In recent years, the environment has been a focus for many and we’ve seen this reflected in today’s wedding market as well. Whether close to home or halfway around the world, engaged couples are looking for ways to minimize their footprint and host a wedding that is kind to the environment.
When it comes to destination weddings, there are a number of ways for couples to ‘go green’—here are some of our favorites for you to impart upon your clients.
Picking the right venue
When shopping for venues, it’s entirely fine to be picky! Some all-inclusive resorts and other event properties are committed to being eco-friendly and will proudly share what they’re doing to reduce their effect on the environment, from using solar panels to limiting water consumption to growing their own sustainable foods onsite.
Shop smartly
Going green isn’t just limited to your time onsite—the eco-friendly mindset is important to keep throughout the planning process. When shopping for a wedding dress, shoes, wedding rings, and such, look for ways to purchase them used. If that’s not available, do some research to find sustainable brands that offer products that are created through fair-trade and don’t cause harm to the planet.
Stick to your season
For fruits, vegetables and flowers, it can cost extra emissions and money to get out-of-season plants for a wedding. Couples who choose to source their produce and florals locally and in-season will be happy to know that they come with a very small footprint.
A venue on the beach via Zest Cozinha Criativa; Photo flavia valsani photography
Minimize décor
One of the benefits of hosting a destination wedding is the beautiful scenery that comes with the locale. Fortunately, this means that many couples don’t have to invest in a lot of décor to take guests’ breath away—not only is this a budget-friendly tactic, but it also cuts down on the amount of waste from the event.
Skip the traditional favors and gifts
Both wedding party gifts and guest favors create waste in their production and also take up space when traveling. Instead of taking that on, couples can choose to donate to a shared cause, adopt an animal, sponsor a child, or stick to fair-trade companies when thinking of gift ideas.
This shift toward eco-friendly weddings is reflected in a couple’s desire to take out anything that is unnecessary and stick to what matters the most—celebrating their vows among their closest loved ones.
Megan Velez is the Vice President of Product at DestinationWeddings.com, the world's leading destination wedding and romantic travel planning company. DestinationWeddings.com has worked with nearly 25,000 couples and half a million guests to plan dream destination weddings. For more information, visit DestinationWeddings.com.
