Zero Waste Wedding Ideas | How To Minimize Your Impact

Weddings tend to come with a lot of waste, but that doesn’t have to be the case. This guide will go through everything you need to know on how to strive for a zero-waste wedding, starting with this reminder: you don’t have to be perfect to be good.

The 3 Most Important Parts of Every Zero Waste Wedding

1. Choosing A Sustainable Venue

This makes everything easier! They’ll be your biggest supporters in cutting down waste, since they’ve got their systems down pat. Hiring a sustainable planner is also super important, but even if you choose not to hire a planner at all, you’ll still need somewhere to tie the knot. There are probably 4 main elements of being a sustainable venue..

Waste Management

Do they have systems in place for separating waste into trash, recycling, and compost? Are there onsite bins for sorting, or staff to help guests dispose of waste properly? Dealing with these details yourself can be a huge pain in the butt, whether the pain point comes with organizing the logistics in advance or realizing too late that it’s something the venue doesn’t do for you!

Decor Inventory

Many venues have a sort of library from which you can borrow various decor items, from table numbers to signs and seating chart holders, dessert displays and boxes for cards! Most will also include tables and chairs, as well. You might see these items included in the cost of your venue rental, or available for an additional fee, but either way you’re cutting down on the energy required for transporting these items (or worse– buying them!).

Energy Consumption & Landscaping

Of course, some venues also go above and beyond and are able to run using renewable energy sources and other earth-friendly maintenance practices! Your access to this kind of venue will likely be dependent on where you live– from physical feasibility to the political climate– but of course, they shouldn’t be overlooked!

Natural Beauty & Aesthetics

The fewer decorations you need, the better! Choosing a naturally beautiful venue– whether that be an indoor space that’s architecturally pleasing or an outdoor spot with a view, allows you to go minimalist when it comes to decor and save on money as well as your carbon footprint.

2. Rent Everything You Can

I’ve seen countless couples try to buy everything they need for their weddings only to realize there’s too late that there’s a reason you can rent all of those items. That’s the way to go in order to avoid dealing with storage before the wedding, transporting it to your venue, setting it all up, packing it away at the end of the night, dealing with storage after the wedding, and trying to sell it only to be faced with months of disappointment. Don’t do that to yourself! Rent everything that you need!

Let’s start with tableware. This is the easiest way to elevate the entire design of your event, while also being kind to the earth and your loved ones that won’t have to help you lug around enough supplies to cater to 100+ people. You can rent chargers (the big plates that you don’t use that sit beneath your dinner plate), beautiful plates, glasses for all kinds of drinks, ewers for water, luxurious napkins to add color, and real silverware with a nice weight to it. So fancy! Renting nice tableware immediately steps up your entire event, making it feel like guests are at a formal affair instead of eating off of disposable plates at a backyard BBQ.

You can also rent all kinds of decor, from lounge furniture to floral vessels, lighting, signs, seating chart easels or walls, photo backdrops, disco balls, or even live plants! Rental companies stock all sorts of goodies, including items that you would never even think to incorporate into your big day. There are tents and dance floors and tablecloths to rent, but also lawn games, dessert displays, full bar setups, drink vessels, and so much more. There are very, very few things that you actually need to purchase for your wedding day. Think about what you want to take home with you at the end of the night and go from there.

3. Lower Your Guest Count

And the last, perhaps most impactful choice you can make to reduce wedding waste? Lower your guest count. This needn’t be a reunion, nor should it cater to your most distant relatives or old friends that you haven’t actually spoken to in a few years. This cuts down on guest-related emissions from their travel and transportation + outfits and accessories, plus allows your budget to stretch farther elsewhere to align with your priorities, instead of being sunk into food costs for people you don’t talk to.

Planning For A Zero Waste Wedding– Vendor Advice

The Three Most Impactful Hires

Catering

Food is one of the trickiest parts about throwing a zero waste wedding– and probably the thing that will mean your special day is, more realistically, a low waste affair. Offering guests plated meals instead of buffet service can reduce food waste (portion control!) and you should come up with a plan in advance for leftovers and compost. To significantly reduce the impact of your meal, opt for fewer meat choices or even none! (Mom will hate it, but I promise that your guests can survive a few hours without a steak.)

Planners

Finding an amazing planner makes your job easier in every possible regard! The opposite is also true– if you hire a planner that doesn’t align with your environmental values, this whole affair will be an uphill battle. You want someone that just gets it. And that doesn’t mean they have to be perfect! But looking for vendors that talk about sustainability on their websites without being prompted are way more likely to carry the burden of considering the environmental impact of each decision.

Florists

Determining how sustainable a vendor is can be tricky, but florists make it easy. The norm for floristry involves imported flowers that are placed in floral foam for your arrangements, whether they be centerpieces or ceremony installations. Floral foam is like a single use sponge made of toxic chemicals like formaldehyde that breaks down into microplastics– it is convenient, but terribly wasteful and harmful to the environment. Look for florists that source local flowers (whether they grow their own or support local flower farmers) and are foam-free! They should also offer a breakdown service where they’ll come back to your venue in order to properly disassemble their creations and compost (or repurpose!) the flowers.

Other Vendor Categories

Besides the most influential vendors listed above– your venue, planner, caterer, and florist– let’s go through what sustainability might look like for other vendor categories!

Invitations

This one’s easy– go ahead and save money, time, and trees by opting for e-vites! Digital invitations have grown so far beyond a simple email– options like Lovebird give you options for save the dates, invitations, RSVPs, wedding websites, gift registries, guest meal selection, and digital thank you cards. It’s as luxe as any e-vite can be! Physical stationery can be incredibly wasteful, and unbelievably expensive if you want anything remotely elaborate or custom. Many trendy designs for invitations also incorporate foil or plastic, making them ineligible for recycling.

But of course, e-vites aren’t the only way to lower your footprint. There are stationery companies that are committed to sustainable practices, including small businesses like June Press and bigger ones like Paper Culture!

Attire

There are soo many options for secondhand attire these days, and even options to rent your wedding dress or suit! (Not that renting suits or tuxedos is new… our masc friends have it so easy.)

In person, there are stores like Brides For A Cause that offer donated dresses for low prices in support of charitable causes, and Astrea Bridal and Bluesky Bridal that sell consigned & sample sale gowns. Online, I love seeing the dresses up for sale on Poshmark and my favorite, stillwhite.

If you can’t find anything you love secondhand, try looking at brands like Loulette Bride, Grace Loves Lace, Wear Your Love, Georgia Hardinge, or Truvelle.

Jewelry

The carbon footprint of your wedding rings can be.. something else. Even if you’ve already got an engagement ring or two between you and your partner, you can still opt for an environmentally-conscious wedding band! Check out small businesses that handcraft their materials, like Michelle of Lierre Filigree.

Hair and Makeup

The lowest waste option would be to use whatever beauty products you already own, or invest in new items you’ll be able to wear again and again. But I’m a big advocate for hiring professionals to worry about making you look your best so that you can relax and enjoy your wedding day! Most professionals will use their own makeup and applicators, which will either be sanitized between clients or disposable. Ask around to find a solution that you’re comfortable with! But remember that this is not the biggest waste culprit on a wedding day.

Bartending

The shortest version is this: get drinks that aren’t single-serve (think a keg instead of canned beer!), and glassware that’s actually glass. But for tons of information on what sustainable bar service looks like, I’d love to send you directly to the expert: Bryan of Kitsap Bartending Services! He’s got an entire blog post breaking down the many, many sustainable choices that he makes for his business, from ingredients to barware to waste management. Click here to read all about what makes my favorite bar service so environmentally friendly!

Miscellaneous– everything else!

Any vendor of any category can make sustainable choices in the way that they run their business. A lot of it comes with conducting business electronically! Accepting online payments and sending contracts digitally go a long way in avoiding needless waste.

What Not To Buy

Party Favors

Can I tell you the best-kept secret in weddings? No one cares about your party favors. As my friend once put it: “I’m not going to an eight year-old’s birthday party– I don’t need to walk away with a goodie bag.”

If you really want to send your guests away with something, consider giving away consumable items that support small, local businesses– like jars of honey or jam! Head to your local farmer’s market for inspiration. Alternatively, you could hire a local artist to give away tiny portraits of guests! Painters, doodlers, charicature artists, or even a photobooth attendant are more fun hires than dealing with leftover personalized shot glasses or koozies that you’ll never use and can’t be donated.

Dance Floor

“Wow, these styrofoam flip flops and glow sticks made last night so fun!” said no one ever. Plastic garbage isn’t necessary for a killer dance party, I promise! A killer band or DJ will do way more for your party than props ever could. If you want to up the ante on entertainment, consider hiring dancers or other kinds of performers, or bringing in an experience like a dessert bar or tattoo artist!

Signage & Stationery

Your guests don’t need personalized menus on every plate. If you’d like to have menus for your guests, consider one per table! And be wary of commissioning any signs/stations/decor that can be reused, repurposed, or resold. Calligraphy on mirrors can be rewritten, but wood signs in the shape of your name? A neon sign that you don’t plan on displaying in your home? Skip it!

Zero Waste + Zero Trace

If you’re tying the knot outdoors (especially on public lands), you’re going to want to follow Leave No Trace principles! Think of it like that old adage– take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints. Don’t leave behind any trash, confetti, or physical damage to the land when you leave! If you’re in a fragile landscape like a desert with living soil or an alpine meadow, watch your step and stay on trail.

Sustainable Wedding Vendors in Washington State

If you’re tying the knot in the PNW, then you’re going to want to start your vendor search at Emerald Hour! I’m a proud co-founder of this wonderful organization that empowers wedding professionals to create more sustainable events. All members listed on our directory have a sustainability statement on their website outlining their dedication to environmentalism in their businesses, and I highly recommend checking it out for a quick way to connect with vendors that share your values.

ZeroTrace Weddings is another great up-and-coming resource for planning a sustainable wedding in the Pacific Northwest!

Zero Waste Wedding Photographer