Make Your Wedding More Sustainable With These Eco-Friendly Flower Ideas That Create Less Waste
Having flowers and beautiful floral arrangements at your wedding is extremely exciting, and many bloom enthusiasts look forward most to picking out their flowers during their wedding planning process.
However, flowers can be expensive, and also wasteful. After all, you’re not always able to take home every single fresh and beautiful flower you use during your wedding day, and if people don’t want to take them home, you may end up throwing most of them away.
So, here are some wedding flower hacks that can help you produce less waste while still making gorgeous memories.
Ditch fancy centerpieces and use potted plants
Having a florist create elaborate centerpieces with an assortment of flowers is great, but it’s costly and uses a lot of flowers that will likely end up in the trash unless an eager guest or two decides to take them home.
Instead, consider buying pretty potted plants that are all in one piece and can act as party favors for people to take home!
Stick to locally grown flowers
Purchasing flowers that were grown near your wedding venue and are naturally thriving during your wedding season is much more sustainable than buying flowers from a florist who ships them in, as it uses less energy.
Fun fact: local farmers often use organic soil, and there’s nothing like knowing your wedding flowers were freshly picked from the earth.
glazunoff – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Donate your leftover flowers
Before your wedding, see if the venue or any organization would be willing to accept your leftover flowers and put them to use for another event.
Sometimes, other places like nursing homes or hospitals will receive flowers for their residents and patients. That way, you can give your flowers a second life and won’t have to look at their beautiful, still fresh petals in a trash bag.
Use reusable containers
When people create elaborate floral arrangements and centerpieces, they sometimes choose plastic vases they’ll never use again. Instead, consider using containers and vases that are reusable.
For instance, hit an antique store and find cool glass bottles and containers that would make lovely alternative vases for your arrangements. Or, if you have pieces like that in your home, sitting in a box somewhere, you can use those.
Additionally, instead of using wasteful floral foam to hold up your flowers, use natural materials or tape to keep them standing throughout your wedding day.
Hopefully, these tips and hacks inspire you to be a bit more mindful and sustainable regarding your flower selection so that you can do a little more for the planet on your special day!
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