Are you going to be hitched?
Congratulations!
However, don’t you want to host a wedding that costs you less financially and ecologically safe too?
India is known for its elaborate grand weddings. The Big Fat Indian Wedding is, no doubt, loads of fun, but also an average wedding is responsible for producing a massive amount of waste.
Weddings are time for celebration and reunion, but our grand affair can come at a significant cost to the Environment.
Exotic flowers, wedding cards, non-biodegradable decorations and continual use of thermocol and plastic, tissue paper and leftover food end up straight in the trash after the marriage ceremony is performed. Not only are these a burden to earth but they also put a big hole in your pocket.
Being a responsible inhabitant of the Earth, we must reduce the waste we produce and even reuse and recycle it later. Many people are beginning to realize the importance of hosting an eco-friendly wedding with no to zero waste. This initiative, which started in the West, is now trending in India as well.
Bengaluru has seen quite a good number of such eco-friendly wedding, which are setting examples for others to follow. A sustainable, zero-waste and vegan wedding is one of the trending buzzwords. Besides, it has become increasingly necessary to take an eco-friendly approach to the wedding ceremony in the current scenario when environmental pollution is increasing at a massive scale.
How to Organize an Eco-Friendly Wedding with Zero Waste:
Start your journey of a beautiful life-long relation in an environment-friendly way. Here is how you can organize an eco-friendly wedding with zero-waste.
1. Ditch the Printed Invitation Cards:
The first thing you can do to reduce waste is by ditching the conventionally used printed invitation cards and using the internet to send invites. You can send invites through the internet using email groups or can create a wedding website free of cost to share your wedding plans, progress, and anecdotes that will build excitement for the big day. This way will help you reserve printed invitations only for elders, and people who do not have access to the internet.
2. Say Hello to Local flowers:
Another way to reduce waste and expense is by choosing the local homegrown flowers for your wedding decoration. The exotic flowers you might be lusting after are not only expensive but come covered in layers of plastic. With some creativity, you can pull off a fantastic wedding decor with local flowers and help reduce waste. Also, the flowers like marigold can later be used for plantation. You can request your guests not to bring bouquets or gifts wrapped in plastic to get them involved in your initiative.
3. Say No to Plastic, Thermocol, and Glitter in Decor:
Replace plastic and thermocol with flowers, bamboo, and cloth ribbon for decoration. Wedding decorations are more polluting than we can imagine. The shiny and glittery name of the bride and groom on thermocol at the entrance, confetti, dry fruits on plates covered in glossy plastic to name a few. Choose recyclable fabrics or even burlap in place of thermocol and instead of using the flex boards you can use a cloth or recycled wooden banners. Also, the couple’s name at the entry board can be written on the chalkboard using flowers and on the wooden placard.
4. Replace the Disposable Cutlery with the Reusable Ones:
On average, a person uses approximately five disposables during the meal. Replacing the plastic, paper, and other disposables with reusable cutlery like steel is a smart way to reduce waste. Besides, it is also convenient and hygienic.
5. Say No to Packed or Bottled water:
Replace the packed water with clean filtered water served in steel or glass tumblers will go a long way in reducing water wastage.
6. Replace Tissue papers with Cloth napkins and Towels:
It would be encouraging to use the cloth napkins and towels instead of tissue papers in the wedding, as it not only reduces waste but also helps in cutting down the cleaning task after the ceremony is done.
7. Don’t go heavy on Lighting:
Opting for a day wedding instead of the night will not only go undemanding on your budget but will also avoid burdening the already overburdened resources. So, go for the day wedding and ditch the night wedding to prevent the use of ample lighting and save the environment.
8. Use Cotton or Jute Bags for Return Gifts:
Give gifts to your guests in jute or cotton bags or woven baskets. Steer away from Chinese jute or PPP (polypropylene plastic) bags, which have flooded the market in the guise of ‘jute’. You can also opt to gift seed balls, saplings, seeds, books, and other environment-friendly gifts.
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