Your Sussex Wedding - December/January 2023/2024 (Issue 106)

This gorgeous shoot was created to show how you can create an ultra chic, ever-popular rustic wedding day with sustainability at its heart Images courtesy of Sarah Carmody Photography The heart OF SUSTAINABILITY As each year passes us by, it becomes all the more important that we’re aware of ways we can reduce our carbon footprint when planning a wedding,” says Jude Hesselgrave, owner and founder of Wickerwood Farm. “Unfortunately, the wedding industry still has a long way to go to eliminate the huge amount of waste it produces.” Jude continues, “On average here in the UK, each wedding produces more than 14.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, that’s equivalent to the carbon footprint produced by the average household for a whole year. With annual weddings averaging 278,600 in 2022 it’s a frightening statistic when you do the maths.” Wickerwood Farm, an outdoor wedding venue fast becoming known for having sustainability at its heart, hosts a limited number of boutique weddings each summer and the team is proud to continue flying the eco flag within the UK wedding industry. Crucially, Wickerwood Farm doesn’t host back-to-back weddings, and the team believes that by hosting fewer events each year the venue’s carbon footprint is kept down; plus the farmland is given time to recuperate. A number of services are also available through the venue such as planning, styling, and day management, as well as a furniture and prop hire service. This all helps to make planning much easier for its couples, and importantly helps the venue to become even more sustainable. Much of the land at Wickerwood isn’t mowed, instead these areas are roped off to protect wildlife and pollinators, not only offering a natural habitat for wildlife but also creating a beautiful and organic setting for weddings to take place. A number of young trees have also been planted with many more scheduled for the coming years. This chic rustic shoot demonstrates just a few simple and hugely effective ways your wedding can be beautiful and yet sustainable. Jude says, “What I often suggest to couples is to choose suppliers carefully when planning their wedding. It’s useful to research and read reviews. Are they local to the chosen venue? Do they have a sustainable ethos?” Which is exactly how the collaborators were carefully chosen for this shoot project. “ 51 LOCAL SHOOT

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=