Tips for a Sustainable Wedding in Eugene, Oregon
Hot take: modern couples don’t want “just another wedding.” They want intentional, unforgettable celebrations that truly reflect their values! And if they value sustainability and a connection with nature, then those elements should be incorporated into their wedding day.
You’ve heard that weddings can be incredibly wasteful: from leftover food and flowers to disposable cups and paper napkins, so many items can end up in the trash… but it doesn’t have to be that way. Read on for my favorite tips to keep your wedding low-impact, trash-free, and totally awesome!
Reduce
Weddings can be as complex as we make them. My job as your planner is to help you prioritize the elements that are most important to you, and de-prioritize the things that aren’t. Some examples:
Your friends want you to have a wedding party full of bridesmaids and groomsmen, but what you truly want is to just have you & your partner at the altar.
Pinterest is showing you photos of flowers overflowing all over the guest tables, but you’re dreaming of something different. Maybe you want to skip flowers on tables altogether, and use photographs and candles as centerpieces. Or maybe you’d like to show off your book collection, lego projects, or have moss and pinecones on the tables instead. Is that too weird?
Your parent believes emailing wedding invitations is tacky, but you think it sounds way easier (and less wasteful) than printing and mailing physical invites.
Everyone says you need to buy a special box just for cards, but you’re wondering if you could repurpose a basket from your home?
A “must-have” checklist you find online says every wedding needs printed menus, programs, escort cards, and a “guest favor” for each guest to take home… but you’re wondering why.
The truth is, there are very few “must-haves” with wedding planning and I can help you navigate those. The rest is totally optional. Your wedding will be more memorable, meaningful, and sustainable if we only include what’s most important to you!
Reuse
Another wedding myth is that you need to buy everything new, use it once, and then throw it out. Not true! There are so many great places to find reusable wedding items, such as:
Your own home/family might be a surprising source of wedding inspiration! Maybe you want to reuse a parent’s wedding outfit, their heirloom crocheted tablecloth, or an ancestor’s wedding ring. You might also have some containers like baskets, jars, or boxes that will come in handy for decorations.
Facebook Marketplace is a popular spot for married couples to resell leftover supplies from their own wedding. You can find everything from decorations to signs, glassware, faux florals, table numbers, and more! You can also resell again after your event, or donate to a thrift shop.
Local companies like Upcycle Collective and Birdie June Events offer everything listed above as well as furniture, dishes, candles, and all kinds of decorations for rent. They can deliver to your venue for an added fee, and come back at the end of the event to whisk everything away. Renting items for your wedding is super convenient!
Destination Events is an even larger rental company in Eugene that offers everything listed above AND: catering supplies such as coolers, drink dispensers, and chafing dishes, large tents, outdoor patio heaters, etc. Truly a one-stop shop for your wedding needs.
Look at these gorgeous rented peacock chairs from Birdie June Events, paired with an heirloom crocheted tablecloth! This is a truly unique, beautifully-textured design for a sweetheart table at your wedding reception.
Recycle
Having a plan for your trash and recycling is an unsexy part of wedding planning, but it’s essential for sustainability-minded couples. As your wedding planner, I coordinate with your venue and vendors to make a plan for disposing of your waste properly. We can’t catch every can or bottle that ends up in the trash, but we can set up a system that makes it easier to separate recycling. We can also ensure that your vendors (such as your bartenders, florists, and caterers) know where to dispose of empty bottles, cardboard boxes, etc. While your guests might be a bit unreliable towards the end of the night because they’re having an amazing time on the dancefloor, your vendors can ensure their own waste ends up in the right place.
Mindful Sourcing
Sustainable weddings require a little extra mindfulness. For example, in traditional wedding planning the questions are simply:
What do we want?
Can we afford it?
With sustainable wedding planning, a couple more questions are added to this process:
Where did this come from?
What will I do with this item after my event?
Sourcing mindfully means looking for items that are reused, recycled, or sourced from local artisans right here in Oregon. If the item needs to be brand new from Amazon, consider purchasing a slightly higher quality item so that it can be used again by another wedding couple. Or, try to find an item that’s recyclable or more easily broken down - paper straws instead of plastic ones, for example.
Another idea: instead of purchasing all disposable cups, you can rent some glassware from your bartender or Destination Events. It will cost a little more, but glassware is sturdier and therefore less susceptible to tipping over in the wind at an outdoor event. Glassware also looks beautiful as part of your table settings: it adds a little extra sparkle. You can always switch to disposable paper cups later in the evening if you’re concerned about costs or breakage on the dancefloor. (I confess, wedding guests use up a lot of cups at the end of the night because they start forgetting where they set them down!)
Think Local
Your guests are coming from all over the country, or all over the world. Why not give them a taste of Eugene, Oregon?! Local farm-to-table catering companies like Branch Road Farm and Gingko Catering specialize in bringing fresh, seasonal, local foods to your event. If local foods are more expensive, consider having a simpler menu or consolidating options to bring the cost down. Or, you can feature just one prized local ingredient: locally Willamette Valley honey from Humble Bee Honey, or locally brewed kombucha from BNF.
For most of the year, it’s easy to find locally-grown flowers for your Oregon wedding! You can hire talented professionals who specialize in locally-grown, sustainable floral design like Wrong Number Floral and Smiling Frog Farm. Alternatively, you could make your own DIY arrangements by purchasing flowers in bulk from local growers like Formosa Flower Farm and Charles Little.
I hope these tips for a local, sustainable wedding are helpful to you. Please contact me if you have more to add! I’d love to hear from you.
Local, Sustainable Wedding Vendors Featured in these Images:
Planning: Round Pearl Events
Photo: Smoke and the Sea Photography
Venue: Shadow Hills Country Club
Rentals: Birdie June Events
Florals: Wrong Number Floral
Candles: Starlight Candles
Dress: Sweet Skins Hemp
Shirt & Pants: Circle Creations Clothing
Drinks: BNF Kombucha
Honey: Humble Bee Honey
Paper: Julia Garretson
Printing: Twin Ravens Press
Models: Abbey Wilusz and Gabe Nitkowski
