Eco Friendly Wedding Ideas ~ Think Sustainably

Weddings are such balls.  They are intimate, sweet, beautiful parties thrown to celebrate and bring together all of the most important members in our lives.  But the honest truth is that a lot of waste comes from a wedding, and when we take into account the number of weddings happening annually, it becomes clear that this amount of waste is quite excessive.  For this reason, a team of truly amazing vendors and I got together to create a styled shoot centered around the idea of “sustainability”.  We understand that sometimes this term brings to mind hemp, greenery, and DIY(although I am a super fan of this as well) .  But this is not true at all!  There are so many ways to plan a modern, chic, and elegant wedding that is more sustainable, and we hope to inspire some amazing wedding ideas!  Thanks to these talented vendors and their innovative ideas on ways to waste less –

Photographer – Meigan Canfield Photography ~ Hey – that’s me!  I strive to connect with the industry vendors who “give back” or neutralize their carbon footprint as much as possible, so that I can recommend their services and grow a more sustainable, “green” wedding industry.  I also use an eco-friendly printing company  for wedding albums and prints (Loktah).

Event Designers ~ ENLY ~ Is responsible for almost all of the background design in this shoot.  They are a team of two beauties who strive to create modern and minimalistic, contemporary pieces.  For the shoot, they created their pieces with a “greener” approach considering its lifespan and the materials used during creation.  For the shoot, they created a ceremony backdrop that was made from recyclable coasters. They used milk paint (an environmentally friendly paint) to paint the coasters shades of blue. They also hand built the bar, which they created using wood and paper tiles that were made from 100% recycled  post-consumer paper, designed and packed to minimize the carbon footprint.  These can be fully recycled after their use.

Venue ~ Blanc ~  Is an old industrial warehouse in the heart of Downtown Denver.  The venue was originally built in 1890, and was multi-purposed as both a tool shop and an automotive repair yard.  It has since been up-cycled and renovated into a beautiful multi-space location venue for all types of events.  It is the perfect venue for a sustainable wedding, because it has been recycled into a modern space which offers a variety of different areas within.  There is a naturally lit indoor room that can be used for ceremonies, a beautifully landscaped backyard with a court and cherry blossoms for cocktail hour and a barn that can be used for dinner and receptions.  This also eliminates any unnecessary travel from place to place during the event.

Dress Shop ~ A&Be Bridal Shop ~ offers a variety of wedding dresses made in different parts of the globe.  For this shoot, A&Be offered a dress by the Designer Rebecca Schoneveld, a designer based in Brooklyn, New York.  All of her designer dresses are handmade by seamstresses and created using natural fabrics.  This eliminates the need for polluting factory work.

Cake Designer ~ Sugar ~ Offers vegan and organic options for her cakes and deserts.

Florist ~ Boulder Blooms ~ Strives to showcase local floral product grown in and around the Boulder area, encouraging their daily customers and brides to consider flowers that are in season. They also participate in the Zero Waste Program, recycling and composting more than half their waste material. 

Hair ~ My Hair Trip Salon ~ Denver’s only green organic certified hair salon.  They use the most sustainable, non toxic, cruelty free, hair products.  My Hair Trip Salon has just partnered with Green Circle Salons which recycles or finds an up-clycled use for most of their waste from hair clippings, foils, color, styrofoam, and even broken appliances.  They are committed to creating as carbon neutral of a salon environment as possible. 

Makeup ~ Alli-B Makeup ~ Uses only animal-friendly and vegan makeup brands … Hallelujah!

Ring Designer ~ Bucura Designs ~ is owned by a self taught silversmith who locally hand-makes all of her own creations.  Most of the stones she uses come from small shops and artisan stone shapers she finds while on trips or donated from other artists who have no use for them. Other stones come from the Rio grande shop, a go to online source dedicated to supporting the jeweler.

Jewelry Designer ~ Purpose Jewelry ~ Their jewelry is handcrafted by survivors of modern-day slavery, empowering them through freedom, employment and financial stability. 100% of the proceeds benefit International Sanctuary, a non-profit that provides holistic care for young women rescued from human trafficking.

Invitation Designer ~ Paper Plates Press ~Created a lovely wedding invitation suite for the shoot. It was printed on 100% recycled cotton paper using a vintage letterpress. Instead of doing a traditional RSVP card that is returned by mail, they printed one that directed guests online to RSVP, to reduce the carbon footprint. In the suite, they included wildflower seeds with the invitation as a gift for guests to plant in their gardens.

Ice Cream ~ High Point Creamery (Ice Cream Truck) ~ Uses the finest and freshest ingredients (Fresh fruit?  Yes, please) to hand-make all of their own ice cream.  There are no artificial flavors or coloring, and they offer a couple of vegan options as well.  

It is unbelievable how much can be done to contribute to the society around us, especially in such a growing and prosperous industry.  We inspire you to search for vendors who care and make your wedding one that creates a lasting change (of course, reach out if you are hoping for inspiration or have any questions at all).  Good luck and have fun!

{Sustainable Wedding Shoot ~ Eco Friendly Wedding Ideas ~ Go Green}

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