Eco-Friendly Ideas for your Wedding at Hockwold Hall
Here at Hockwold Hall, we have made a commitment to try to be as Sustainable as possible. Here are some suggestions on how to make your wedding Greener.
We have all become very aware of issues surrounding our planet and ways in which we can help to reduce our carbon footprint. Unfortunately, weddings produce a lot of single-use waste which contributes to environmental damage. If you can make a few changes to your special day to make it more eco-friendly it will have such an impact and help you feel guilt-free knowing you have done all you can to try and help the environment. You do not need to change everything about your wedding day, you can just add a few eco-friendly ideas into the mix to feel like you have tried to make your day as sustainable as you can for you and your guests. Below are a few ideas which can help you on your way to holding a more economical wedding.
Invitations – There can be a lot of printed cards used to send your invitations, menu selections and gift list which can be
non-recyclable however think about using compostable paper or even seed paper which when planted will grow
something beautiful to remind your guests of your wedding year after year! If you are fully committed to saving costs
and the environment how about sending everyone a virtual invite, please remember not everyone will regularly check
their inbox so set up reminders to check on guests which haven’t replied!
Travel to the venue – Cars are one of the top contributors to environmental damage so try and think of ways in which you
can get as many guests to the venue as possible. It would be a good idea to ask guests if they could share lifts between
themselves. Another option is after the evening reception guests could share minibuses to take them back home. Or
possibly if you have a Church wedding which isn’t on-site to your reception venue a double-decker bus could transport
the guests there? There are lots of options to try and help you be mindful of unnecessary carbon fumes!
Local produce from caterers – When organising the menu for the wedding breakfast try and think of in-season, local
produce which can help keep the cost down. Also choosing wine from local wineries and buying barrels or kegs of beer
from local breweries will help reduce carbon emissions. Having a veggie option is great for the environment and
choosing a sit-down meal over a buffet can be a good idea to stop unnecessary food waste.
Reusable wedding decorations – There are lots of companies which you can hire wedding decorations from
rather than buying them new and then not having a use for them after the wedding. Things like material bunting can be
reused repeatedly for parties and celebrations in any colour. Also hiring glassware for table centrepieces. Even hiring
plants and real foliage to dress the venue instead of using single-use decorations which will end up in landfills.
No Single-Use plastic – It’s time to step away from using plastic plates, cutlery, cups and straws these end up straight
in the bin and there are now some easy options to stop this from happening. You can hire dinnerware and cutlery; some
companies take these away dirty saving you the big clear up. Also, paper straws can be brought in any wedding colour to
brighten up your drinks and can be recycled easily.
Hire suits – Save on the cost and consider hiring suits for the groom and groomsmen, if you know you are just going to be
wearing the suit the one time it’s a good idea to rent as it will be kinder to the environment.
Wedding favours – Instead of using plastic boxes/wrappers to put favours in a more sustainable way would be to use
recyclable paper bags may be filled with something sweet that your guests can tuck into during the speeches.
In-season flowers – Using in-season, local flowers is a great way to cut harmful pollution from lorries and cars
transporting them around the country. Local florists will be able to guide you as to what flowers are best to use in each
season. It’s a nice touch to give the flowers away as gifts to the wedding party.
Dried Flower Petals – Lots of couples are using dried flower petals for their confetti shot, these pretty petals come in all sorts of colours to match your wedding theme and it is nice to know they are all-natural and will degrade without the need for a huge clean up!
I hope this handy list has helped you to realise that they are some easy ways you can incorporate sustainable ideas that will help the
environment. If you can consider changing one or two things it will make a huge difference and it may encourage your guests to go green
too!
Should you be looking for a wedding venue in East Anglia, Hockwold Hall is centrally located on the borders or Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. 15 Miles from Newmarket and Ely and 30 Miles from Cambridge and Norwich. CLICK HERE to view our wedding facilities here at Hockwold Hall