Why choosing an eco-responsible wedding for your big day?

An eco-responsible wedding that respects the environment and people in a warm and natural setting.

The question of eco-responsibility for a wedding is not trivial. Did you know that a traditional wedding produces more CO2 than the average person does in a year? Indeed, if you are looking to protect the environment, a wedding is the perfect moment as every detail is personalized by the bride and groom. Moreover, it is a good way to raise awareness among your guests and to defend the values you believe in. The venue, the decoration, the caterer, or the dress will reduce CO2 emissions and contribute to local trade.

Here are our 10 good ideas for celebrating an eco-friendly wedding

Firstly, among the thousands of ideas and possibilities to organize your wedding in an eco-friendly way, there are three golden rules to remember:

— Avoid plastic

— Reduce waste

— Favour local and seasonal products.

1) Recycled and biodegradable invitations:

Thinking about the environmental impact of invitations is one of the best ways to start planning your eco-friendly wedding. You can do this by using recycled and recyclable paper.

a) Recycled paper

We recommend the Rosemood workshop. They offer a paper that is 80% recycled paper pulp, with the remaining 20% being virgin fibres from thinning and pruning wood. It is also less chlorine bleached.

b) Seeded biodegradable paper

You can also print your invitations on seeded paper, for example from "Papierfleur" . Seeded paper is paper to which wildflower or herb seeds are added during the manufacturing process. By planting the paper in the ground, the flowers grow and the paper degrades, so it is zero waste.

2) Recycled or recyclable dresses and suits in natural and local materials

a) Reuse or recycle your clothes

You can buy a wedding dress or suit from a second - hand store, nothing will be more eco-friendly than that! Some shops even offer alterations and customisation services. It is also possible to call on the services of a specialist seamstress to give a dress or suit from your grandmother or mother a facelift.

b) Renting dresses and suits:

This is a unique occasion, at least we all hope so at the time: your dress will only be used once! Subsequently, it will be kept in your wardrobe under a cover for a long time, until you decide to get rid of it, at best by selling it, giving it away or at worst by throwing it away. Renting your wedding dress is a perfect alternative. There are a multitude of rental services available today, here is a small list: "Mariage Harmonya" . Also check out this article from Marie-Claire which lists the best ones!

c) Buy an ethical and eco - responsible dress or suit from a local designer:

By buying a dress in an eco-friendly fabric such as silk, organic cotton or EcoVero you are already doing everything right. If you decide to sell it afterwards, you are also doing something for the planet. For the purchase, our favourite option is the linen dress. Why? Because this sustainable fibre does not use any chemicals in its manufacture and France is the world's largest producer of linen. Linen will make your dress so unique and surprising. And what's more, at Aatise we invite you to create the dress of your dreams thanks to our customisation course.

d) Simplicity without a theme for the guests:

To avoid buying new dresses and suits for your witnesses or guests, avoid imposing a theme on them! Without protocol, they will be free to choose the colour and material of their dresses and thus avoid a purchase for a single event. You can also encourage them to select natural materials like linen, organic cotton or silk, or responsible materials like Lyocell or Ecovero.

3) Ethical wedding rings

For an eco-friendly wedding, you can select wedding rings that are made with respect for man and nature, and if you want a custom-made wedding ring, it is possible!

There are quite a few designers who select ethical gold that comes from Fairmined certified mines or other certification bodies. "Fairmined is a certification label that attests to the provenance of gold produced by artisanal and small-scale mines, meeting the world's leading standards for responsible practices.

We recommend the ethical and eco-responsible jewellery brand So What. Materials carefully selected from Fairminded mines in Peru.

Paulette à Bicyclette is another ethical jewellery option that offers Fairmined certified gold wedding rings.

4) CO2 friendly transport

It would be best to choose a venue close to the home of most guests. If this is not possible, it is preferable that guests travel by train to the wedding. The train is still the most environmentally friendly form of transport in terms of CO2 emissions. If you book in advance, the train can be cheap, and you can even organize a group trip to reduce costs.

Alternatively, you can organize car sharing to bring guests who may not know each other. A venue that is within easy walking distance of your guests will avoid transport, but hiring a bus is also a way to reduce pollution. For brides, horse-drawn carriages are romantic and environmentally friendly, but there are many other creative and responsible ways to transport your guests.

5) A green wedding list

A wedding list has many advantages, including selecting gifts that are useful to you. But by choosing a green wedding list, you can do even better: combine the useful with the protection of the planet and nature. There are many green wedding lists:

6) The seasonal and local meal

Today, you can easily find a caterer who uses local products to compose the meal. If the products used are organic, it's even better. He can advise you to select the best fruits and vegetables in season to avoid taking products from the other side of the world. The same goes for drinks: a local wine or apéritif will help guests discover local nuggets. For the end of the meal: you can give the leftover food to an association or a food bank as a gesture of solidarity so as not to waste anything.

7) Eco-responsible decoration

a) Rent lights and decorations with 100% recycled and upcycled objects:

You can find in flea markets small jars, light bulbs, old glass bottles or any object that can be transformed into a nice and rural decoration. Even if all these objects are mismatched, it will still give a vintage and handmade touch to your decoration. And you can resell your decorations afterwards at other weddings.

b) A good idea is to hire out vintage crockery:

If you are providing the tableware, you can choose to rent vintage tableware. For example, you can hire vintage tableware from Le Bontemps, which will give a Bohemian and chic effect at the same time.

c) Rental of lighting equipment.

Hiring lighting equipment for your wedding is a great eco-friendly and economical option. Many providers offer these services, and some even have more environmentally friendly lighting.

8) Dried flowers or fresh local flowers for decoration

a) Seasonal flower bouquet:

There are florists who are agreeing with your values: they offer fresh, local flowers that have not travelled thousands of miles to reach your table. By selecting seasonal flowers, you can find a local supply that will reduce the ecological footprint of transporting flowers.

b) Dried wild flowers or reusable potted plants:

Another option for your ceremony's floral decoration are dried flowers that can be reused and last longer. You can also think about the life of the flowers after the wedding, such as giving them to guests.

Another idea is to think about a natural setting that doesn't need much decoration, such as a flower garden or a meadow. Potted plants are another alternative. They are reusable, and you could also give them as souvenirs to your guests.

9) Sorting and recycling during the party

You are also invited to encourage recycling during the celebration by putting buckets and bins that can be easily spotted by your guests.

Green caterers will offer you a selective sorting system to separate organic waste from other materials. You can also provide bins for selective sorting. 

10) There is such a thing as a green honeymoon

a) A place near your home country.

Of course, choosing a country very far from France will have more negative consequences on the environment than going to a neighbouring region, due to CO2 emissions.

Therefore, the first eco-friendly reflex is to select a country close to your own, or even a city in your country of residence. In this respect we are very lucky, France is a jewel that contains a thousand and one treasures.

b) Means of transport :

The transport used during your honeymoon can also be selected responsibly. We recommend that you take the train and avoid flying. For sightseeing and walking, what better way than by bicycle?

c) Green accommodation

We take every detail into account, right down to the accommodation for your trip. Eco-friendly accommodation is available everywhere, you just need to know where to find it. There are labels that certify them such as "Ecolabel", "EarthCheck", "La Clef Verte". Green Go Voyage is the French alternative to Airbnb and Booking, which recognises accommodation providers with an environmental and social approach.