Green Touches for Catering

Our research showed that catering is the most considerable carbon emission generator of your entire wedding. Here are some ideas to create a more sustainable menu:

Consider going vegan! Animal agriculture causes an estimated 18% of all greenhouse gases, and is responsible for up to 91% of deforestation in the Amazon. A plant-based menu will reduce emissions considerably.

Some caterers will offer zero waste canapés, using their creativity to incorporate any surplus menu ingredients like vegetable peel, stalks and ‘wonky’ produce to create a delicious wildcard canapé.

Locally sourced, seasonal ingredients play a huge role in your wedding emissions. In general, locally grown produce is fresher, supports local jobs and the national economy, and contributes fewer carbon emissions from transport. Eating with the seasons also allows you to choose a wedding menu that takes advantage of wonderful, seasonal produce for a meal that’s delicious and kinder to the environment. We recommend asking your chosen catering supplier for their recommendations!

Certainly check whether your caterer has any sustainable policies or accreditations as these prove standards are being met within their business. Lettice Events, our Florence package caterer, are B Corp certified.

Sustainable wine has become more and more ‘on trend’ in recent years, leading to a greater availability of excellent wines with eco-conscious production – especially from UK producers. Our vintners will be able to assist with eco-friendly alternatives to the package wines.

You must choose a caterer from our approved supplier list.

Green Touches for Floristry

Flowers can have a huge impact on the appearance of a wedding, but also on its carbon footprint. Here are our suggestions to create a more sustainable display:

Opting for faux florals, whether silk or faux trees, is a great option for several reasons: there is no wastage as they are completely reusable, you are not restricted by growing seasons and they are hypoallergenic!

Seasonal and British-grown flowers are easier to source and ground your special day in the season. Ask your florist which flowers they recommend for the month of your wedding.

Consider asking your florist if they can create displays with little or no floral foam. This is notoriously bad for the environment and leaves microplastics when it finally biodegrades.

Have a think about what you will do with any leftover floristy. Your florist may be able to arrange donations on your behalf (to local charitable causes), or you could gift displays to friends and family.

Green Touches for Production and Lighting

Event production requires significant energy use and transport of specialist equipment, meaning it’s easy to accrue emissions. It’s also, however, an area with great potential for eco-friendly alternatives:

Consider asking your production company about how their lighting and equipment is powered. Lots are now able to use rechargable uplighters, and may even be using renewable energy to charge them.

The transport of equipment is also a big factor, so you could ask how your production company gets to us.

Your production company may be able to rent you some reusable decor, for example light up letters that spell your initials. Reusable wedding decor is a great option for saving money (as opposed to buying the decor yourselves), and reducing consumption.

You must choose a production company from our approved supplier list.

Green Touches for Cake

Wedding cake is a smaller aspect of the wedding day, but that doesn’t make it any less fun or important! To be more sustainable, you could try the following:

Ask your cake supplier about their ingredients and supply chain transparency. Raw ingredients, particularly things like chocolate or vanilla, can sometimes come from farms with unfair working conditions. If the ingredients are Fairtrade, farmers and workers get a fair price and support to invest in community projects, from clean drinking water to improving their local healthcare.

Similarly to catering, consciously choosing a vegan cake will positively impact the carbon emissions from this supplier. All our package suppliers can offer vegan cakes, and try to use locally sourced ingredients where possible.

If you know that lots of the cake could be wasted (sometimes guests just aren’t cake people!), you could ask whether a tier or two could be made as a ‘dummy cake’.

Consider asking whether the cake can be decorated with natural decorations (real or faux flowers, or fondant decorations) as opposed to plastic decals and cake toppers.