THE VENUE When researching wedding venues looking into their sustainability policies and practices will get you a long way to ensuring your wedding is as eco-friendly as possible, while taking much of the effort out of your hands. Here’s what you’ll be keeping an eye out for: • Location Stay local to minimise guest and vendor travel • Energy The venue will use renewable energy or energy-efficient systems • Water It will conserve water with eco-plumbing • Waste Recyling, composting and ban on single-use plastics. • Decor It will encourage the use of reusable decor, likely encouraging to hire rather than buy. • Community It will support its local economy or sustainable causes. • Credentials The venue will proudly display its green certifications and have a transparent, easy-to-find sustainability policy. Look out for BCorp, Green Tourism or ISO 14001 certification. They may also be a member of the Sustainable Wedding Alliance. unsplash.com@scottwebb TRANSPORT The easiest way to guarantee eco-friendly transport is to host your ceremony and reception in a single location, cutting down on multiple journeys in one day. Alternatively, if you’re saying “I do” in church, try to find a reception space within walking distance or as close as possible. Consider your guests’ journeys when deciding on your location. Is it within easy reach of local transport links? Not only is this eco-friendly, it also means they can leave the car at home and enjoy a drink with you if they wish. Use your wedding website to set up a carpool sign-up and organise group leaders to organise lifts from the same area. If you are opting for multiple locations, put on group transport for your guests to get them from A to B with least impact on the environment. We love a red routemaster or retro charabanc for a super-fun trip. You can also offer guests a shuttle bus service from the venue to hotel or train station to cut down on multiple carbon-emitting taxis. For your own wedding vehicle, go low-carbon. Seek out an electric or hybrid vehicle or a vintage car running on biofuel. Alternatively, a horse and carriage is oh-so romantic, super photogenic and offers a truly memorable experience. Sometimes, travelling long distances is unavoidable, especially if you have guests attending from overseas. No problem, just look for a way to offset their carbon emissions. From £6.99 per month, carbonneutralbritain.org allows you to offset your annual carbon footprint through various projects. SUSTAINABILITY 37
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