We are Christine & Justin!
Wisconsin Elopement Photographers who believe your wedding day & photographs should be filled with your personalities!
Eco-Friendly Wedding Ideas to Celebrate Earth Day
Are you planning a wedding and looking for ways to make it eco-friendly? Here are some ideas to get you started! Going green doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult, and it can save you money in the long run.
Plus, it’s a great way to show your guests that you care about the environment. From choosing recycled paper products to using natural decorations, plenty of options are available to you. Keep reading for more tips on how to have an eco-friendly wedding!
First, remember that you can go eco-friendly with ease, but remember that you don’t have to be 100% eco-friendly! Give yourself grace and remember that small steps are big steps when it comes to the earth!
CHOOSE AN ECO-FRIENDLY VENUE
When it comes to where to get married, this can be just as important to keeping it eco-friendly!
- Get Married Outside – a stunning backdrop like Olympic National Park or The North Shore of Minnesota are both great places to start!
- Choose a venue with built-in decorations – the venue’s clean modern lines can make the florals stand out, or a greenhouse comes with a built-in stunning ceiling and greenery!
- Book an Airbnb! Stay, Eat and dance all in one stunning place!
CHOOSE ECO-FRIENDLY INVITATIONS
There are a wide variety of vendors that can print on beautiful eco-friendly stationery! There are also amazing options that your guests can plant and grow flowers! Rad huh?
- Botanical Paperworks – beautiful stationery that everyone can plant and grow amazing flowers!
- Give a Damn Goods – a company that employs women who escaped sex trafficking and is BIPOC-owned!
- Green Envelopes – online invitations are great for any occasion! Here you can also easily keep track of RSVPs! I simply LOVE paper invites, but online ones just seem to elevate stress for couples and guests! The ease of RSVPing & auto-adding to your calendar!
BUY A WEDDING DRESS 2nd HAND
This isn’t for everyone and I totally understand! But, it’s a GREAT option if you want a designer dress and stay on budget!
- Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses.com – an amazing site where you can get designer dresses for 30%+ off! Including Dior and BHLDN!
- RentTheRunway.com – has some amazing non-traditional dresses that you could totally rock on your wedding day! You can even get a colored ball gown and let your personality fly!
- Borrowing Magnolia – another rad online store with STUNNING dresses!
RENT OR BUY YOUR SUIT OR TUX
Everyone could use a nice suit in their closet, so spend a little bit more and invest in a beautiful suit you can wear more than once! Or rent a modern suit to show your personality and style!
- The Black Tux – our go-to #1 place for renting amazing suits!
- Generations Tux – a great place for a modern suit or tux!
RENT OR BUY THRIFTED to DECORATE
We’ve had couples head to their favorite thrift store, estate sales, rummage sales, and the like for their rentals! If you want to keep it modern you can rent stunning pieces from your local wedding rental company! Below are my faves!
- A La Crate & Event Essentials in Madison WI – these are by far the best in Madison and they have everything you may need!
- Velvet Rentals – where you can get some one-of-a-kind items to fit any venue!
- Relic Rentals in Milwaukee WI – another stunning and rad favorite in Milwaukee!
DISHES BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
When possible rent all your glassware, but if you can’t or want to save some money, you can get some rad eco-friendly dinnerware! I highly recommend renting glassware, the best option for glasses. (in our opinion) If you get compostable ones, please try to have a separate bin just for them, so they can be composted!
- Palm Leaf Dinnerware – we’ve had these a few times and they always look amazing and durable!
- Bamboo Plates – these also look amazing and are super durable!
- Bamboo Cutlery – our favorite cutlery at weddings, they don’t feel strange in your mouth, and guests can take them home if they want! We have!
- Wheat Straw Glasses – compostable and looks like ceramic!
- Biodegrade Cups in any size – a budget-friendly option!
GIVE EDIBLE FAVORS
When it comes to favors don’t overthink it! Honestly, no one needs another koozie or beer glass (there I said it) WE have a million and use them. But, the edible ones are by far our favorite!
- Cookies with your names on them – these are always so cute and you can easily add them to your cake or dessert order!
- Homemade Jam – everyone loves jam! Don’t want to make it yourself, I bet you can buy some in bulk from a local farm!
- Honey or Maple Syrup – is another great one nearly everyone will love! And available at most local farms!
- Homemade wine or beer with a custom wedding label – we had multiple couples do this and it’s gone over AMAZINGLY! Also, if you have leftovers that people don’t take, you can relive your day every time you open one up together!
ECO-FRIENDLY WELCOME BAGS
If you are planning a wedding with guests staying at the same hotel, Airbnb, or coming from afar, it is always nice to have welcome bags for everyone. Don’t have the time or budget for everyone? Just do your family members and wedding party!
You can add a lot of the same things above!
- Boxed Water – this modern water bottle looks cute for Instagram and is eco-friendly!
- Gift Set from Fromagination – if you are in Wisconsin a gift box from Fromatination is a MUST! Give all the cheese!
- Re-usable water bottle – even better gift, a reusable water bottle! Everyone can use another!
- Mason Jars for snacks – don’t want to buy individually wrapped snacks! Buy a large bag from Costco and put in re-usable mason jars!
- Candle in a Cocktail Glass – a beautifully smelling candle that once burned down and clean out becomes a rad cocktail glass!
- Fabric Tote Bag – instead of a paper bag, give them a tote bag to easily take everything home! Yes, everyone gives tote bags, but keep them simple with no custom writing and they can easily re-use them!
EXIT CONFETTI GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Who doesn’t love confetti on their wedding day? It looks amazing in photos and it’s so much fun to include all your guests after the kiss! But a lot of confetti doesn’t biodegrade and is horrible for the environment. Here are some rad alternatives!
- Lavender – throwing lavender doesn’t only look like confetti but it smells DIVINE!
- Paper Punch Local Leaves – grab a massive pile of leaves in the area and get to punching holes!
- Dried Local Flower Petals – ask your local florist for great options!
LEAVE NO TRACE
This is important no matter if you get married at a venue or out in nature! Clean up is super important and remember to ask and read up on any rules and regulations!
- Have a clean-up plan – have a few people you trust that are going to stay after to help clean up. If you have a wedding planner, make sure there is a team there to help!
- Be nice to nature – don’t put nails in the trees, no drilling into anything, use command hooks & strips when possible, and just be kind!
- Use local flowers & non-evasive plants – this is uber important if you are traveling & in national parks!
Read more on Leave no Trace Here! We are certified leave no trace photographers!
This is so important! thank you for giving us so many different resources… will definitely be forwarding this to some of my couples! xoxo