It seems that at the end of the evening for many of the weddings that I coordinate, I am unfortunately spending a lot of time assisting the catering, bar, or venue staff by throwing away hundreds of plastic/Styrofoam plates and even more single-use plastic cups. Further, at the end of the night, we are throwing away dozens of floral arrangements and single-use candles. This is not uncommon! It happens every weekend at every venue around the Indianapolis area and beyond. These nights, while the happy couple and their friends and family dance the night away, I am left feeling like there HAS to be another way.

While the climate and reducing waste are a large concern for many, there doesn’t seem to be any room for it in the wedding event industry. At the very least, oftentimes it just seems like no one takes a few moments to try to easily minimize the waste.

When we think of “zero waste”, we tend to think of ZERO being an impossible goal, and it doesn’t occur to many couples to even consider it during planning. After all, this is your special day! We certainly want the focus to be you and the life you have chosen together, but at A&BE we think you can have it all – planning the wedding of your dreams while also reducing your waste. Here it is useful to break this idea down to see how easy it can be to focus on key items where you can reduce your footprint, then backtrack to show how we can all get closer to zero waste.

Photos by: Anne Buskirk

First, let’s start with what I consider to be MOST important opportunity to reduce – taking advantage of renting reusable items from vendors/locations. I understand that the decision to use disposables is normally made for budgetary reasons, and I certainly respect that, BUT it is incredibly simple to cut out single-use cups, plates, silverware, and napkins. If your budget allows for it, the first thing you should do is work with your caterer to have real, reusable dinner wear. If your caterer does not offer the option to rent through them, you can always work directly with a local rental company like A Classic Party Rental to get your items. They can also supply many of your decor items like table cloths, runners, chargers, and more! I do understand that these companies use plastic in the storage and transpiration of these items, so it is not a perfect solution, but it will save 300+ plastic plates and even more cups from the landfill. Remember we are focusing on reducing, and not a perfect zero.

Now, I hear you. I know what your venue is going to say when you come to them with these wonderful ideas. They are going to tell you that at a certain point in the evening, they are going to switch to plastic because they cannot have broken glass on a dance floor. And they are right – if you have ever danced on a sticky wedding dancefloor, you know that cups get dropped often. Then as the evening goes on people tend to forget or lose their drinks, and in an open bar situation, they will just head to the bar for another drink. I can’t tell you how many full drinks I have dumped out. While I have no perfect solution for this, the best option I know of is to turn your wedding favor into a reusable plastic cup. Provide the bar with couple-branded plastic cups in a few colors to hand out to your guests at the end of the night, the colors will help them find their cups again! This also incentives them to keep the cups and maybe even take them home – which means one less item being thrown away.

Paper is easy! Research your printing vendor and find out if they are using sustainably-sourced paper. When you order, reduce the number of pieces if you can – which does not only reduce waste but is also a big money saver. Printing costs are not cheap! Wedding websites can help convey any extra information – in this digital age, there is no reason to have entire information packets printed. Then recycle any excess you have after mailing. Some printers even carry seeded paper; this is a textured paper that comes with flower seeds embedded in it. After use, you can plant the paper and at least some of the seeds will sprout!

Food is also an easy area to reduce your waste! In Indianapolis, any unserved food can be taken to Second Helpings. This is a wonderful, local nonprofit with a passionate mission: “Since 1998, Second Helpings has accepted donated perishable and overstocked food to prepare nutritious meals for thousands of hungry children and adults every day, and distributes them free of charge through local social service agencies in Greater Indianapolis. Second Helpings also trains unemployed and underemployed adults for meaningful careers in the culinary industry.” Please contact your venue or caterer to see if they are able to assist, otherwise, you or a family member can drop the food off on your own.

There is a similar organization for unwanted florals; Random Acts of Flowers. Here is a statement from their website: “Random Acts of Flowers receives donated flowers from the community and repurposes them into new bouquets for individuals in healthcare facilities. Random Acts of Flowers improves the emotional health and well-being of individuals in health care facilities by delivering recycled flowers, encouragement and personal moments of kindness.” Typically, you can work with your venue or florist to make sure they are scheduled to pick up your flowers after your event.

It is so exciting when you begin planning your wedding to start shopping for all the things you will need! BUT WAIT! You don’t need to own all those items. What will you do with them after your wedding? If you are going to buy some items make sure that they are one of two things: A) Reusable as home décor, or B) Easy to resell online. There are countless Facebook pages dedicated to this in Indianapolis, and not only is this a great way to offload items after the wedding, but it is also a great way to find some low-cost items second hand that you can make use of for your own wedding or event. But I think what is most effective is rentals, as covered above. These are items that are going to be used repeatedly throughout their lifetime and between your venue, A Classic, and other rental & vintage vendors, you can find nearly everything you could possibly need. And you know it will have many lives to come.

Finally, there’s the opportunity to make use of personal items. Some individuals who are incredibly passionate about zero waste will buy a second-hand dress online or from a vintage store. Others will breakdown their mother’s dresses and redesign them. These are all great options, and for the groom, there are many rental options as well as investing that money into a suit or tux you will use over and over again. When it comes to jewelry you might choose to purchase vintage jewelry or use a family heirloom.

There are definitely more details to be considered as you push towards a “zero-waste” wedding but I think this is a good start. There are many ways to tie the knot with just a little less waste. Your guests would likely never know the differences, and long term everyone will almost certainly appreciate the effort.

Easy ways to Reduce your Wedding & Event Waste

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