Weddings are notorious for creating waste. After all the decor is only good for one day. These zero waste wedding decor ideas are not only inexpensive but will save a TON of waste! When in doubt simply remember: less is more. Less decor = less waste.
Zero Waste Wedding Decor Ideas:
1. Rent what you can
Some wedding venues will come with decorations and tableware and things but some (like ours) won’t. Renting is a great way to reduce waste because it doesn’t have to be thrown out at the end of the night. This goes for decor as well as tableware like plates and cutlery.
Don’t opt for disposable streamers, instead, rent some flowy fabric. Don’t buy disposable plates, rent some reusable ones!
2. Natural confetti
Confetti seems to be an integral part of a lot of weddings. It’s something fun for guests to throw and makes for some pretty pictures. However, confetti is literally plastic. Moreso, a micro-plastic. It’s very hard to sweep/vacuum up and still gets thrown into the trash. It’s even worse if your wedding is taking place outdoors.
A fun idea to reduce waste and help out mother nature is to use natural confetti! Some ideas of this include flower buds/petals, birdseed, or even bits of leaves hole-punched out. All of these items will either grow, biodegrade or give birds a tasty treat!
3. Thrift, thrift, thrift!
Thrifting is one of the best ways to reduce waste. So make your wedding unique by buying your decor second-hand! Things like rugs, signs, drapery, candle holders, etc. Another fun idea would be to thrift unique mugs for all your guests that they get to keep as a wedding favour!
Read: Low waste wedding favour ideas
4. Go natural
A lot of traditional wedding decorations are single-use and made of plastic. Why not decorate your wedding completely naturally? Use flowers and plants as your decor options! The natural confetti I mentioned earlier would also look great spread out on the tables. Think outside the box and bring the outdoors in to liven up the venue!
5. Make it yourself!
When in doubt, I’m willing to bet you could make something yourself. Pinterest is full of a TON of DIY wedding decor ideas. You can always strive to use more natural/sustainable materials instead of plastic and you can always try to thrift the materials you need as well.
Catch up on the rest of the eco-friendly wedding series:
Things I won’t be doing for my low waste wedding
Where to find ethical wedding dresses
And there you have it! Some really easy zero waste wedding decor ideas! As long as you’re going for longevity over single-use, you’re going in the right direction. Just remember to do what you can with what you have.
Infographic provided by Grown Brilliance, an emerging retailer of lab grown diamonds
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One wedding I was at, had a piece of the wedding cake in a cup and saucer that they got from thrift store. Very cute, and mine was real china.
That sounds so cute! Such a good idea!