While it's great to plan a wedding while simultaneously caring about the environment, sometimes it can create added stress that isn't necessary. There are a lot of ways to be eco-friendly that won't break the bank from making your own wedding albums to finding a preloved dress. This won’t add too much to your growing pile of wedding tasks and will save you money overall. Below are a few suggestions of how to go green for your wedding day!

Ditch the Paper

Using elegant online wedding invitations blends sophistication with modern convenience, all with the benefits of contributing to sustainability and minimising paper waste.

You can featuring intricate designs, tasteful fonts and personalise them to capture your unique style.

The digital format allows for easy RSVP options which surely is one of the biggest benefits. Use them as a symbol of your ongoing commitment to be eco-friendly in all areas of your lives.

Say Yes To The Dress

Instead of trying on dozens of dresses at boutiques, think about picking an appropriate dress that's already sitting in your closet. Don't have a white dress? Does it really matter? The only reason that trend is popular is because of Queen Victoria, meaning that women were wearing all sorts of different coloured dresses for their weddings before the 19th century without anyone batting an eyelid.

A great way to find ‘The One’ is to use a Prom Dress Finder instead. A lot of women regret their wedding dress choices due to feeling like white really isn't their best colour. With this in mind choosing a prom dress, which come in a variety of styles and colours will mean you feel like yourself on the big day.

This could also be used for your bridal party and groom and will guarantee that every person's individual personality and style shine through on your big day.

a light coloured evening dress hangs from a tree in a field — Credit: Unsplash

Your Friends Are The Photographers

We used a friend to take our photos and they were so much more candid and relaxed because of it.

Using a service like Wedding Photo Swap, you can have a user friendly solution to collecting and sharing photos and videos taken by guests at your wedding.

They take lots of photos as they would do anyway on your wedding day. These are then shared within the platform. You can relive the moments that made their day and yours so special.

Don't Get With The Programme

How many programmes from weddings have you actually held on to after the celebration? Unless they're your close family or best friend; guests aren't all that likely to keep the ceremony programmes. Try writing information on something like a chalkboard instead.

You can also choose not to worry about programmes at all unless there is a little-known cultural ritual taking place that you'll want to give your guests a head-up about. In that case, look into having that information projected against a wall or a screen so that everyone will be able to view the details.

2 for 1

Minimize not only your own carbon footprint but your guests' as well by having the ceremony and wedding dinner in the same venue. Not having to shuffle around from one location to another will also make the day go a lot more smoothly for everyone. If you have space to have the wedding at home or in a friend’s garden space even better.

Money, Money, Money

Is it tacky to ask wedding guests for money instead of regular old gifts? It used to be in British cultures, however, it’s pretty commonplace in the rest of Europe. There is a way to get around that though. Websites like Honeyfund let you customise your cash gift registry according to your needs.

For example, you can add $50 to your registry for a romantic date night. How specific you get about what will be done with the money is up to you, and guests will feel less awkward about the thought of just handing you the dough.

Thinking about how much of a wedding day is ‘expected, tradition’ or just something you feel obligated to do because everyone else does it is a great starting point.

Pick the things you really care about and ditch the rest. Simple things like finding wedding shoes in your closet or buying some which you will wear again. My husband still uses his wedding suit for important work meetings 16 years later. It’s a little snug at times though! :-)