Advice on an Eco-Friendly Wedding
Some tips on how to plan a more eco-friendly wedding!
This was inspired by a friend who asked me how to make their wedding more eco-friendly and I thought I share for anyone else that asks.
Home page of withjoy.com
Send digital “save the dates“ and invites
I used withjoy.com.
“No-fee” honeymoon fund contribution
I ultimately choose With Joy out of the other wedding website competitors because it has a “no-fee” honeymoon fund along with free hosting. Other websites charge money if your guest sends you money over their website.
Easy-to-use
It was easy setting up the website with a cute theme.
Uploading our engagement pictures to showcase was easy.
It also collected the attendees’ addresses easily.
Few Caveats
One of the issues I have with “With Joy” is something all wedding websites have a problem with. The “save the date” may go into the Gmail promotions folder. It is inevitable due to the wording of the email.
“With Joy” has email tracking with other competitors may not have. But I found it to be somewhat unreliable. “Email Sent”/“Email Opened,”/ “E-Card Opened”
Bonus tip: Have one printed version of an invitation suite so your photographer has something to work with. It helps set the tone/theme for the wedding.
Look for a wedding planner that provides some rentals
There are a lot of single-use items when it comes to a wedding!
There are rental companies for linens, tables, chairs, cake stands, back of house catering needs. (These costs come out to a lot!)
A financial tip: Choosing a restaurant venue, they will be equipped with the basic necessities, including the ones listed above. Ask the restaurant if they have want you need.
There are some smaller single-use items the couple usually provides, but some planners could have them available for rentals.
Rentals include table numbers, table number holders, card boxes, signs, easels for those signs, and maybe a donut desert wall!
3. Eco-friendly Florals
Ask your florist to not use styrofoam and to compost the flowers after the event!
They can use chicken wire or bud vases or flower frogs.
Styrofoam has got to go! It’s single-use and hard to reuse.
4. Skip the Favors & some paper goods!
Think of longevity! Some creative favors included jars or honey or some wooden chopsticks, or the best one yet, no favors at all!
Especially if you have a destination wedding, your guest will have to make room for it in their suitcases or worry about trying to get it through TSA.
You can make a donation to a charity you care about on behalf of the guests.
You can write somewhere that “Instead of favors: In lieu of favors, it will be used as a donation to compost your flowers.”
People don’t care about the favors as much as you think.