Of course your wedding day is one of the most special days of your life as a couple. You want it to be perfect and unforgettable (in all the right ways) and nowadays the chances are you also want it to be green. When her boyfriend popped the question, Green Salon team member, Alena Nicholson, went on the search to create a gorgeous green wedding. Read on for her guide to 7 ways to say “I do” to sustainability.

In November of 2015, I met the love of my life. Fast forward to November 2022 and, reader, he proposed to me. From early on in our relationship, we knew we’d be together but on a magical mini-break on our 7th anniversary, his proposal still came as a delirious bolt from the blue. As soon as the initial, bubbly-filled, celebrations calmed down, the pinterest-scrolling and planning commenced. I was excited to plan a day to celebrate the beginning of the rest of our lives, alongside our closest friends and family. So getting the day right was top of mind, alongside my desire to create a wedding that was as green as it was white.

Finding the forever dress

I couldn’t help myself, but as soon as the question was popped I was on the search for the dress. I tried on more than I had planned to in order to get a feel for what materials, shapes, styles and designers were out there and to learn about how and where wedding dresses are made. Not all of what I learned was as pretty as the dresses I tried on. Plenty are made from acrylic or polyester - which is essentially plastic - which didn’t feel very romantic, or are stitched abroad in questionable circumstances. I realised that what I really wanted was a British-made dress.

The next question: to buy or to rent? For second-hand dresses, Stillwhite, is the industry leader with great search and filter opportunities. Found your dream dress out shopping? You can make alerts for that dress or designer in your size so as soon as it comes up, you can nab it second hand. It’s more hit and miss on pre-loved designer site, Vestiaire Collective, but you might end up saying ‘yes to the dress’ from household names like Chanel or Dior.

If you feel like coming over all Carrie Johnson - when she married the former British Prime Minister - and renting, then check out HURR or Something Borrowed. The site has some clever ways to fit the dress to you perfectly without forever altering its shape so it can spread the love to other brides. And if you’re dreams will not be fulfilled without an entirely new dress, then I loved these sustainable fashion sites: Reformation, Ivy Oak and Anya Hindmarch (I found the cutest silk tie-the-knot bag here). I spent hours on the Green Salon Directory checking out dress options suitable for the Rehearsal Dinner, Reception Mini (second look, anyone?) and Sunday Post-Wedding Brunch worthy looks.

When it comes to wedding jewellery, if you’re not engaged yet, you should definitely look at (and drop hints to your partners about) Ethica Diamonds*. They offer a great alternative to mined diamond with their selection of lab -grown diamond rings - made using renewable energy - as well as custom opportunities. For wedding bands, my go-to favourite has to be 886 by the Royal Mint* (Use code GREENSALON15 for 15% off all of their collections.), which turns recycled gold from laptops into these classic band styles.

*Nothing says 'I love you’ quite like the lab-grown diamond* *Callis ring*.*

Something Old: Choosing the ultimate sustainable wedding venue

Next, where to find a beautiful space to celebrate our love? I was looking for venues that used renewable energy, composted food waste, and/or had a green roof. Discovering Green Union made that a whole lot simpler. The online platform narrows down sustainable venues and suppliers and take the hard work out of researching venues one-by-one. For a more curated selection of UK wedding venues, I also looked at Coco Wedding Venues, a stunning directory that makes venue research calm, inspiring and exciting - but for anything I found there, I ran some extra checks surrounding venue sustainability. With such a big ticket item, I soon discovered venues receive loads of questions, so my advice would be don’t be shy and ask away.

Ultimately, we chose to put nature centre stage with an outdoor wedding in an Italianate walled garden. Surrounded by flowers, we could save hundreds on cut flowers & we chose to base our wedding colour palette on the flowers in season in our wedding month.

*Celebrate with a pop with the finest of English bubblies - introducing* *Ridgeview*.

Something New: How to cater with the planet in mind

I was really keen to source the food and drink locally for our wedding, so was delighted that our venue did exactly that. They even grew some of their own food, which clinched the deal for us. I plundered the Green Salon Directory for farmers and suppliers who grow seasonal British fare, using regenerative agriculture, to create little wedding favours of snacks and drinks.

Having worked for Green Salon over its first two years, I knew there were some amazing vineyards in our own back garden in the UK. We’re lucky that many sustainable, too. Ridgeview Estate English Sparkling Wine is wonderful, and was how we toasted our engagement at Castle Combe. I can solidly say, after enjoying 3 (or 4?) bottles that weekend, it’s a winner.

If you’re looking for a sustainable beer that’s a crowd-pleaser, look no further than Toast* (Use code TOASTXGREENSALON15 for 15% off their ales (excl. sales*). It’s made from left-over bread, in a time-honoured brewing tradition that has a very modern twist of cutting down on food waste. If you’re able to work closely with your caterer, or you’re hosting a small wedding, it’s worth looking into these sustainable food brands as well: Knepp Meat, Pesky Fish, Piper’s Farm.

Something Borrowed: The best sustainable wedding decorations

I realised that decorating our wedding, was the perfect place to fulfil the line: something borrowed. Furniture is critical to the ambience and we loved the selection at Wedhead, an event rental company. When it comes to all the fun decorations in between, check out Rock My Wedding, an incredible directory that connects you to neon signs, and all sorts of props.

I also wanted to weave in natural elements such as flowers, greenery, and wood to create a beautiful and sustainable atmosphere. Potted plants make great centrepieces, which guests can take home as a wedding favour. Or a cost-effective, sustainable hack is to use potted plants or vases in your ceremony that can be moved to your reception area. For confetti, I loved the idea of asking our friends and family to save and dry flower petals from bunches and bouquets in the run up to the wedding to throw over us on the big day.

*The Real Flower Company** offer bespoke bouquets and table displays for your special day.

Greener Options for Invitations

My dream wedding invite is a formal card one. So my greener options were recycled card and plantable seed paper. We decided to make our save-the-date virtual, as it was cheaper, just that bit greener and made it much easier to keep track of RSVPs. As well as the classic Paperless Post I also came across Greenvelope. Both have customisable invites and RSVP features to see when invites have been opened so you can nudge those slow responders.

Get me to the Church on time

The ultimate sustainable wedding is of course, one which doesn’t involve flying half-way around the world. Unfortunately, I’m a native American and my fiance is Danish, so we couldn’t do much about that. But we gave our guests options to carpool, as well as hiring a shuttle service from the nearest train station to the venue to make the wedding weekend more seamless for our guests. And we’re searching for a classic car retrofitted with an electric engine to make our get-away.

How to keep it unforgettable

If, like me, you love the classic Polaroid wedding snaps but are not so mad on the plastic waste, check out POV, an app designed to act like a disposable camera. You can use QR codes or NFC tags around your reception space to share with guests and all the images end up with us at the end of the night. Reviews of POV say ‘it completely changed the vibe of the night’, so we know we’re in the right place.

At the end of the day, planning a wedding can be super stressful for both you and your partner. We certainly felt the pressure. We didn’t want our dream of a green wedding to add to that so we adopted the Green Salon mindset that every small steps towards sustainability counts and is often magnified by inspiring friends and family. With 5 months to go, we’re on our way to having a perfect wedding day in an imperfectly green way.

Want to say ‘I do’ to the perfect green wedding? Check out our new Wedding Directory.

We analyse each brand for their commitment to sustainability but we are not a certification body, nor are we auditors, and we have taken the approach that we trust brands to tell the truth about their sustainability policies, practices and plans.

Affiliate/ Partnership disclaimer: ❀ / * indicates affiliate links with brands to help fund the Directory so that we can research further sustainable brands. This does not affect the price you pay. Some of these brands paid to be part of Green Salon’s The Greenhouse which means they pay us to promote their brands. However, we only work with brands that score 50% on our Ratings System.

Say 'I Do' to Sustainability | 7 ways to plan an eco-friendly wedding