Thinking and living sustainably is increasingly becoming an important factor to many of us in our day-to-day activities, but did you know big events such as your wedding can incur a huge carbon footprint?
If you’re looking to be more environmentally friendly, see our tips below on how to have a more sustainable wedding.
Venue
Travel is a major contributor to an unsustainable wedding. Consider where are the majority of your guests going to be travelling from and try to stay local. This will not only reduce the need for long car, or even plane, journeys but will also make it more convenient for both you and your guests.
An important factor in a sustainable wedding is reducing unnecessary decoration. Finding a beautiful venue that requires minimal decoration for a dreamy backdrop to your day is a great sustainable option. Here at Pryors, our gardens offer beautiful summer surroundings with beautiful florals and greenery and breathtaking views next to our lake in the Cheshire countryside. Come Autumn and Winter, our indoor venue offers cosy rooms, roaring fires and candlelit ceremonies, Pryors offers a truly intimate and romantic reception suite. Just take a look at our gallery.
Menu
In order to reduce carbon footprint, consider looking locally to find your wedding menu. Luckily for our couples, Cheshire has some of the best locally sourced ingredients around! With miles of farmland, local breweries and vineyards, and a large independent business community - you’re never far away from amazing quality food and drink.
As well as staying local for your menu, consider the type of food on your menu - a vegan or vegetarian menu would reduce your environmental impact but we’re aware that’s not for everyone so also look to the time of year and what veg/ meats are in season. Spring/ summer wedding menus should include lots of fruit and veg and lighter dishes of lamb or fish, whereas autumn/ winter weddings should include more root veg, local beef and game meats.
Decoration & Bridal Accessories
The decoration is definitely one area where there is the potential for a lot of waste on your wedding day but there are some steps you can take to reduce this. Find environmentally friendly confetti such as flower petals (dried or fresh), autumn leaves, lavender or birdseed. As mentioned previously, find a beautiful venue that will need minimum extras to make it look beautiful but also consider using a room dresser that will have a library of decorations that will be used again for another wedding.
Again looking to local suppliers, florists and dressmakers is a good way to find out more about where your supplies have come from are further steps towards a sustainable wedding day.
Table decoration by Flossie’s Weddings
Time of year
Considering what time of year you’d like to get married is obviously an important factor - are you looking for the summer sun, a cosy winter wedding or perhaps on a date already special to you? But there is actually a difference this could make to the sustainability of your day too.
Summer is generally a better time of year to get married from a sustainability perspective as it drastically reduces your reliance on power and heating. With light evenings and the possibility of an outdoor wedding, you will need little to no power until the evening.
Our venue is inspired by nature and we’re grateful to be in such a beautiful location, book a private viewing to see what we can offer for your special day.