You may have noticed I’ve been a little MIA on the blog the last few weeks. But if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have known that I got married this last week! Due to covid it was a much different wedding than we had initially planned back in January of this year.
We had high hopes that with the vaccines on the way and summer coming, we wouldn’t be in such terrible shape but alas, as our wedding date got closer and closer we had to make some tough decisions. Our date was set for June 30th and we always knew that we would at least get married that day, with or without a wedding ceremony.
So when June 1st came and zero guests were allowed at weddings, we made the unfortunate decision to postpone the ceremony. The venue, florist, baker, and everyone we had booked were so gracious and let us move our deposits to when we could have a full wedding. A few weeks later we got the news that we could have a 10 person wedding. And then a week before the wedding we heard we’d be able to have a 25 person wedding.
So we made the decision to have a 25 person wedding in my now in-laws backyard. We’re still planning on having a much bigger reception when regulations allow at our original venue, but this little wedding that was thrown together in just over a week couldn’t have turned out better.
All photography is by a wonderful local photographer by the name of Dayna Lepp. If you’re in Manitoba, check her out! I can’t say enough wonderful things about her and her photography. But you’ll see in a minute, her work speaks for herself! Check out her website here and her Instagram here.
Our low waste backyard wedding:
The decor:
The decor was recycled, borrowed, thrifted, or otherwise made. A few of my favourite touches were the mismatched chairs used for seating that my mother-in-law borrowed from friends and neighbours, wildflowers gathered from ditches and fields in the countryside and hung up in mason jars, and the burlap congratulations sign.
So much effort was put in by family and friends to throw together this amazing shabby-chic-thrifted-looking wedding on such short notice and it turned into everything I could have ever dreamed for.
The food:
While I didn’t get any pictures of our food set up, let me assure you it was quite simple. With reusable cups, cutlery and plates we simply went to the grocer store for sacks and fruits. While some came in plastic packaging we tried to find as many naked products as we could and were quite successful.
Our fine dining included brownies, cupcakes, cinnamon buns, strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple and crackers and cheese! We also had wine and sparkling juices in glass bottles. Since it was an evening ceremony we didn’t have to go all out with a meal which was cheaper and especially easier on a week’s notice.
The outfits:
For my husbands and the groomsmen’s suits were all custom made which actually helps to reduce waste. When you get measured exactly, less fabric gets cut and left on the cutting room floor. I think they turned out perfectly.
I let my bridesmaids choose where they wanted to buy their dresses from. I wanted them to be able to afford them without any stress and for them to be something they could wear again. In fact, two of my bridesmaid had used their dresses at weddings last year and one of them just got engaged this year and used her dress for her engagement shoot!
I wasn’t going to force any of them to buy something ethical if they couldn’t afford it. I think the most important thing when shopping for clothing is buying something you can wear repeatedly, and that’s just the case here. I just basically decided on the colors and they got to chose their style preference.
My wedding dress:
I’m so proud of my wedding dress. I’m so lucky to have found it at a local consignment shop called Pearl and Birch. Shopping for a dress in peak lockdown was no easy feat but the ladies at pearl and Birch were so lovely and made the experience perfect.
The gown itself is Willowby by Watters. I don’t know much about the brand nor did I find anything about their ethics on the page, but this one was second hand and I plan to bring it back to Pearl and Birch to sell again after our second wedding sometime later this year.
Because it was bought second-hand it didn’t fit perfectly. I got it altered locally by an amazing seamstress at Nile Bridal & Alterations. They paid such close attention to detail and truly transformed this dress into the dress of my dreams.
My hat is from West Von, a Canadian company that ethically sources 100% pure Australian wool.
My shoes which you cannot see under the dress are white steve madden boots that I found at the thrift store a couple of years ago. I only ore them for the ceremony and then went barefoot after that!
Throwing together a wedding in about a week’s notice definitely had its challenges. While I had always dreamed of having a completely zero waste wedding I realized that it wasn’t super attainable for us especially given the time frame. And that’s ok. The most important thing was getting married and being with our loved ones.
While being mindful of our waste is important, we can’t let it distract us from living and celebrating. And if we have to create a little waste along the way, that’s ok. We did the absolute best we can when it came to reducing waste and we did reduce our waste significantly.
Read more about our wedding plans (Before Covid interrupted) here!
Things I won’t be doing for my low waste wedding
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