Episode 67: Sustainable Weddings with Gina Lett-Shrewsberry (Inspirations by Gina)

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Episode Intro Notes

What We Will Cover

• What are sustainable weddings?

• What is the environmental impact of weddings?

• How can Definers make their own or their family and friends' weddings more sustainable?

• Who are leaders in the sustainable wedding space?

• How is Jay implementing sustainability into his wedding?

• Gina Lett Shrewsberry, Owner of Inspirations by Gina

What Are sustainable weddings?

• Do you hear that, Jay? The bells are ringing and there’s love in the air. Definers, if you didn’t already know, Jay is getting married in June. To commemorate this special time, we thought we’d put together an episode that focuses on just that - sustainable weddings!

• So, let’s get into it. What do we mean by sustainable weddings?

• At the end of the day, with the amount of resources and travel required for planning and executing weddings, weddings can have a negative impact on our environment more than we may realize.

  • Sustainable weddings can mean many things, but in this episode, we’ve defined sustainable weddings as implementing sustainable practices in the planning and execution of a wedding.

  • That’s a simple one we made up. We found some others online.

    • Mary Caribbean, which provides Caribbean destination wedding and honeymoon resources, defines sustainable weddings as "one that is eco-friendly and conscious of the consumption of resources that would otherwise be used in the wedding”

    • Then there is the appropriately titled website Wedding Bells that defines it as “celebrations planned where the couple’s goal is to try and lower their ecological footprint… and lower the event’s impact on the environment in whichever way [they] can.”

What is the environmental impact of weddings?

• When I think of weddings, one of the first things I think of are the small, single-use gimmicks and souvenirs. Single-use plastic cups with “just married” on it, throwing out a bunch of food that guests don’t eat, and mini bubble containers that will get lost in your drawers, on and on…

• Waste from weddings can add up. It's estimated by the Green Bride Guide that the average wedding produces 400 lbs of garbage and 63 tons of CO2 which is equivalent to the CO2 emissions of four people for an entire year. A little quick math here, with an estimated 2.5 million weddings per year in America, American weddings produce 1 billion lbs of trash.

  • To put that into perspective, New York City residents produce 24 million pounds of waste (garbage and recycling) per day, so each year, American weddings produce about 42 days worth of NYC waste.

• What are the main culprits of this immense amount of waste created from weddings?

  • The organization Sky Ocean Rescue found that plastic cups, water bottles, disposable decorations, gift bags, fake confetti, and wrapping from table favors were the main contributors to outgoing waste from weddings.

• Waste, of course, isn’t the only contributor to a wedding’s environmental impact. 

  • Transportation plays a huge role in a wedding’s carbon emissions. According to Stanford Magazine, the average carbon footprint of a non-destination wedding is 56.15 tons, with 43 tons being used on transportation for guests. What is 43 tons? Well it’s equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 97,000 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle. 

    • And that’s for a non-destination wedding. Destination weddings tend to have fewer guests and it depends on how far away the destination is but that can really add to the transportation footprint of the wedding.

  • Venues and lodging contribute 6% total carbon emissions from weddings or 3.37 tons of carbon which is equivalent to about 7,500 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle. Lighting and air-conditioning for large indoor venues can truly add up!

  • Additionally, imported flowers require lots of energy to transport and refrigerate. 

    • Flowers are a topic unto themselves, but on top of pollutants and water use, flowers can generate serious carbon emissions because of refrigeration and long-haul transport. 

      • For example, as was noted in an ideas.ted.com article titled “The Environmental Impact of Cut Flowers? Not So Rosy,” In 2018, Valentine’s Day flowers grown in Colombia and flown to US airports produced some 360,000 metric tons of CO2. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly equivalent to 78,000 cars driven for one year.

How can definers make their own or their family and friends’ weddings more sustainable?

• Earlier, we detailed the areas where weddings have their largest environmental impact. We are all about solutions here at Sustainability Defined, so let’s look into how we can make our weddings more sustainable.

  • Feel free to take these tips to your event organizer, or if you are an event organizer yourself, implement them into your business plan! Many of these tips were taken from a Syracuse University Graduate Program Blog post.

• Waste

  • When it comes to food waste, Stanford sustainability students in an article on green weddings encouraged reducing waste by serving food buffet-style so people take only as much as they need.

    • Consider giving away uneaten food to shelters, or let guests take food home in recyclable or reusable containers.

      • Some event venues may compost food and you could organize a compost pick-up or drop-off.

      • Shout out to episode 6 on food waste and episode 9 on composting!

    • Note that other sources say plated meals are the way to go so caterers know exactly how much food to prepare. So the jury’s still a bit out here.

    • Also, selecting reusable or recyclable products for place settings can reduce an event’s landfill waste. Plastic dishware often has to be thrown away if contaminated with partially eaten food.

  • For decor-related waste, consider using items from your own home to decorate your venue. 

    • Shopping second-hand is always a great option! Facebook Marketplace is a great place to find table toppers, decorations, mirrors - anything you can think of! Better yet, you can resell or give away these items once you’re done using them. 

  • Consider skipping wedding mementos or favors for guests all together, knowing that many of them may end up in the trash if they aren’t used.

  • Send digital invitations to save time, trees, and postage costs.

    • To give more context to the environmental impact of sending invitations or any card really, a recent study revealed that sending one card produces about 140 grams of carbon dioxide. The U.S. mails around 1.3 billion holiday cards a year which is the same amount of CO2 emissions as charging 22 billion smartphones or 22,000 homes’ energy use for one year.

      • Fun general fact. Over the past five years, printed greeting card sales in the U.S. have dropped by nearly 13% as digital invitations provide an innovative way to save money and the planet. 

• Transportation

  • Choose seasonal dishes to minimize transportation costs and support local farmers.

    • Quick note here that greenhouse gas emissions from transportation make up a very small amount of the emissions from food and what you eat is far more important than where your food traveled from, so here’s a lil nudge to try to include less meat in the dishes you serve.

  • Remember the 43 tons of CO2 emitted for guest transportation for a non-destination wedding? Keep your wedding local and avoid even bigger emissions for all those guests that would instead have to travel.

    • Shout out to a cool group we found called Terrapass, which offers carbon offsets for weddings specifically.

  • If you’re hosting your wedding in two different venues (one for the ceremony and one for the reception) consider offering a shuttle service or ask your guests to carpool as much as possible.

• Venues

  • One of the easiest ways to host a sustainable wedding is to find a venue that prides itself on reducing its carbon footprint, recycling wherever possible, and incorporating renewable energy sources.

  • Junebug Weddings put together a list of questions to ask a potential venue to gauge what efforts they use to be environmentally friendly:

    • Do they offer recycling or composting bins on-site, or recommend a local green trash service?

    • Do they offer rentals?

    • What seasons would lower the wedding’s carbon footprint?

    • Are there any local vendors or organizations they recommend connecting with?

    • Do they incorporate sustainable operations or methods? Options like carbon offsetting, gravity rainwater harvesting, solar-powered energy, seasonal options, etc.

• Flowers

  • For flowers, consider buying local or feature potted plants instead of bouquets as table centerpieces so that they can be taken home and planted instead of being thrown away.

  • Are there any tradeoffs between real and faux flowers for weddings? From our research, a recent study found that for single use, fresh flowers are the greener floral option. From production to disposal, a faux flower bouquet that is only used once is responsible for about 2.5 times more greenhouse gas pollution. Because the emissions in manufacturing are so significant, the faux flowers must be reused multiple times, perhaps even by other couples for their weddings, to break even.

    • Additionally, fake flowers cannot be recycled while real flowers can be composted and diverted from the landfill at the end of its use. A surprising 4% of flowers in the US are properly composted, so if you are leaning towards real flowers, look into how you can properly compost them after the event.

    • That being said, if the fake flowers are used multiple times, it can have a lower impact than the fresh version.

      • And there’s companies are out there that can help ensure they get used more than once. For example, we found one company Something Borrowed Blooms that specializes in premium silk wedding flower collections, and its blooms are rented for a fraction of the cost of a traditional florist, saving couples over 70%.

  • We did find a number of cool flower companies out there thinking about sustainability:

    • If you’re using real flowers, check out thelittleflowerpress.com. It makes pressed bouquets into beautiful works of framed art that you can hang on your wall.

    • If you like Toy Story, you can order flowers made of wood from solawoodflowers.com. Get it - woody?

    • We also found a group called Bloomerent who picks up your flowers after your event and immediately reuses them in another event.

• Attire

  • Renting is always a great option for all things attire. Although tuxedos are traditionally rented for weddings, look into renting gowns, bridesmaid dresses, shoes, and accessories that may only be otherwise worn once. 

  • Or, give a dress another life and look into buying vintage! Many local vintage stores carry one-of-a-kind wedding dresses and wedding attire.

• Other small tips!

  • Registry - Create a registry to minimize chances of guests purchasing multiples of the same gift, which may get returned to the store or discarded.

    • Opt for an experiential registry, like a honeymoon fund, cooking subscription, or travel budget, which eliminates the cost and environmental impact of shipping.

    • You could even have on your registry asking people for used versions of specific items.

  • Makeup - Prioritizing using cruelty free and zero waste makeup is another great way to make an impact. Cruelty-Free Kitty highlights over 900+ makeup brands that can help you shop cruelty-free.

    • In Episode #35, sustainable beauty and personal care products, we dive a little deeper into this topic.

  • Send offs - Use flower petals from bouquets, dried leaves, or potpourri that won’t harm the environment or create waste.

  • Also, weddings can be a great time to encourage and initiate interpersonal conversations about sustainability. Taking advantage of this time, even if it is for a small-bit, can make a difference!

  • Rings

    • One option is to go vintage of course.

    • Another is to look for conflict-free rings or rings made of moissanite, which is a naturally occurring mineral created in a lab, so you don’t have to worry about harming the Earth. The best part? Moissanite stones look exactly like real diamonds and cost a whole lot less.

Who are the leaders in the sustainable wedding space?

• Naturally Chic highlights the best eco-friendly wedding planners across North America. Let’s dive into a few of these planners that stood out to us and discuss what sustainable services they offer for weddings.

  • JoAnn Moore Weddings in Colorado rents serviceware items versus purchasing things that will just get thrown out, chooses biodegradable products, and even donates leftover flowers to the local senior center or hospital.

  • Greater Good Events believe that there is an opportunity to leave every interaction better than before by integrating a set of sustainability- and inclusion-focused best practices. They strive to act by their “better than before” mantra by sourcing vendors that align with their mission. We love that they work with local organizations and vendors to ensure any leftover food is brought to a food rescue.

  • Keen Events in Portland Oregon make it their mission to meet couples where they’re at and incorporate sustainable practices such as integrating local/organic/seasonal food into clients' menus.

• There’s also the Green Wedding Alliance. It seems to only be focused on Chicago, but it is a community of about 40 environmentally & socially responsible event vendors.

• A Green Wedding Professional course is also available to teach wedding professionals how to increase their bottom line while helping clients reduce their wedding's environmental impact.

  • The textbook for this course is the Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget, which you can buy on Amazon and we’ve mentioned this book already in the intro.

how is jay implementing sustainability into his wedding?

• Well for one, Scott is officiating, so that’s gotta be worth something.

• Digital invites

• Chose a venue local to us that requires everyone to use reusable dishware

• Facebook marketplace for reused items:

  • Boutonnieres

  • Flower arrangements for tables and to hang from our tent

  • Glasses and champagne flutes

  • Huppa structure

• Running shuttles from Boulder to ceremony site to minimize individual car trips

• Experiential registry

• Anna is tailoring and reusing her mom’s wedding dress for the rehearsal brunch

More about our Expert guest: gina lett-shrewsberry

• Gina is the owner of Inspirations by Gina, a full-service floral and event design studio based in California. Gina is a certified Green Wedding Professional and creates “couture floral experiences with an eco-friendly twist.”

  • Gina started her company in 2008 as a wedding planner but has gradually moved her area of specialization into the floral design space.