If you are planning to get married and wish to organise an eco-friendly bridal shower here’s a guide packed with sustainable ideas and tips to organise & celebrate a truly meaningful engagement party.
The engagement party is one of the happiest days of a couple’s life. However, this doesn’t mean that you will ignore Mother Nature so you can enjoy it for a day. With climate change quickly affecting global weather, a single day of waste from your engagement can mean a lot in the grand scheme of things. This is why we brought you a bunch of ideas to organise and celebrate your eco-friendly bridal shower.
Regardless of what you want to do, you want not only a zero-waste wedding but an eco-friendly engagement too. Green parties are trending, and also they can be as chic as you want them to be. Here are 8 ways to have a sustainable engagement party that you and your guests would surely enjoy.
1. Buy Ethical, Eco-Friendly Engagement Rings
The first thing you want to consider with your party is the engagement ring. Most precious metals and gemstones come from different parts of the world, mostly in countries of poverty, child labor, and local conflict. With that said, there are several ways to get guilt-free rings.
Reduce your environmental impact by going vintage with heirloom rings. Recycle retro rings or find a family heirloom that you can pass down from generation to generation. There are also jewelers that offer eco-friendly rings that are both ethical and conflict-free.
Many of these jewelers do not engage in overseas production, but rather work with local artisans that help reduce the jewelry’s carbon footprint. Some even use recycled silver, gold, and other metals, usually taken from electronic devices. If you want to be sure about your seller, check if they work with eco-friendly charities too.
Infographic provided by Grown Brilliance
2.Use Disposable, Biodegradable, and All-Natural Serveware
Engagement parties are all about food and drinks. Good food and overflowing drinks are a good recipe for a fun celebration, but that’s not possible without any serveware. Rather than settling for disposal serveware or even expensive ceramic and silverware, why not go with biodegradable options for your utensils?
Disposable and biodegradable serveware typically uses all-natural, organic materials like wood, rattan, and more. These materials are sturdy to use for the entire duration of the party and can hold several types of food and drink. They also don’t taint the food with a chemical taste from the utensils’ materials.
Once you’re all done, the plates, utensils, and vessels are easy to throw away. They will be ready for composting too, which makes them easy to dispose of even with food particles and leftovers on them. You can also opt for biodegradable food trays, wrapping materials, and even to-go containers.
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3. Pick Outdoor Venues With Sustainable Practices
Depending on when you’re doing your engagement party, one great way to have an eco-friendly party is to pick outdoor venues. With a clear exception of winter, an outdoor party should give you nice, comfortable weather with a lot of sun and fresh air. If you can, opt for a location that focuses on the greenery.
Sustainable venues are trendy these days, and they’re not simply gardens or big lawn yards. Many have specific themes that you may love, including beautiful farm and orchard wedding venues that perform sustainable agriculture.
Want to cut down on your carbon footprints? Opt for something close and local, or in a place that is closest to your guests. Recommend your family and friends to carpool if they can, so you can cut down on the pollution even further.
4. Consider All-Natural Skincare Products As Party Favors
As you’re preparing for the engagement party, you will likely have favors ready, as well as party favors. When picking favors, the usual giveaways include chocolates, teas, and themed accessories. Why not opt for all-natural skincare products?
All-natural skincare products use organic materials and rejuvenate your skin with natural ingredients like aloe vera, tea tree oil, and other floral essences. Some companies provide these in smaller sizes, so you can offer them without breaking the bank.
Skincare products are also gender-neutral, so you don’t have to provide separate favors for everyone. These party favors are also products that people would enjoy, rather than store somewhere like candles and fridge magnets.
5. Use Recycled And Natural-Material Invitations
If you’re giving away invitations, it’s tempting to have a printer handle everything and call it a day. Why not take it one step further and talk to designers who create invitations using organic and biodegradable materials? Utilize printers that use recycled paper and other natural materials.
Where possible, reduce the number of pages you will have. A simple invitation suite using natural and recycled materials goes a long way into saving more trees from becoming virgin pulp.
For those who want to save more, you can opt to use digital invitations instead of paper ones. Send your invitation via social media as a bespoke message or as a digital postcard via email. The idea is to have people come over, so if you’re willing to set formalities aside, going all-digital will work.
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6. Look For Net-Zero Suppliers
An engagement party can never happen without suppliers providing for almost everything. From chairs, flower arrangements, to food, your choice of supplier now can spell the success of your engagement. For your engagement party, why not work with net-zero suppliers?
A Net-zero supplier means they offset their carbon footprint with several eco-friendly steps, including electric delivery vehicles and using local products. They also use this term for vendors that recycle other materials like food waste and donate leftovers to cut down on the waste products.Â
Support net-zero suppliers by checking on their sustainability practices and using their services. They will also likely work with local artisans, farms, and more to cut down on wastage. For an eco-friendly engagement, utilize suppliers that follow green practices that soften your impact on the environment.
7. Opt For Built-In Decor That Matches Your Style
When picking a venue, try to opt for build-in decor that won’t need too much work. Sustainable venues can be hard to find in some areas, so the solution is to find a place that is ready to use and will be beautiful regardless.
Take note of the existing decor that the venue uses. You want a style that is close to your own tastes so you add little to no extra decor at all. An environmentally conscious engagement party should have good greenery and flowers. You can also get greenhouses, horticulture gardens, and more.
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8. Offer Sustainable Sips and Bites
If you’re making everything in your engagement party eco-friendly, why not extend it to food and drinks? Some wine and bubbly sellers pride themselves to be natural and organic. Some catering services even have low food waste with their preparation.
Some wine sellers also use sustainable, eco-friendly packaging like cans and tetra packs. You can then transfer the wine into decanters for a beautiful touch.Â
Serve lighter fare that uses more plant-based ingredients in the menu. If you have to have meat at your party, go for free-range and grass-fed meat. You can even get faux meat like plant-based meats, burgers, and the like.
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