How to Pick a Venue for your Sustainable Wedding Day

Choosing a venue is one of the single most important parts of any wedding planning process. You’ll want it to be just right, and look how you always dreamed it would. But there is a seemingly endless list of things to consider when choosing the right setting, from cost, to convenience, to capacity. And another increasingly important factor for many couples is the environment. A venue’s eco-credentials, or lack thereof, could be a major factor for many soonlyweds when choosing where to host their ceremony and reception.

If you want to keep sustainability at the forefront of your wedding planning, there are a few things to consider when it comes to choosing a venue. In this post, we’ll discuss three of the most important factors to keep in mind to help you find the perfect place without compromising on your wedding’s eco credentials. 

Location 

With two families coming together, potentially from different sides of the country (or even the world), location can be a sticking point for many weddings. But when it comes to sustainability, you should look to ensure that your location is as close to home as possible. This way, both you and your guest list will hopefully have a shorter distance to travel, helping to limit the emissions associated with transportation. 

The same goes for picking your reception venue after the ceremony. If possible, keep both parts of your wedding in the same location, to prevent unnecessary travel between venues. If you know you want a change of setting part way through the day, try and keep the two as close together as possible, and organize carpools or other modes of eco-conscious transportation to help limit the carbon footprint of your wedding.

Consider heading outdoors

Tying the knot out in Mother Nature is the perfect way to keep the environment at the heart of proceedings on your wedding day. Of course, this does mean that you may be restricted to the summer months, when the weather is more likely to cooperate with your plans. If this isn’t a problem, then hosting the ceremony and/or the reception outdoors will offer so many unique benefits and opportunities. 

Firstly, you will be able to make better use of the natural sunlight, meaning you’re less reliant on artificial sources, helping to save both energy and money. It can also add to the romantic ambience, with the great outdoors providing a stunning backdrop for your ceremony and photos – just imagine exchanging vows in front of a picturesque waterfall or under a canopy of trees. Just be sure to consider the practicalities of an outdoor wedding, and ensure you have a backup plan in case of bad weather.

Assess the eco-credentials of your shortlist 

When you start researching and visiting different venues, it’s important to keep in mind any sustainability-related questions. You may find that older buildings in particular have inferior eco-credentials to newer buildings, which are more likely to have been constructed with sustainability in mind. Either way, check for any eco-friendly features throughout the venue, and ask about any steps they’ve taken to ensure your wedding’s carbon footprint will be kept as low as possible, such as recycling policies or use of energy-efficient appliances.