Top 8 Ways To Offset Travel Miles Created At Your Destination Wedding

Your wedding day is something to look forward to—after all, declaring your love to someone forever is a big deal. However, if you’re a couple concerned about the environment, thinking about how your wedding impacts the “forever” of the planet is a concern. If you’re choosing to wed far from home, here are the top 8 ways to offset travel miles created at your destination wedding. Not only can you go green at your destination wedding, but you can encourage your guests to think sustainably too.

CHOOSING LOCATION

First and foremost, choosing a location is the first step to take when planning your destination wedding. Today, there are many resorts dedicated to preserving the environment via sustainable practices. Some of these practices include:

Recycling
Utilizing solar panels
Limiting water consumption
Growing sustainable food

Many properties and resorts in Ireland are putting in great effort to make an impact on the green movement and committed to preserving the environment e.g.,

Ashford Castle
Dromoland Castle
Cloughjordan
Hotel Doolin
Gregan’s Castle Hotel, Co Clare
The Falls Hotel & Spa, Ennistymon, Co Clare
The Dolphin Eco Hotel, Inishbofin, Co Galway
The Fitzwilliam Hotel Dublin

WEDDING INVITATIONS

CHOOSING YOUR ECO-PAPERS

We like to take pride in sourcing eco-papers that are high quality, whilst also being ethically and sustainably made. Some of the sustainable papers available include beautiful white textured card stock which is 100% recycled, a plantable paper made from recycled cotton and embedded with wildflower seeds and brown Kraft card (also recycled) which can bring a little contrast to your stationery suite.

CHOOSING YOUR ENVELOPES

For me, the right choice of envelope has the ability to really elevate the quality of the invitation set. After all they are the first impression your stationery and wedding style will make on your guests! Whilst you can source almost any colour, to match your stationery the most popular ECO themed wedding envelope is the Kraft envelope as it offer the most eco-friendly option being 100% recycled paper.

GREEN DESTINATION WEDDING TRAVEL

One of the major components of a destination wedding is getting there. Whether that’s by plane, train, or car, the carbon footprint of the journey is a concern. However, if you think creatively, there are ways for travel to have less of an impact.

Choosing airlines that are more eco-friendly or encouraging group travel can help lessen the carbon footprint. Arranging group transportation, such as hiring a vehicle to take guests from one location to another at your destination, will also help eliminate individual trips.

CREATE AWARENESS ABOUT GOING GREEN

Where you’ve made sustainable choices, let it be known! Have a sign by your green wedding favours stating why you chose that particular thank you gift. Use your wedding menu to highlight the sustainable options in your food selections.

Subtly drawing attention can encourage friends and family to be more aware of their choices and how they impact the environment.

THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WEAR

Start with your wedding rings and choose estate jewellery or rings that have been ethically-sourced. Continue the sustainability trend in the attire for your destination wedding. Vintage is very vogue right now, and there are such lovely attire options from yesteryear. There is no shame in having and wearing pre-loved items that you can claim as your own for your big day and can even be your “something old”.

FOOD WASTAGE

CONSIDER THE MENU

When selecting your menu, it’s really important to choose what you love as a couple, and don’t get too caught up in trying to please everyone. But if some of your guests have special dietary requirements or preferences most venues will be able to accommodate including vegetarian /vegan & celiac. Particularly if you are including meat in your dishes most venues will offer a vegetarian silent option. It is also important to note that some venues grow ingredients in their gardens which they use in their menus some examples include

Virginia Park Lodge
Gregan’s Castle Hotel
Cloghjordan

FOOD STATIONS

If you’re planning a less formal service style why not consider using the new phenomenal food trucks or food stations. This is a great way to choose foods that are cooked to order, like tacos, crepes or pizza. This is less likely to result in food waste than having to guess in advance who would like what, and it adds to the theatre to see it being cooked in front of you!

RETHINK YOUR COURSES

Don’t feel you need to sign-up for all of the trimmings! Canapés, 4 /5 courses, cake and evening food is a lot to eat when you add it all up. Pending your venues and wedding package you maybe able to re-think your courses and maybe having canapés (or grazing boards) as your starter and serving your cake as dessert.

WEDDING FAVOURS

If you have lots of guests choosing to fly, then you could consider carbon offsetting. Look for projects which benefit local communities as well as the environment for maximum impact. You could make this part of your wedding favours, ask guests to contribute to a scheme as your wedding gift, or even bring it into your wedding with something like a tree planting ceremony!

LET NATURE DO THE DECORATING

One wonderful thing about a destination wedding is that you can get married in a location with a stunning backdrop! Instead of decorating with multiple floral arrangements and candelabras, let the surroundings do the talking. After all, it’s hard for décor to compete with the view of mountains or the ocean, so get the most out of your destination by letting nature’s beauty speak out.