Singaporebrides | Weddings 101

March 2021

7 Easy Ways to Have a Sustainable Wedding in 2021

By Tansey Tang

Share this article on:
Facebook 94

Hold a beautiful yet environmentally friendly wedding with these small and totally achievable sustainable wedding ideas!

A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and you may be feeling so much pressure to have a picture-perfect wedding that you forget to consider its effect on the environment. With the increase in awareness about environmental friendliness and sustainability, these days it’s easier than ever to plan an eco-friendly wedding. The trend for intimate weddings is also helping weddings go green, with smaller guest lists contributing to less food wastage and energy consumption.

Your wedding should definitely be about celebrating the two of you and your love, but it can also be thoughtful about the earth. Consider incorporating some of these super simple eco-wedding ideas that can make a big impact on our environment.

1.Rent your outfits

According to an article in The Guardian, the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions and uses an estimated 1.5 litres of water every year. Couples who want to limit the environmental impact of their wedding can choose sustainable wedding dresses and suits. There are a lot of factors to consider when judging whether an item of clothing is eco-friendly or not—such as whether it’s made of sustainable or recycled materials, its carbon footprint, how much the factory worker was paid to produce it, and where it will end up after you wear it—which can be pretty confusing.

A simple way to protect the earth with your outfit choice is to rent it. Renting your wedding outfits from a local bridal boutique will mean the items are used more than once, and you’ll also be supporting local crafters, which makes renting a sustainable and ethical choice. Bridal boutiques in Singapore offer a wide range of silhouettes and styles, such as the grand ballgowns and contemporary designs by Z Wedding, romantic bohemian dresses by Bridefully Yours, and glamorously sexy gowns by Divine Couture.

2.Light Your Love Naturally

Another simple way to be eco-conscious with your wedding is to select a wedding venue that’s naturally lit. Make full use of the daylight to illuminate your wedding and you’ll cut down on electricity and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants emitted by power plants, as well as conserve the natural resources used to generate energy. Plus, we don’t have to tell you that your wedding photos will look more beautiful under natural lighting!

Celebrate your love outdoors in all of Mother Earth’s natural beauty, whether you prefer a beach wedding venue such as Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa, Singapore with its sparkling ocean views or a romantic garden venue like The Alkaff Mansion. An alfresco ceremony will reduce air-conditioning usage too!

Glass wedding venues are also a great way to let the daylight illuminate your wedding celebrations. Glass pavilion ballrooms such as Andaz Singapore‘s Glasshouse or restaurants with full length glass windows such as 1-Atico allow abundant daylight to stream in, cutting down the need for artificial lighting.

3.Save the Flowers

What’s a wedding without flowers? While flowers are by nature “organic”, your choice of flower type and even arrangement style of your wedding flowers can affect their environmental impact. Choosing seasonal flowers will help to reduce unnecessary waste of resources, and opting for locally or regionally grown flower types such as spray roses or carnations will help reduce your carbon footprint.

Extend the life of your flowers by repurposing wedding floral arrangements. Florists such as Liz Florals can help you with floral designs that can do double duty, such as free-standing wedding arch arrangements that can be repurposed for your reception or photo backdrop. Dried or preserved florals are another eco-friendly option, such as the beautiful bridal bouquets by Florals Actually that can last for years.

Another eco-conscious wedding floral choice is to use potted flowers in your décor. Potted flowers such as orchids or spray roses can add beauty to your wedding and then continue to brighten your home.

After your wedding, reduce wastage by donating your flowers to a hospital or care home or gifting them to your guests, instead of tossing them in the trash!

4.Change the Confetti

Bright and colourful, the confetti toss exit is such a happy way to celebrate your new status as Mr and Mrs, and sure makes for beautiful photos as well. But the fake flower petals or colourful paper that ends up on the floor outdoors aren’t biodegradable, and worse, could be ingested by wild creatures. To avoid harming the environment, opt for biodegradable confetti alternatives such as punched out dried leaves, or fresh or dried flower petals for more vibrant colour.

5.Play with Potted Plants

Potted plants are becoming increasingly popular with wedding stylists who are concerned about sustainability. They can add a bright pop of greenery to your backdrop styling or create a leafy aisle runner, and can be brought home to line your new nest after the wedding, or reused by your stylist to spruce up another couple’s celebration.

Smaller potted plants also make great table centrepieces. Think adorable potted succulents that can double up as escort cards simply by writing your guests’ names on each pot or on a place card stuck into the pot. Bonus, they can then be brought home as a wedding favour!

6.Let Your Bridesmaids Style Themselves

A traditional bridesmaid dress with its long, flowing silhouette, pastel hue, and romantic frills and flounces may be difficult for your bridesmaid to re-wear after your wedding. For a more sustainable fashion choice, get your bridal squad to choose their own bridesmaid dresses by giving them a colour theme. This way, your girls will be able to find a dress (or jumpsuit, or top and skirt combo) that suits their frame and their style better, which will make it much more likely that they will wear it again instead of throw it out.

7.Send E-Invites

Save the trees by going paperless with your wedding invitation suite! Send a beautifully designed invitation—or even video!—via email or text instead. The possibilities for creativity open up with an electronic invitation: you could have fun creating a video or GIF, or create a wedding website with details about your story and your wedding ceremony programme. You can always print just one set if you’d like a physical invitation suite for a keepsake, or for your photographer to capture your wedding details.

Going green with your wedding can sound daunting. We hope that these small and easy changes help inspire you to reduce waste while having the wedding of your dreams. Implementing even a few of these easy ways to have a sustainable wedding can make an impact on the earth, and add to the happiness of your special day.

Feature image from Kristine and Sean’s Intimate White Wedding at Botanico at The Garage by Arture Photography, cropped from original

All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeBrides.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram for the latest article and promotion updates!