7 ways to make your wedding flowers more sustainable and eco-friendly.
Planning a wedding can be overwhelming – so many decisions to make, different suppliers to find and plates to spin! And for many eco-minded couples, all this while also worrying about sustainability, their carbon footprint and the enviromental impact a wedding might have on the planet. It’s no wonder that hosting a green wedding (also known as an eco-friendly or sustainable wedding) is becoming a popular choice for concerned about the planet.
As a Sussex wedding florist, for me, flowers are an essential non-negotiable part of any wedding day! But happily it is possible to have a more sustainable wedding AND have beautiful wedding flowers.
Here are a few simple ideas of how to make your wedding flowers more eco-friendly, while ensuring you still celebrate your day in floral style.
1. Shop local
Shopping local is usually better for the environment and you can support your local economy too. If suppliers like your florist are based near your venue, you’ll cut travel time and shipping distances and as result cut energy output and emissions. Using a local florist (like me if you are based near Sussex), for example, is also a good idea as they are far more likely to be able to source flowers nearby or use locally grown blooms.
2. Request seasonal flowers
The global nature of the florist industry means you can get many flowers throughout the year regardless of their natural growing season. But should you? Do your own research or ask your florist what is naturally in season for your wedding date. If it’s in season, it’s likely to grow naturally at this time and so require less energy and heat to produce. Your florist will have suggestions too – if you love ruffly pink peonies but they aren’t in season then why not use ranuculus in spring, a dinner plate dahlia in autumn or a chrysanthemum bloom in winter. These beautiful flowers all have their own season and moment. Below are a few of my favourite seasonal show stopping focal flowers.
From left to right: 1. Kloon Hanoi ranuculus 2. Columbus double tulip 3. anemone 4. Coral Charm peony 5. Sarah Bernhardt peony 6. Cafe au Lait dahlia
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”
Photo above of locally grown wildflower style bud vases from a summer Sussex wedding at Court Garden Vineyard in Ditchling by Paul Fletcher. View more here.
3. Use British-grown flowers
If you are planning a wedding between April and October then chances are most or possibly even all of your flowers can be British. I’m lucky to be based near a number of wonderful flower farms and small growers in Sussex and I'm frequently amazed by the variety, uniqueness and beauty of what they are able to produce. I always tell my brides that you can have beautiful flowers grown locally, if you are just a little flexible on the exact varieties. And for extra eco points, these Sussex flowers are grown free of chemicals and pesticides, with no air miles to transport or extra energy generated to produce and offer a greater depth of fragrance and natural movement than commercially grown varieties: an example of field to table at its best. I offer a wildflower wedding package during UK growing season (May to October) made of British flowers grown locally in Sussex, for further details, please click here.
Below is a selection of some of my wedding bouquets made with British local flowers grown in Sussex with no pesticides, chemicals or air miles involved in their creation or transport!
Photography by 1. Lauren Beth Photography 2. Emily Edgar Photography 3. Rosie Kelly Photography 4. Jasmine Andrews Photography 5. Lottie Topping Photography 6. Moments Captured Photography
4. Reuse and repurpose your wedding flowers
Ask your florist about opportunities to reuse your floral displays throughout the day. For example, the registrar table arrangement can naturally become the top table flowers, while milk churns can magically move around your venue - as ceremony markers then doorway displays or in the corner areas during your reception, and so on. You could also use your table vases to line your aisles as cute pew ends. And do ask your florist to hire vases for your bouquets, this helps keep the flowers fresh, of course, but also makes another floral display - and leaves the bridal party hands free later for drinking, eating and dancing!
Max your flowers and your budget here!
Photos 1-6 bud vases and milk churns by Tara Coonan Photography from a summer wedding at Gote Barn in Sussex. View more here. Photos 7-12 ceremony aisle bowls and table centres by Lisa Devlin Photography from an autumn wedding at Pelham House in Lewes.
5. Ditch the floral foam #nofloralfoam
Florist foam - the green spongey stuff flowers are poked into - might be a very practical invention but it is also unarguably bad for the environment. It is a single-use toxic micro plastic: not only does it take a long time to break down but as it does any particles that enter the water system can cause further harm to the environment. For more info about floral foam take a look at this article by the Sustainable Floristry Network which explains it in more depth. Ask your florist for alternatives and make your eco preferences known.
There are many new and traditional alternative techniques available and a good florist will be clued up as to ways to make your ideas a reality without using floral foam – scrunched up chicken wire as a base, agra wool (a natural rock wool product), moss, floral frogs (a special reusable floral mechanic to hold stems in place), tape grids and just old fashioned stems in water.
6. After your wedding day, the big clear up
Inevitably, there’s always some waste after a wedding day but the good news is you can take some steps to ensure it is minimised. The 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recyle) can be applied here:
Reduce waste: Can anything be reused by the florist for future events, flowers, unwanted props etc? Here’s an example of why eco floristry works so well: installations and arrangements created with moss and chicken wire can be taken apart and the base elements then reused again and again - unlike those made with floral foam which are thrown away after their one time use.
Reuse your flowers: Your beautiful flowers can be enjoyed for days after your wedding so why not gift them to your guests or even a local care home enjoy.
Recycle what you can: Don’t forget to ask how your florist will dispose of the arrangements. Will any waste be separated and disposed of, for example green waste, paper or plastics?
7. Preserve your wedding flowers
Can you use your wedding flowers to create something long-lasting to remember your special day by? There are many companies offering to preserve your wedding flowers with expert techniques to recreate your bouquet in amazing detail or create a resin keepsake to treasure.
I recommend Floristics 8 as a good place to start looking as Sarah-Jane beautifully preserved a wedding bouquet I made - see this reel on Instagram for the process and finished result.
I also offer a flower pressing service at Bryony Mae Flowers, where I can take small headed flowers or petals from your bouquet and make a unique pressed-flower art frame to treasure for years to come. So while this doesn’t reproduce your bouquet exactly, something new and beautiful is created. See here for more details of this service.
Below is an example of a pressed flower commission from a Sussex wedding at Bignor Park, images of bridal bouquet by Emily & Steve Photography, pressed flower frame photos by me @bmflowers_pressed.
And for further guidance on planning a more sustainable wedding visit Green Union, an eco-friendly wedding and lifestyle resource for conscious couples and consumers, check out this guide by 77 Diamonds which goes into greater depth on all aspects to help you plan your day with many more eco-friendly, zero-waste ideas and a great article by Friends of the Earth about how to have a green wedding.
Like this post? I’d love to hear any feedback or comments below. Do follow me on Instagram for the latest work plus more tips and ideas for your wedding flowers. @bryonymaeflowers
