When you want an eco-friendly approach to your wedding, this should be applied to every last detail of the day. You may have looked into the reception venue itself to find out if it has eco-friendly credentials, but did you consider how your reception room is going to be decorated?
The good news is that it is very easy to take an environmentally-friendly approach to your reception decorations. One tip is to focus on the natural. If you opt for natural fabrics like organic cotton for your table cloths and napkins then you have a good basis for your table designs. You can then add on to this with other natural features.
Hessian-style table runners have a very rustic look and will work well no matter what colors you put with it. Flowers are a good choice for table decorations and you can be very creative with them. However, you need to think about where you get your flowers from. A standard florist may be importing flowers from other parts of the country or even from abroad so that you have a good choice all year round. The problem with this is that even though flowers are natural they may have a substantial carbon footprint. You need to be sure that the flowers that you choose are grown locally and have not traveled far. You can even take this a step further by growing your own flowers for the reception. You could consider wild flowers during the summer but be careful where and what you pick as there may be restrictions.
For a winter wedding it may be that your choice of flowers is limited unless you live somewhere where the weather is good all year round. If this is the case you do not have to lose out – consider foliage and greenery. A wedding at Christmas, for example, would not be complete without holly and ivy used to decorate tables and to create interesting decorations for side tables.
Candles also make good table decorations and you can rent lanterns and candlesticks so that your tables all match. You can make your own candles easily for that personal touch and they can easily be colored to match the scheme of your wedding. Just remember that if you are going to use candles you may need extras as some might have burnt out after a few hours.
Table confetti is also a popular choice for decorations at a wedding and you can make your own from old books or recycled paper. Use a craft punch to get different shapes such as hearts, butterflies and flowers so that it can fit into your theme.
All it takes to get the eco-friendly decorations that you want is a little planning. Ensure that you source locally for the most environmentally friendly options and it does not hurt to keep it simple – the day is about you, not your design skills!