5 easy ways to make your wedding more sustainable
Here’s a fun fact: your wedding suppliers can either be the biggest champions of your day—or the bigLet’s talk about weddings and the planet. Because yes, you can have a stylish, joyful, personality-packed wedding and make choices that are kinder to the Earth. Sustainability doesn’t mean compromising on your vision—it just means being thoughtful about the impact your day has.
The great news? Even a few small swaps can make a big difference.
Whether you’re going full eco-warrior or just trying to avoid the worst of the waste, here are five genuinely easy ways to make your wedding more sustainable.
1. Rethink your flowers
Fresh flowers are lovely, but they’re not always the greenest choice—especially if they’re imported, wrapped in plastic, and binned by midnight. Here’s what you can do instead:
Dried flowers: These are having a moment (and rightly so). Long-lasting, endlessly stylish, and totally reusable. We love Bracken & Fleur for natural, British-grown dried florals.
Seasonal, local flowers: Ask your florist to source what’s in season and grown nearby.
Repurpose arrangements: Ceremony flowers can be moved to your reception, bouquets can become table decor, and nothing should go to waste!
Bonus points if you skip the floral foam, which is basically microplastic in disguise.
2. Hire instead of buying
You do not need to own 80 bud vases, 12 backdrops and a neon sign that says “Til Death Do Us Party.” That’s where we come in.
Hiring your decor means:
Less waste
Less storage stress
More budget-friendly options
Access to beautifully crafted pieces you probably couldn’t DIY
At Wedding Elements, we create and hire out props, signage, and backdrops—many made from reclaimed materials. It’s planet-friendly, purse-friendly, and saves you panic-buying a hundred fairy lights at the last minute.
3. Think about your food + drink
Food waste is a huge part of wedding-day impact. Here’s how to trim it down:
Work with caterers who source locally and seasonally
Have a realistic headcount (you don’t need 200 canapés for 80 people)
Serve plated meals or smaller buffet options to avoid excess
Offer vegan or vegetarian dishes as standard
Drinks-wise, try local breweries, sustainable wine suppliers, or even kombucha taps and funky reusable glassware.
Oh—and don’t forget to recycle all that Prosecco packaging.
4. Eco-friendly favours (or none at all!)
Let’s be honest: a lot of favours end up forgotten on the tables. If you do want to give guests something, make it:
Edible (biscuits, mini jam jars, seeds)
Reusable (handwritten place cards that double as keepsakes)
Charitable (donate to a cause in your guests’ honour)
Or just skip favours altogether and spend that budget on an extra round of espresso martinis.
5. Digital where you can
Invites, RSVPs, table plans—it’s all gone digital, baby.
Save trees, save money, and still look stunning. Some options we love:
Wedding websites for RSVP management
QR codes on signage for info
Digital thank yous (with photos!) after the big day
And for those guests who love physical post? A hybrid model works great. Print just a few, keep everyone happy.
Bonus: Consider your outfits
No, you don’t have to wear a second-hand dress (unless you want to). But there are sustainable options:
Hire a designer gown or tux
Choose brands that use ethical production
Repurpose or dye your outfit after the wedding
Sell it on for another bride or groom to love
Your outfit can be just as epic and environmentally conscious.
What we’re doing at Wedding Elements
We’re on a mission to reduce waste and create beautiful weddings with as little environmental impact as possible. That means:
Using reclaimed wood and materials wherever we can
Offering hire instead of buy
Partnering with like-minded, eco-conscious suppliers
Creating decor designed to be reused, repurposed and loved again
Because a beautiful wedding shouldn’t come at the expense of the planet.
Weddings should feel good—in every sense. So whether you go all-in on the eco front, or just make a few conscious swaps, know that it matters.
And if you want help pulling it all together? That’s literally what we do.
Have a scroll through our Decor Elements page or pop us a message if you want to chat about low-waste, high-impact wedding ideas. We’re ready when you are 🌱