while also sticking to these customs:
Source- Pinterest
For events like Mehendi and Haldi, choose high-quality organic products. In Haldi, we traditionally use organic Haldi paste and pure henna paste. You can collect both easily and make them at home with fresh, natural ingredients. Use organic or original products to prevent burning skin.
To give ‘shoguns’ to the guests, use biodegradable papers and envelopes with wax seals.
Disposable utensils at the wedding:
Source- Pinterest
Studies find out that India is one of those countries who are creating wastes of plastics in a higher level, around 26,000 tons. You plan for zero-plastic or reusable cutleries materials like steel or glass at the wedding. Besides, you can choose materials like bamboo or palm leaves as the cutleries. In the southern areas of India, people use well-crafted banana leaves for plates, which is one of the traditional manners they consistently follow.
Make preparations for the management of waste:
It is essential to confirm that you have planned for zero-waste wedding management well. Contact the organizations that manage waste and recycling. Besides, you can dispatch your waste to these services after every event.
If you upgrade your choice from plastic materials to glass or steel cutleries, it will be a great profit for you because you can reuse them in several events after washing.
Moreover, arrange the leftovers of food and natural decor materials to compost them. Keep the wastebins and put labels on them as wet waste and dry waste.
Step 3: Sustainability At Post-Wedding Functions
Green Favors For the Attendees:
Source- Pinterest
On your zero-waste wedding, gift miniature potted plants to your guests. For a unique experience, plant a tree in each guest’s name and give them an e-Tree certificate as a thoughtful gesture of gratitude. What a green initiative!
You can also give edible gifts like dry fruits, sweets, and other treats in reusable containers like glass jars or wooden boxes. Pick traditional jute hampers and woven gift baskets for a customized touch for your bridesmaids. Moreover, plan to offer natural skin care products, eco-friendly accessories, and garments (such as sarees, dupattas, and scarves) to the bridesmaids and females who will attend your sangeet. All must be made with certified organic materials, and biodegradable fabric can all be included.
Give extra food:
It is hard to ensure complete accuracy on the day of the event, even though strict headcounts of the anticipated guests can decrease food waste. This waste may be inescapable in part. You can contribute leftover wedding food to those in need by collaborating with NGOs and volunteer groups in your area. A few associations that work with the assortment and transportation of food are Feeding India, Robin Hood Army, and No Food Waste etc. You can contact them directly from their websites.
Weddings are a cheerful time of celebration for both the couple and their families. We all share happiness, and there is nothing more encouraging than inviting Mother Nature to be a part of your wedding. Planning a low-waste wedding can be a lot easier. Besides, there are event organizers and zero-waste wedding planners available all over India. All you need to do is convey your theme or message to them so they can visualize your ideas and reflect through their work.
