If you are a sustainability-conscious couple looking to limit your carbon footprint with eco-friendly wedding practices and partnering with suppliers who have ethics at the heart of their business… then you’re in the right place!
This week’s guest experts are Hazel from Coill Design, Joanna from SIÓG Botanicals and Joe from Rathsallagh House!
A few top tips for an eco-friendly wedding:
- Choose local (You’ll reduce your carbon footprint by minimising travel AND supporting local, hardworking businesses in your area)
- Be thoughtful with food and drink choices (Are the ingredients organic or harmful to the environment? What’s the plan for leftover food?)
- Choose sustainable decor (Rent instead of buy, go paper-free where you can, and don’t give guests things that will end up in the bin)
- Eco-friendly confetti (bird seed, dried flowers, leaf cutouts or fresh petals)
- Reuse and recycle (Consider what you already have at home before buying, such as vases, glass jars and bunting)
Tips from the pros
We have lots of suppliers across Ireland who have ethics at the heart of their business – plenty of suppliers who have eco-friendly practices! Today I want to introduce you to three of them. This will give you an understanding of some of the specific things Irish suppliers are doing to save the planet!
Hazel is a wedding stationery designer at Coill Design. They are based in Wicklow and create some of the most beautiful wedding stationery that your guests will love – you might be wondering how a stationery designer could limit their carbon footprint! Take a listen.
Plantable and seeded card
Only use recycled or recyclable paper or card
Stationery is made with wildflower seeds embedded in them
Only use recyclable, biodegradable or compostable packaging instead of plastic
All the literal (brochures and promotions) are done online
Proofs and samples are mostly sent by email
Only use suppliers with sustainable and eco-friendly materials and values
Looking into more options!
Siog Botanicals is run by Lorna and Joanna – it’s a flower art studio in Kildare, specialising in flower pressing, preserving, design and framing. Their goal is to keep your memories in bloom, while also putting in sustainability-conscious practices. Here’s how:
Sustainably sourced and ethically packaged materials
Sustainability aligns with their business values!
Shows respect to the land that the flowers come from
Through the materials they use, products and packaging
All the work is framed in solid wood frames and traditional glass, all been custom made in Ireland locally
Materials in packaging are only used when absolutely necessary, and recyclable materials
Provide clients with detailed instructions on how to maintain and care for their pressed flower art, helping to extend its life and its beauty
Offer repair and touch up services for damage
Rathsallagh House is a 17th century Country House in Wicklow! If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably never considered that it’s possible for a wedding venue to be eco-friendly. Take a listen to Joe sharing exactly what they’ve been doing:
Producing own eggs and herbs
Recently instored an eco friendly wetlands waste water treatment plan
Switched out all bulbs for LED
Land-based solar power, which double as EV chargers
Events and conferences at Rathsallagh are environmentally friendly and carbon neutral
