Anne O’Brien is a celebrant and founder of Bluebell Ceremonies. She also has more than 30 years’ experience working in the sustainability business and has cleverly combined her two passions in life to help couples host beautiful weddings that have less impact on the environment. She talks to Jade Beer about the most effective, simple and creative steps you can consider.
‘The vast majority of couples now have sustainability as one of their considerations when they are thinking about their wedding and choosing their suppliers. Some want to do a couple of small things and for others it will be a core value and will guide every decision they make. But most couples are moving in this direction and not least because it feels good. I plant 25 trees for every ceremony that I deliver, and I can’t tell you the joy it gives me from my little office in Oxfordshire to known I’m planting trees in Kenya. It feels great. Something is always better than nothing. And you can still have a beautiful and joyful celebration with sustainability being part of it. It’s easier to do than you might expect.’
Challenge your suppliers
There are some incredible suppliers out there doing beautiful, creative and super stylish things that are easier on the planet. Be curious and engaging with your suppliers, challenging them and asking what you can do together to reduce the overall impact of this event without compromising the look of the day.
Find a family-run venue
Because Tythe is a private, family run wedding venue, they are very close to their suppliers and the environment they occupy. They are directly involved with decisions about how they run their business and, for example, how they generate electricity on site. They are in control and that makes a very big difference to how sustainability is embedded into their culture. That’s a good plus point.
They have a water purification system that allows them to serve still and sparkling water to guests in re-usable glass bottles. The biomass boiler runs on wood pellets which creates enough energy to heat the entire venue while solar panels on the roof of the grain store produce enough power to light Tythe’s estate. They harvest rainwater for the plants, there is a herb garden where they grow all the mint for the Pimm’s while apples from their orchard are the key ingredient in the popular Tythe Apple Sour cocktail.
All cardboard and wine corks are recycled and over the last ten years they have planted over 1000 trees around the estate. As well as that, they’ve got great outdoor ceremony spaces which means you’re not lighting or heating a space inside.
There are lots of options with their caterer, Absolute Taste, to look at seasonal and local produce and they have a large selection of props and décor that you can hire which is a great way of minimising buying the new stuff that’s often associated with a wedding. They’re doing great sustainable work.
Four ways to make the biggest impact
The four biggest carbon contributors are travel, meat, scale and flowers. In the world of sustainable weddings, small is beautiful. But, if you do want a big wedding, there are still great things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment. Think about if there is anything you can do to minimize the number of journeys required to attend your wedding. Could you encourage guests to car share or remind them that they can use public transport. In the case of Tythe you have a venue that can offer accommodation, ceremony and reception spaces all on the same site so at least for some of your guest list, they will be there for the whole event and not having to move from A to B. It’s also much more relaxed that way.
Meat is an easy one to tackle because a lot of caterers are open to a conversation about putting in a vegetarian or vegan option. Ask how you can minimise food waste – consider grazing tables or buffet style or sharing platters when people take just the things that they like. It will feel so good if you can support a local food supplier in bringing down those food miles.
If I could recommend one place it would be Flowers from the Farm – when you’re next buying a bouquet for a special person or event, jump onto their website and you will be able to source your flowers from a local flower grower. There is an amazing community throughout the UK now of people who are growing their own flowers. Many of them are female led industries that are very creative in their approach and using them will bring more interest and uniqueness to your day. The whole idea is to cut how far flowers are transported. If you use exotic blooms, they’re going to come a very long way, they’ll be flown and chilled and heavy duty in terms of their carbon contribution. If you can buy local and British, then it’s a win win.
Then repurpose the flowers from one part of the venue to the other as the day progresses into evening. Or have your florist rework them as gifts for guests to take home. It takes time and thought but it can be done. It spreads the joy.
Don’t forget the details
Other great sustainable ideas include having a piece of jewellery repurposed instead of buying something new. Consider recycling heritage and heirloom pieces that are already in the family. Or taking base metals and recasting them into amazing wedding bands. Justin Duance , uses reclaimed wood and precious metals for wedding bands.
Living Bunch is an Australia florist who uses succulents in bouquets and headpieces and buttonholes that can be replanted afterwards. They don’t need much water and last beautifully throughout your day but then you can dismantle your bouquet and enjoy watching it grow again. Your wedding bouquet becomes something that grows in the garden or sits on your windowsill. I’m sure there are British-based florists who would consider this.
I also love what Make Your Mark Events are doing – offering canvasses that all your guests at your wedding have a part in painting. They are the most stunning creations, and this is in lieu of a gift list. Your gift from all your guests becomes this beautiful piece of art that you hang on your wall. The subject of it can be something that’s special to you – maybe the place you got engaged or somewhere you love to go together. You get less vouchers for John Lewis, but you do get an original piece of art that everyone has contributed to.
Recommended resources
The Sustainable Wedding Alliance footprint calculator
This will measure the impact of your wedding across various categories like travel, accessories, food. It will calculate how much carbon is associated with each of them, according to the decisions you make. You can use it as a base line from which to pare back from or as a guide to where you could direct your efforts to bring down your carbon footprint and make your day more sustainable.
An international organisation planting trees and supporting carbon reduction projects.
A brilliant UK eco-friendly wedding and lifestyle resource.
A useful Australian community inspiring couples to plan eco-friendly, ethical, vegan or zero-waste weddings.
