Wedding Decor & Sustainability
When it comes to sustainability with wedding decor, the reality is a bit dim.
Wedding planners often say that the more items that are “DIY’d”, the more waste is present after the wedding.
There are a few things you can do to cut down on waste for decor:
-Shop thrift, second-hand, or Facebook marketplace
-Borrow items from another bride via local/online groups
-Focus on using fresh/live products (plants and flowers)
-Rent decor
Live products do come with their own “waste” or carbon footprint, however, live products are compostable. Many florists, like myself, do not use floral foam, and prioritize sustainability. Talk with your prospective florists to find out about their sustainability policies.
You can even opt for potted plants as centerpieces, and bring them home or let guests bring them home. I don’t see couples choose this as often as they should!!
Most florists will collect decor, containers, & vases at the end of your wedding, and they will be reused for another future wedding. This rental method helps us to cut down on cost and waste for both parties.
You have the option to buy your decor, and sell/gift it after the wedding. This is a great way to reuse decor, and you might even be able to recover some of the costs. You may even be able to purchase your decor second-hand yourself.
I personally believe that renting decor is the go-to method for reducing the carbon foot-print of your wedding. You will pay less than if you were to purchase these items, and they will get reused until they can’t be reused anymore!
There are many businesses across the world that rent out everything you could need.
I recently decided to invest in some faux florals. There are so many pro’s and con’s to faux florals. One could argue that they have plastic and metal elements, so they are not sustainable. However, I feel that if they are high quality and taken care of, they will last a very long time-can be well worth their carbon footprint. Single use plastics and long lasting products are not the same!
There are “tiers” to the quality in faux florals. Luxury faux florals DO exist!
At this time, I have one faux floral arbor available for rental in Seattle. I am hoping that this can be a good solution for couples looking to cut down on their costs, or for those who can’t wrap their head around paying for a large live install that will only last for one day.
Send me an email if you are looking for more information on renting this floral arbor! It can be bundled into a fresh flower order, or can be rented a la carte.
As someone who works in the wedding industry (and loves to scroll Facebook marketplace) I see lots of wedding decor listings available. This seems like a great place to browse for wedding decor. I do, however, have a small lingering feeling that some of these listings might sit up for quite some time… lending me to lean away from the buy/sell method with decor.
I am curious to know if any readers have had success or failures selling their wedding decor on Facebook marketplace or other group sites. Let me know in the comments below!
