Hosting a sustainable wedding? Here's how to capture your big day

Your wedding is an important day – it’s an expression of your love for each other, and as such, it’s understandable that you’d want it to reflect your personalities. Whether you opt for an indie outdoor wedding or want to keep things sleek and simple indoors, the modern wedding celebration can be tailored to your exact needs.

So, if living in harmony with the natural world is a key part of your overall vibe as a couple, then why not spotlight that on your special day? Not only will you be reducing your own carbon footprint, but you’ll be treating your guests to a guilt-free celebration too. Plus, many sustainable suppliers are small or local businesses, so you’ll be doing your bit to support the community as well.

But how can you capture these special sustainable memories in your photos? In this post, we look at how you can highlight your theme in your wedding snaps, allowing you to enjoy the day long after the sun has set.

Opt for natural confetti for magical photos

Everyone loves a classic confetti photo on their wedding day. The flutter of the confetti on the breeze and the surprise of the happy couple as some handfuls are perhaps more tactically aimed at their faces makes for wonderful photos.

Unfortunately, many brands of confetti aren’t biodegradable, which means it remains on the ground when the photos are over. Some brands will even contain plastic, meaning that a magical moment essentially becomes an unintentional case of littering.

To avoid this, choose biodegradable confetti, or even dried flower petals for an eco-friendly celebration. Not only is this better for the environment, but dried flowers look amazing in photos, due to the soft colours and varied textures.

To get the perfect confetti shot, guests should throw the confetti high up in the air, releasing it just before the couple gets to them. This avoids any hands in front of the newlyweds’ faces, and means that the confetti will gently frame the photo.

Highlight the details

If you’ve carefully chosen eco-friendly decorations, then make sure that your photographer includes them in your photos. A range of casual shots of the bride and groom are a lovely addition to wedding photos, but they can also highlight the effort you’ve chosen with your decor.

For example, if you’ve opted for wildflowers rather than forced exotic blooms, then make sure that they’re dotted around the reception so that they feature in plenty of photos. Or, opt for a rustic sustainable theme, utilizing wooden tables, long stem candles, complemented by linen or hemp napkins. Not only will these decorations look fantastic, but they clearly highlight your commitment to sustainability.

Use the right lighting

Getting the lighting just right for your wedding photos can be tricky. Many venues aren’t set up for optimal photo quality – the lighting is set up for creating the feel in the moment, not based on what your photographer would prefer.

Instead of relying on modern artificial lighting, why not embrace the sustainable theme and make the most of the natural light? Choose a venue with plenty of windows, or even have an outdoor celebration to allow nature to illuminate your nuptials. You’ll also want to consider the time of day that you hold your wedding – why not opt for a sunset ceremony to give depth and impact to your photos?

When it comes to the evening reception, candles can be a great way to add atmosphere to a room. Look for eco-friendly ones that are made from beeswax, soy wax or coconut wax rather than paraffin, or use rechargeable ones if you want to minimise the fire risk, or have young guests.

Consider your color scheme

If you want to highlight the environment in your wedding celebrations, then why not use nature as inspiration for your wedding color scheme? Using plenty of greens, blues, and yellows in your bridesmaid dresses, decor and signage can help your photos feel softer and relaxing.

You can also embrace the time of year, matching your colors to the flowers that are in season – think bright oranges and warming reds for autumn, and vibrant evergreens and white for winter. Not only will this look spectacular, but it means you’re more likely to be able to buy locally rather than having to import everything, further reducing your carbon footprint.

Keep things casual at your wedding breakfast

A big part of a wedding celebration is often the food. It’s a chance to relax after the nerves of the legal ceremony, allowing you to enjoy a delicious meal surrounded by your loved ones. But more often than not, a lot of this food goes to waste. Whether it’s oversized portions, too many courses, dishes that some of your guests aren’t fond of or wasted edible favours, there’s a lot that gets thrown away.

To put it into context, the average home wastes around £700 of food per year – the average wedding wastes around £488. That means one celebration can create 65% of a year’s wastage for an average household.

To minimise this and create vibrant photos, why not consider having a more informal style wedding feast? Shared dishes in the centre of the table, local food vans or cupcakes rather than a large fruit cake can all help keep waste down, but they look visually appealing in your photos as well. Plus, they can allow you to express your personality more clearly than a formal roast dinner ever could.

If you do want to go down the formal route, it can be worth talking to your venue to see if guests can opt out of some courses, as well as understanding their commitment to food waste in the kitchen. That way, you can ensure you’re doing everything you can to keep the day sustainable.

Talk to your photographer

Of course, the best way to capture your theme is to make sure your photographer is aware of your wishes ahead of the big day. They’ll be able to share their expert advice with you, resulting in photos that will captivate you for years to come.