How to Buy an Affordable Engagement Ring

Photograph by Piccolino Weddings

Buying an Ethical Engagement or Wedding Ring on a Budget, by Jacqueline & Edward

Here’s our guide on how to get an affordable yet beautiful, ethical, made to order engagement ring… 

1. Use a stand-in gemstone (for example, cubic zirconia or Moissanite) with the option to replace it with a diamond of the same size when you are ready.

2. Try our Proposal Ring – this is a stand-in ring you can use to propose with and costs just £200. We have three package options to choose from and the great thing about the Proposal Ring is, you can then trade it in and get £200 off either one of our made to order engagement rings or a bespoke engagement ring.

The Proposal Ring still uses ethical metal and you can re-use some of the ring in your final forever ring if you want to, capturing that perfect moment forever.

3. Consider lab grown diamonds or moissanite as an alternative to natural diamonds – they have a lower price point, are visually almost identical and provide an interesting ethical alternative.  For example, moissanite is intrinsically linked to space, the natural form of which was first identified in association with a meteorite impact crater.

4. When it comes to metals, they aren’t all equal! Yellow Gold is the least expensive option. The carat of the gold also makes a difference to price but all our rings are made from 18ct gold.

5. Having gemstones in the shoulders of the ring adds expense but these can be added at a later date – maybe as an alternative to an eternity ring to mark your one-year anniversary.  Just tell Jacqueline & Edward if this is something you’d like to do and we will make your engagement ring with this in mind.

6. Uncertified diamonds and salt and pepper diamonds are a more affordable way to incorporate natural diamonds into your ring.  Uncertified diamonds are simply diamonds that haven’t been certified by an independent body such as GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or IGI (International Gemological Institute).  They are graded by the supplier of the diamond therefore saving the cost of being sent off to be officially graded and the associated uplift in price. We also double check this grading ourselves.  

Salt and pepper diamonds are all unique in relation to their internal colours and patterns, making them an intriguing alternative.

7. If you don’t want diamonds in your engagement ring but prefer rubies or emeralds, consider lab grown rubies or emeralds instead. They tend to be more vivid, and typically have higher clarity than natural rubies. For more affordable coloured gemstones, lab grown is the way to go and from an ethical perspective, they are conflict free, having not been mined.

8. If you’re a sentimentalist, you can use family gold, for example, heirloom jewellery, to either create your engagement ring, or just to offset the cost and recycle (we will recycle the gold). This keeps your metal costs lower and you’ll get to treasure some truly recycled, ethical, and sentimental jewellery.

9. You can spread the cost of your ring with us either using Klarna (three equal payments) or we can split the cost of your engagement ring into two equal instalments, free of charge, and with no interest applied – just email Jacqueline & Edward to ask!

10. Buying an ethical engagement ring doesn’t have to cost thousands, take a look at our beautiful range of classic, elegant rings for less than £1,000:

The Almond: Recycled 18ct Yellow Gold Engagement Ring with Moissanite Stone – £881

The Bohaun: Recycled 18ct Yellow Gold Engagement Ring with Moissanite Stone – £478

The Keltie: 18ct Yellow Gold Engagement Ring with Moissanite Stone – £835

The Kinglass: 18ct Yellow Gold Ring with Moissanite Stone – £415

Shop the full range of engagement rings here

Choosing Affordable Wedding Rings 

So you’re engaged! Now comes the excitement of organising a wedding. To help you find the perfect, ethical wedding ring at an affordable price, consider these helpful tips…

1. Go traditional! Intricate inlays and skillful Mokume Gane rings are unique and eye-catching, but traditionally designed wedding rings hold an ancient and timeless appeal as well as being less expensive. 

A perfect example is The Devon, one of our traditional court rings. If you’d like something more intricate like an inlay adding a later date let us know and we can incorporate your preferences and future-proof your rings. 

2. Try a narrower width for your ring. This could reduce materials and the cost of your ring by up to £200. Widths start at 1.5mm. 

3. You can consider having your wedding bands in 9ct or 14ct gold. 9ct gold has 50% less gold than 18ct gold and can therefore reduce cost. All the rings we make use 18ct gold but you can email us to get a quote for rings of your choice in 9ct or 14ct gold – all our rings are made to order so we are able to offer this unique service.  Furthermore, we even create a lot of our gold alloys ourselves in-house.

4. Choose a ‘classic’ instead of ‘heavy’ depth for your ring design. We already make our standard ‘classic’ depth to the same thickness as some jewellers ‘heavy’ rings – make sure you’re comparing apples with apples. Our classic depth is suitable and durable enough for all lifestyles.  

5. If you want your wedding rings engraving but don’t want the added cost we can do this at any point in the future for you, so there’s no rush.

6. You can contribute family gold to create your wedding rings too – either to offset costs or to directly recycle and reuse the metal. Jacqueline & Edward will keep your jewellery material costs lower and you’ll get to treasure some truly recycled, ethical, and sentimental wedding rings.  

Take a look at some of our ethical wedding rings (handmade made from recycled 18ct gold). All our rings are made to order and you’ll be surprised how affordable and competitively priced they are.

The Newlands: 18ct Yellow Gold Wedding Ring with Matt finish – £420

The Finglen: 18ct White Gold Wedding Ring with Honeycomb finish – £377

The Crossaig: 18ct Yellow Gold Channel Cut Wedding Ring with Etched finish – £400

Shop the full range of wedding rings

Spread the Cost

Look at spreading the cost of your rings to make payment more manageable and affordable. You can spread the cost of your ring with Jacqueline & Edward either using Klarna (three equal payments) or we can split the cost of your engagement ring into two equal instalments, free of charge, and with no interest applied – just email us to ask!

A Unique Touch 

All our rings are made with a small piece of river gold melted into the recycled metals. You get to choose the provenance of this gold, whether that be from the Scottish Highlands, Wales, Devon – anywhere has meaning for you. This small piece of gold is gifted to you from us and helps to make your ring truly special and unique.

So there you have it. You can have an ethical, artisan engagement or wedding ring on a budget!

The post Buying an Ethical Engagement or Wedding Ring on a Budget appeared first on English Wedding.

Your upcoming wedding will be a dream, but it may also produce tons of trash. Decorations are an important way to bring your wedding vision to life, whether you DIY or buy them. But what happens to everything when the evening ends? Use these tips to avoid waste after your ceremony and have a green wedding that aligns with your sustainable values.

1. Recycle Paper Decor

A US study showed that couples spend an average of $2,141 for wedding decor, which lets them create the wedding aesthetic they’ve always wanted. It also leads to tons of single-use purchases. 

Recycle any paper decor you decide to use to avoid waste after the ceremony. Anyone who’s helping you can grab the paper signs, table markers, fans, and other decorations for a quick trip to your local recycling centre before you jet off to your honeymoon.

2. Use Biodegradable Dinnerware

Renting dinnerware for your reception is a great way to have a green wedding, but it isn’t your only option. If renting is too costly, look into biodegradable alternatives before you turn to disposable plastic. Your plates, cups, silverware, and serving dishes will break down more quickly in a landfill to minimise the lasting waste from your wedding day.

3. Preserve Your Flowers

Flowers are a traditional part of weddings, so you’re likely thinking about using them on your big day. They create bouquets, boutonnieres, and centrepieces that add a romantic touch to any venue. They’re also-single use decorations that require natural resources to exist for that short period.

Consider preserving your flowers to make their environmental impact worth the resources. There are many preservation methods you could choose from, but the quickest is microwaving your flowers. It may sound odd, but the heat preserves your flowers in perfect condition by saving their colour and shape. They’ll look lovely in shadow boxes, frames, and vases for a long time after your wedding ends.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

4. Sell Your Supplies

You don’t have to throw away everything you use for your wedding. Anything you don’t want to keep around your home can fulfil the dreams of other couples. List your decor for sale on virtual marketplaces to give them new life. You’ll get a fraction of your wedding budget back while helping other grooms and brides save money and the planet.

Photo by Annie Gray on Unsplash

5. Rent an Electric Car  

Your getaway car can be an essential part of your wedding. It will become the backdrop for some of your portraits and your photographer’s photos as you leave for your hotel. Unless you plan to bike off into the sunset, your getaway vehicle will burn fossil fuels to transport you and your partner.

Avoid that problem by renting an electric car for your wedding. You can use it to pick up your wedding party members and even get lunch while everyone gets ready for the ceremony. After your reception, you’ll avoid adding 8,882 grams of CO₂ waste to the atmosphere for every gallon of petrol burned.

6. Donate Your Wedding Clothes

You might not think of wedding outfits as potential waste, but how often will you wear them? Just once – and maybe if you ever renew your vows in a decade or two. That counts as a single-use purchase, along with things like your bridesmaids’ dresses and your partner’s suit or gown.

Ask your wedding party members to donate their clothing with you after your ceremony. Giving them to local thrift stores will keep the clothes from becoming landfill waste. It’ll also help people who can’t afford to buy them at retail price. Everyone deserves a beautiful and fun wedding, no matter their budget.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

7. Buy Local Products

There are endless possibilities for your wedding decorations. You can pick a theme or season and get decorations that bring those things to life at your venue. However, many of those things will come from distant cities or countries.

Transporting and shipping goods requires burning fossil fuels. You’ll have a greener wedding by buying things that come from the area around your venue. Talk with your potential caterers and vendors to see where they source their products. You’ll support the local economy and reduce waste.

Buying local goods skips the shipping process, so you won’t throw away excess cardboard and cushioning materials. Personally pick up your flowers and decorations from nearby artists or get them hand-delivered. Your money won’t fund mass-production processes or pay for single-use shipping waste.

8. Only Buy What You Need

Avoiding waste also means avoiding unnecessary purchases. Sketch your venue to plan the exact decor you’ll need in every room. You won’t have leftover decorations that waste time, money, and natural resources to serve no purpose on your big day.

You can always prepare to donate or sell things later if you’re worried about accidentally getting more decorations than you plan on using. Mistakes happen, but there are always ways to help the planet and take care of waste.

Avoid Waste After Your Wedding

There are many ways to avoid waste after your wedding ceremony. Green weddings require a bit more thought and planning, but you’ll help the earth without compromising your wedding dreams. Think about what you’ll need to decorate your venue and how you’ll handle everything after your honeymoon to create a sustainable plan for your remaining decor.

Author bio: Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She has a passion for inspiring couples to plan the wedding of their dreams. Follow Cora on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post Green Wedding Decor: Ways to Avoid Waste After the Ceremony appeared first on English Wedding.

Sustainable weddings, to us, means a happy experience and stress free planning. Sticking to a comfortable budget is a huge part of that.

If you haven’t been following our sustainable weddings series, you might want to check back or bookmark our recent months’ features:

1. 1. Weddings & Planet – don’t let your day be about ‘stuff’
   2. Weddings & mental health
   3. The elephant in the room: weddings’ carbon footprint
   4. Finding (or being) a sustainable wedding supplier

Let’s talk about wedding budgets

Credit: Lake District wedding photographer Jaye Peg Photography

Today we wanted to talk about budgets. The wedding media focus way too much on ‘average wedding budget*’ figures (which we believe are massively distorted) – and this can put pressure on couples to spend more than necessary. This has an impact on mental health, on carbon footprint and on waste at weddings. Why? Because budgets dictate the size of a wedding. If you’re constantly told that a figure of £xxx is normal, you’re likely to be influenced by that in some way.

(In a very subtle way, we all compare ourselves to what’s normal. If you’re a thrifty couple or great at budgeting, perhaps you’ll subconsciously aim to spend about half of the ‘normal’ figure. If you’re both high earners, maybe you’ll think you’d probably spend 30% higher than ‘normal’. But here’s the rub: if someone behind a desk at a wedding magazine is deciding what ‘normal’ is, why should that figure mean anything at all?)

Let’s try something: with your partner, without showing each other, write down what each of you thinks your wedding might cost. Reveal your figures, compare and have a chat.

We’re guessing if one of you has been reading about weddings on websites, blogs or magazines, your figure will be higher.

If you have very different ideas about your wedding budget, there’s a lovely article on Green Union about how to compromise while planning your dream wedding. Working things out together so you’re both on the same page with budgets will help your wedding planning go smoothly. It’s something to do as a team, so agreeing what you can happily afford is really important.

Enough about what you should or shouldn’t spend. Weddings aren’t about money or budgets. Weddings are about celebration and fun – and that’s FREE.

Whatever your budget, high or low, it’s super important that weddings should be

• Common sense spending – the key to keeping things stress-free
• Save first. Give yourselves time and put money in the bank
• Include a buffer ‘just in case’
• Don’t borrow
• Accept any financial gifts with grace (and caution – no strings!)
• Block out pressure to overspend
• Plan as a couple
• Don’t buy wedding stuff just cos it’s wedding stuff! A wedding should be unique and about you
• Full of personality. Make your day about YOU (two)!

As a part of the wedding media in the UK, we want to use our voice to bring a little balance. No one should feel pressure to aim their wedding budget towards a level of spend dictated by the press. Especially with the cost of living crisis we’re in right now, no one should even feel pressure to have a wedding at all. (Elope! Elopements are amazing. Or live together in love – married or not – weddings are optional!)

We want to be a part of a thriving industry which gives couples choice. That feels like a sustainable future for everyone.

And the key to a more sustainable approach to wedding budgets? Focus on personality. Plan and style your day around who you are – not what you see in the wedding media.

It’s all about being YOU. And for most of us, hiring a stately home for a weekend probably isn’t you. (Let alone booking a function / conference room in a hotel for a day.) Right from the start, try not to be swayed by perceptions of what a wedding ‘should’ be. Being yourselves might mean booking out your favourite pub for the afternoon, or having a party at home…

Starting points to help you frame some key wedding decisions around your personalities:

Credit: Jaye Peg Photography, Cumbria

• Think about your venue: where do you like to spend your time? Pubs? Camping? Airbnbs? Abroad? Countryside? With the use of an independent celebrant, could you have your wedding there?
• Photographer: how important are photos to you both? How knowledgeable are you about photography? What style of photos do you love? Perhaps photography isn’t that important to you – and that’s fine. Our recommendation would be to hire a pro if you can afford one, but do shop around, and within your budget always choose based on quality and personality – not price!
• Catering: forget standard wedding food! If formal dining and a sit down meal isn’t your thing, how about a vegan pizza van, picnic baskets, banquet or family style dining?
• Styling: There are so many options from DIY, hire, having all of your family helping, or just using your venue’s own style. Making your wedding ‘you’ could mean splashing out on flowers, or spending on your outfits and keeping decor minimal. Or it could mean a picnic on hay bales at a local farm. Think about your home, and your friends’ homes. Could you grow lavender in little pots for a year and use that for table styling? Plants are super sustainable for wedding decor if they live on after the big day!
• Your outfits: Balance dressing up and wow factor with feeling comfortable. (We’re not just talking about dresses!) A white dress and hire suit are NOT your only options! (Until the 1980s, people just wore their best outfit to get married in. They didn’t buy new, let alone spend £££ on a dress to wear once!) So think about your culture? Charity? Borrow outfits or just be creative. Most of all be You
• Guests: the size of your wedding has a big financial impact. Micro is cool now. Be comfortable rather than showy – smaller weddings generally have more personality!

We’re huge fans of sustainable wedding website Green Union, and we wanted to share some words of wisdom we found on there:

Go through your wedding planning list to see where you could make savings. Eco-friendly favours are a great idea, as is using sustainable decor, including many items you might have around your home like books. Making some changes will help you limit waste, and can help you get better value for your money too.

By making some eco-friendly changes to your wedding, you can enjoy savings that can be put towards other elements, or even your honeymoon. Even making small changes can make a big difference, allowing you to have your dream wedding knowing you’ve done your bit to help the planet too.

More on Saving money while making your wedding eco friendly

Your wedding will be your best day ever.

Remember “Happily ever after” includes the day after your wedding, and the last thing you should be feeling is bogged down in debt as you start married life

A note on those ‘average wedding budget’ figures. I was Googling for something entirely different and came across three separate ‘average’ figures, all quoted by The Guardian, ranging from £7,500 in 2015 to £21k in 2010 and £15k in 2009. It’s not the dates that affect the statistics: it’s the source of the information. 

I’ve added these stats to the bottom of this article, because I really, really didn’t want to include numbers at all. Please, take these figures as proof that no one knows what the average wedding budget is. All the research is done by insurance companies and banks, wedding blogs and magazines… they’re all asking VERY different groups of people and that’s how the figures are always so wildly different. ~ Claire

The post Sustainable wedding budgeting: Balancing affordability & personality appeared first on English Wedding.

1. The Dress

Whatever you chose to wear on your big day, wedding attire is a great place to start making more considered choices. With clothes worth £12.5 billion being chucked into landfill in UK each year, buying less is a great way to start helping the environment. A wedding dress costs up to £3000, so it’s also a great place to save money too!

Most wedding dresses are worn for just one day, so look for a suitable vintage option. Anything you find can be repaired and altered by a good dressmaker, to make something really unique. Family and friends may be willing to donate a pre-loved wedding dress or suit too.

Consider separates which can be worn again – bridal separates and jumpsuits are a huge trend and much more easily reworn than the standard bridal shop white dress!

Bridal separates by Otaduy; photography by F2 Studio – tap to see more

Hiring wedding dresses is growing in popularity in 2022, as couples look for ways to save money and wear something really special. You can hire dresses for as little as £15 per day and some shops rent amazing designer dresses for a fraction of the sales price. Who doesn’t love to save money and help the environment?

If neither of you will be wearing a dress, there are so many more options out there. We love tailored suits with floral or colourful accessories. Or why not opt for a more casual, boho-chic look?

2. The Ring

Forget a diamond engagement ring if you want to ensure you’re making an ethical choice. Some diamonds are mined in warzones and the proceeds are used to fund more fighting and other atrocities. You can’t tell which are ethically sourced by looking at them, so to be 100% sure you’re making an ethical decision, buy a moissanite engagement ring.

Moissanites are incredible gems first discovered in meteorites that fell to earth! They are so similar to diamonds, you’d have to be a professional to know the difference! They’re almost as hard as traditional mined diamonds, will never lose their brilliance and sparkle and can last a lifetime too. Even better, they’re produced in a lab and have no negative environmental impact and are 90% cheaper than mined diamonds! So, you can afford to go-large! There’s a wide range of stunning moissanite ring styles at www.infinitydiamondjewellery.com.

Infinity Diamond Jewellery supports ‘One Tree Planted’  and donates a tree for every purchase made and we love the trees!

3. Wedding Gifts

Traditionally, the wedding gift list was so couples could ask for the essential things they needed to set up their first home together, but with many couples living together before tying the knot, it’s not necessarily needed today.

There may well be things you still need, but if you’re not in desperate need of more ‘things’, why not ask your guests for charitable donations to a cause that’s close to your hearts? It will make your special day even better, knowing your guests are contributing towards a worthy cause that means something to you.

Photography credit: OXI Photography – floral design by Clementine Moon – tap to see the feature

4.The Flowers

While fresh flowers are undoubtedly beautiful, they aren’t the most eco-friendly option. Make things a bit more sustainable by decorating your venue with displays of dried flowers and grasses, which not only look stunning and are very on-trend and will last for years to come.

Top tip: If you’re buying dried flowers, do check they’re UK grown and not dyed – organic is even better!

Instead of the usual table flowers, arrange tiny potted herbs, lavender, succulents or seasonal flowers on the tables. If you encourage guests to take them home, the decor also double-up as wedding favours! You can place plants on the tables, and stick your name tags in the pots for unique place settings. If you do have your heart set on fresh flowers, always go for flowers that are in season and grown in the UK to lessen the negative environmental impact.

5. The Confetti

As the newlyweds take their first steps into the world as a married couple, the throwing of the confetti is such a fun part of the day – but there’s no need to scatter scraps of dyed paper all over the place.

Credit: Sarah Hoyle Photography

Opt for natural options, such as dried lavender, rose petals, fresh herbs and fresh or dried flowers. I’ve seen couples use dried leaves, fresh rosemary, gypsophila flowers and even bird seed! If you have time to plan, dry your own petals and you’ll save ££ too! It’s good to note, if you buy dried petal confetti, do check that the petals haven’t been dyed as the dyes can be bad for the environment too. You can even go old-school and use rice – get creative! Just make sure everything you use is biodegradable and your venue allows the throwing of confetti.

Find out more information about how to be more sustainable every day at www.wrap.org.uk

The post 5 ridiculously simple ways to make your wedding more sustainable appeared first on English Wedding.

As redundant as polyester chair covers and barbie tiaras, single-use wedding items are starting to sit uncomfortably with couples and suppliers these days. We’re all looking for planet-friendly alternatives, and there are plenty if you just know where to look!

Image credits: Clare Randell. Stationery by Chloe Ainsley Creative – Styled shoot and full credits here

Did you see our 60 simple tips for a more sustainable wedding? Tap here to discover them all!

Wedding suppliers in every sector are looking to be more environmentally aware in how they work. Visit the right wedding shows and seek out sustainable wedding planners, and you’ll soon discover a network of amazing folks ready to create an incredible – and ethical – wedding for you.

We’d love for the majority of wedding suppliers to take huge steps in minimising their impact on the environment. We need the tables to flip; so most wedding brands are sustainable by default! It hasn’t happened yet… but in the next decade it will, and it can’t come fast enough for us!

Why the shift to sustainable wedding suppliers?

We picked the rather glorious brain of lovely Gwenda at Green Union for her thoughts.

“Changes in everyday life are a key thing. The majority of couples I know who have embraced sustainability on their wedding day have done so because they are already doing so in their everyday lives to some degree.”

And of course, with every supplier you choose you’ll want to ‘click’, to have things in common – from your photographer to your florist and cake maker. If you’re all about living minimally, and their showroom is full of plastic and bling, it ain’t gonna work out! If you meet a wedding supplier over a coffee and their lifestyle mirrors yours, you’re onto a winner.

Suppliers know weddings need to catch up!

“Wedding professionals are all too aware that we operate in in the realms of luxury and excess, and collate a multitude of industries which are amongst the most polluting and wasteful in the world into just one day”

That’s why we’re aiming for change. Leading lights we’ve featured on English Wedding include several of our members: Sarah Hoyle Photography, and vegan wedding planner Sian at Amethyst Weddings for example. We’ve showcased ethical bridal designer Sanyukta Shrestha over the last three years because we LOVE what she stands for. And our members are independent wedding brands, those small businesses whose creativity is huge and whose carbon footprint is tiny when compared with the big names of the wedding industry.

We’re focused on YOU – and you’ll change the world!

Gwenda says, “Representing 30% of the world’s population, Millennials are the target audience of most wedding businesses today and they just happen to be the most concerned generation when it comes to environmental sustainability. Millennials are the first generation to have grown up in a world where climate change became a reality…”

Having the internet at our fingertips makes it even easier to find ethical wedding suppliers, via  websites like the Sustainable Wedding Alliance and the Natural Wedding Company blog.

Our top tip for finding ethical suppliers to create your dream wedding is to keep looking until you find just ONE amazing supplier. They could be your photographer, your venue, a wedding planner or vegan cake designer. And then ask them who they know.

The wedding industry in the UK is a wonderful little web of connected businesses. Somewhere between instagram and the whole pandemic thing, folks came together and in every town, city and county there are little networks of likeminded wedding suppliers.

Trust us: the most sustainable wedding businesses in your area know each other. They’ve worked together, they’ve had coffees and chatted about weddings and sustainability, and they’re doing everything they can to find clients just like you, who share their values.

The 2020s made us all stop and think

“It cannot be denied that so much of the wedding industry has long been associated with extravagance and excess – which equates to huge amounts of waste and a whopping carbon footprint.

“One silver-lining of the pandemic has been the rise, albeit by necessity, of the intimate wedding… the fact is that is most cases, the fewer the guests, the lower the carbon footprint of travel, the less waste etc etc. The job losses and uncertainty about the future have further curbed excess. Combine this with couples becoming more environmentally aware, sustainability, by a combination of accident and design, looks to become a key feature of weddings.”

The pandemic certainly didn’t pass wedding suppliers by unscathed: it had a massive, devastating impact on thousands of wedding businesses. Everything stopped, and we saw a shift in the makeup of weddings. This triggered all kinds of changes for suppliers, not least a new focus on sustainability.

How to begin a sea change in your wedding business

Gwenda writes about wedding businesses, “There are 2 key areas in which you can become more sustainable – the first is in your lifestyle and at home, the second is of course in your professional life – and both intertwine, especially for those of us who work from home.

“But when you do so, just be honest – no one needs any more unethical ‘green washing’. Absolutely states what you are doing, but also what you’re working towards if you’re not there yet, or what you’re unable to do and why. It’s absolutely ok not to be perfect and not to have all the bases covered – progress is better than standing still.”

Let’s start today.

“Honestly, until every supplier is making more conscious choices in regards to their products and services, there will always be room for more! But it’s important to celebrate all the little moves in the right direction; Anne-Marie Bonneau’s famous quote about how “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” rings just as true to me if you replace ‘zero waste’ with ‘sustainable weddings’. In that eternal balance between budgets and ethics we must all find our place, vendors and clients alike.”

Gwenda has been part of the wedding industry since 2012. “I started off as a floral designer – and I’ll admit to not always having been the most eco-conscious one (no room to grow myself and limited local resources made for a heavy reliance on imports, however seasonally I chose). As the years went by, it bothered me more and more – the result was that in 2019 I switched to dried flowers which could be sourced predominantly from the UK, or better still, gathered fresh and dried myself from close to home. In a fortunate stroke of serendipity, at this same moment I was offered the opportunity to take over the GREEN UNION wedding directory and blog, which (thanks to both coronavirus and arthritic fingers) is now my full-time wedding industry baby!

The post How to find – and how to be – a sustainable wedding supplier appeared first on English Wedding.

All images in this feature are by the terrifically talented Luke Flint Photography. Discover more from Luke at https://www.lukeflintphotography.co.uk

We know there are lots of you out there who would love to reduce the carbon footprint of your wedding. We believe the wedding media should play a much stronger part in normalising sustainable weddings. Right now, it still feels a little as though they’re a niche choice – but that’s wrong.

Let’s TALK about sustainable weddings more.

We have one big fact to share with you today.

The bigger your wedding, the worse your carbon footprint is likely to be.

It’s a bad fact. It makes us sad.

But it means the secret to a more sustainable wedding is dead simple: reduce your numbers.

Here’s a nice fact, for balance:

Smaller weddings tend to have a lower carbon footprint.

Isn’t that lovely?

If you’ve already considered the environmental impact of your wedding, you’ll be familiar with Green Union. In their words, “a happy accident of COVID-19 is that intimate weddings are by their very nature more sustainable: the fewer the guests, the lower the carbon footprint of travel, the less waste… the list goes on.”

We’ve talked so many times about the beauty and warmth of micro weddings. The trend towards smaller and more intimate celebrations was beginning to emerge before the pandemic, but 2020-21 really saw a huge shift in the size of the average wedding.

It wasn’t by choice, of course – but for many couples it was a revelation to be able to have a cosy and heartfelt small wedding, with a big party later.

And whether knowingly or not, couples who celebrated with their very closest people had a minimal impact on the environment compared with the average ‘big wedding’ of 2019.

We hope micro weddings are here to stay, we really do.

We appreciate that not every wedding guest list can be culled – we really do! Different cultures and different family traditions will often dictate the size of your wedding. Often it’s out of your control who will come: if your parents are footing the bill for example, or in cultures where the wedding is as much about the family coming together as it is about the couple.

And that’s fine. All we’d ask is that you look at reducing single use items, consider transport and reducing or offsetting your carbon footprint as much as you possibly can.

But if your situation is a little more flexible and you’re in the position of being able to really have “your day, your way” – then you have the option to minimise your guest list and have a sustainable wedding.

Here’s how to keep your guest list planet-friendly!

• Start with parents, close grandparents, and siblings
• Invite your very closest friends – the ones you see every week
• Everyone else is optional
• DON’T feel you need to invite people you don’t see often
• You don’t have to invite everyone whose weddings you’ve been to
• There’s no rule that you have to invite colleagues

Remember, lots of couples choose to have micro weddings now, and people will understand if they’re not invited when you say yours is only a small wedding!

The ultimate in planet-friendly weddings: why not elope?

The sweet spot for a micro wedding is 20 – 30 people. An elopement might be just the two of you, or a couple of witnesses. You can always have a party later, and if this party is more relaxed with none of the traditional… well, traditions!… of a wedding*, there’ll be less waste, fewer single-use items, less chance that people will buy a special outfit they’ll only wear once… and another little win for the planet.

*Think: floral arrangements, table settings, seating plans and signage, favours, food waste, vehicle hire, decorations…

If this intrigues you, read more about planet-friendly elopements

With thanks to lovely Gwenda from Green Union for the inspiration – more coming soon!

The post The elephant in the room: big weddings, one planet appeared first on English Wedding.

Golden hour wedding photography by Becky Harley

If you’re suffering from stress as a result of wedding planning, it’s time to take a step back and look for help.

Wedding planning can be hard.

It’s the first test of your marriage, before you’re even married!

Planning a wedding can cause family arguments and plenty of tears.

It can also be a joyful adventure – and it’s all about balance and how you approach your wedding planning journey.

Our approach is to be conscious of the potential impact of planning a wedding, and to focus on your mental health from the very beginning.

credit Francesco Mantino Photography

We talk about mental health as part of our sustainable wedding series for one reason: weddings shouldn’t break our planet or people.

We don’t hear enough in the wedding media about looking after your mental health. That’s such a shame – we think it’s really important.

• • You’re a team – be strong together
  • Be there to support each other
  • Don’t overburden yourselves
  • Balance responsibilities
  • Think carefully about what you both want
  • Avoid people-pleasing
  • Focus on having a personality-filled, joyful celebration

I asked top UK wedding planner Mark Niemierko about wedding planning and managing stress. As wedding planner to the stars, the Niemierko brand is known for huge and extravagant celebrations – and Mark had some wonderful tips to share with us.

So much wedding planning stress comes from peer pressure. This has always been an overall factor, but when you add in the pressures of social media – the likes of instagram, Pinterest and even WhatsApp, peer pressure is huge.

Mark talked about weddings being one of just 3 major life events: the others being the (very private) birth of a child, and funerals. There’s something about weddings which everyone finds so exciting. They’re the one celebration in your lives where everyone will be together: your closest family and friends, as well as work colleagues – most likely you’ll have people from all kinds of different backgrounds together in one space.

I like to remind a couple, as cheesy as it sounds: “You’re in love. You’re committing to one another. Let’s bloody celebrate it! But celebrate it in YOUR way.”

 
Focusing on having a celebration full of personality is key to managing wedding stress. It’s far easier to plan a day which feels natural and enjoyable to you both, than it is to style a celebration inspired by Pinterest.

And we’re not talking colour palettes here: we mean finding a venue you’ll feel at home in, embracing only the traditions YOU really care about. Perhaps most importantly of all, reducing your guest numbers and having a more intimate celebration will help reduce wedding planning stress on so many levels.

• Stop trying to do everything at once.
• Put things into categories and tick them off one at a time.
• “You’ve got to be practical before you can be pretty” – ie, understand all of the logistics around the venue before any decorative ‘extras’

DON’T SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH YOUR WEDDING, WITH YOUR FRIENDS

 
Everyone has an opinion. Unless you specifically need someone’s advice or opinion about something, don’t ask for it!

Mark told us it’s amazing for guests to experience your wedding for the very first time on the day, and be surprised and delighted by what they see! – so keep them guessing!

(And in the run up to your big day, who cares about their opinion anyway?!)

How to politely tell family and friends you don’t need their opinion on your wedding plans

It’s not always easy to keep secrets about your wedding, or to avoid a conversation with someone who wants to know all about your plans (and then share their own ideas and opinions about your wedding!) – so how do you politely but firmly avoid their questions?!

I asked lovely Mark, and these were his tips!

Answer with, “Darling, all I need you to do is look fabulous, turn up and enjoy the day!”

Say, “I don’t want to turn into that person who sits with their friends and talks about their wedding.” – and then ask them a question about their life.

 
You might want a best friend’s opinion on your dress… but don’t take four friends with you when you’re choosing your dress! (You could always take friends to one of your fittings.)

If you have an overbearing parent who wants to be involved, the best thing is to involve them in something specific – for example, you might have narrowed your menu choices down to two options and you don’t really care which is the final choice – get your parent to make the final decision. That way they feel important.

If parents are paying for some or all of your wedding, they do need to have more involvement. It’s just about managing it.

And if you overshare, be prepared to get opinions!

Although the Niemierko brand is known for the most incredible luxury weddings in the UK and beyond, Mark’s background is modest, and he’s a wonderfully down to earth and charming person. When it comes to unique weddings, Mark’s secret is to fill your day with your personalities:

“There’s something unbearably chic about just being yourself!”

Niemierko weddings are famously unique and different. And while they’re extravagant and fabulously decorated, the secret to having an amazing wedding is one that works for any budget: it’s that whole ethos of just stripping it back to create something really personal.

“People getting into debt for their wedding and the need to do that is a really terrible thing. I think it should all be relative.”

 
Think of your wedding as an opportunity to create NEW traditions. If you don’t fancy a cake or flowers, then don’t have them! If your passion is vegan food, have the most incredible plant based feast you can dream of! None of the ‘standard’ wedding traditions (outfits, transport, classic venues) are must-haves.

Beach boho Styled shoot captured by Sarah Hoyle Photography

Don’t feel pressured to style your wedding a certain way

 
Wedding stress can come from feeling the need to tick the box or the latest trend on the internet – for example, the whole ‘learning to have a dance’ thing was a big trend a while ago, and it can leave the groom (if he’s not a good dancer) feeling absolutely nervous and not enjoying it. (Mark says, “He should be dancing really badly and being himself! The only time you should do something like that is if you’re a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, in which case the entire wedding should be themed around dancing!”

 
Look for inspiration but do things your way.

For example – One of Mark’s couples wanted karaoke in the dancing. They knew it was naff but they didn’t care, and the groom was a singer. It worked out brilliantly!

The first time Mark heard of a photo booth was before they were a thing: “it was really different, and look how that took off!”

 
I agree 100% with Mark at Niemierko that fun is such a big thing – the amazing excitement of being engaged can be followed by all the stress of planning and the feeling changes – but you’ve got to have fun.

Planning fun things can be amazing (for example, Niemierko had a Prince impersonator at a wedding – it’s something that’s really quite weird, but it’s fun! The groom was obsessed with Prince. He knew every single song, even the B-sides. Everyone in the room knows he was obsessed with Prince) – we hear Mark and his team are planning another wedding with an amazing lookalike to appear late in the evening after the main band.)

“It could have been a bit tacky, but it wasn’t – well, it was, but in a good way!”

7 secrets to reducing wedding planning stress

1. Have a plan
2. Work out what to do when (and allow yourself lots of time)
3. Allocate responsibilities: who does what? (Remember you’re a team: don’t split everything down the middle! Divide and conquer doesn’t work in weddings!)
4. While you’re planning your wedding include breaks, treats and rewards for yourselves
5. Remember real life
6. Make sure you schedule in plenty of wedding planning-free days
7. Look to the future: plan treats and adventures for after your wedding. Life doesn’t stop once you’re married!

1. Have a plan

Mark shared some fantastic advice to focus on the core components of your wedding first of all. The best way to think of of planning a wedding is like building a house from scratch:

Think of the venue as laying the foundations and think of the florist as the cushions and curtains.
Would you go cushion and curtain shopping before you’ve even laid out your house?

Those 5 core components to decide first are:

• • Your guest list
  • Your dates (but don’t fixate on a single date until you have…)
  • … your location
  • Your budget – and be honest, what can you afford without getting into any debt?
  • Your ceremony type (religious, civil, celebrant-led etc)

2. Work out what to do when

Perhaps you’d like to get married two years’ from now, or maybe you’d like to be wed before Christmas. Either way, you will need to figure out when stuff needs to be done.

Have a plan – however you two work best as a team (it might be Excel or a kitchen wall planner – something that works for you both). Work out what’s important and when you need to tick it off as ‘done’

(Wedding checklists online aren’t necessarily helpful here – keep things simple at first and don’t listen to anyone who says you NEED to send out invites three months in advance or Save the Dates a year before the big day. There are no rules!)

However, if you’re hiring a venue, buying a traditional wedding dress or booking a photographer, don’t let time slip through your fingers, as they can book up a couple of years in advance. Flexibility is your friend: do you really need all of these?

3. Who does what?

Most of your wedding planning items should be done together (e.g. photographer meetings, venue visits, guest list decisions) – but there will always be little bits you can allocate between you (budget overseer / spreadsheet queen) or to family and friends (chief gardener / maker of signage).

If anything, writing down responsibilities is a reminder that you’re in this together, working as a team!

4. Breaks, treats and rewards

If every weekend has a wedding planning task, it will drain you. Letting your wedding take over your life is a warning sign that your mental health could suffer.

So reward yourselves and make it tons of fun. Have a weekend away after you send out your invitations. Get together with friends for a barbecue when the sun shines. Treat your mum or dad to a lovely day out… and don’t talk about the wedding!

5. Real life

At first you might think you have eighteen months to plan your wedding – and it’s easy to assume that the whole of that time can be used for wedding stuff. But reality check: life carries on.

Allow yourselves to relax and unwind. Expect that you’ll still need time for all the usual stuff: a family member might need your support if something unexpected happens. A friend might need help moving house or you might be faced with a sudden career change. Real life won’t stop for your wedding, and anything at all can happen.

There will be times when your wedding isn’t the most important thing in your life, and that’s absolutely fine. Remember – be kind to yourselves.

If for any reason you need to postpone your wedding, we’ve a useful article from the mental health team at Bupa on how to deal with wedding postponements. This was written when Covid was impacting lots of couples, but it’s equally relevant for postponements due to family illness or other situations.

6. Planning-free-days

Take a break. Allocate days in your shared calendar where you’re not doing ANY wedding-related stuff. Taking the pressure off for a while will help keep you sane through the busy times!

And schedule these planning-free-days in. Because as your wedding planning gains momentum, it’s harder and harder to ‘find’ time for other stuff. If that time’s already set aside, it’s easier to tell people you’ve got other things you need to do on a particular day or weekend.

7. After the wedding

Don’t forget there’ll be a day when you’re all married and don’t have any wedding planning to do. Keep making plans for then – book in time to visit friends and family, for your hobbies, for whatever adventures you love doing in ‘normal life’!

The build up to a wedding can be intense.

The comedown after a wedding can be really hard if you suddenly find your diaries are empty after months of being busy doing exciting things. So make sure you plan good things for this time!

Most importantly, above anything on this list, is to ask for help if you’re struggling. 

Mental health issues can’t be fixed by a few tips on the internet. 

If wedding planning stress is having an impact on your life, reach out. Look for professional support and therapy. It really is ok not to be ok – and the support is there for you. 

Further reading:

Our friends at Bupa shared their top 5 tips for stress free wedding planning

The post Sustainability: weddings and your mental health appeared first on English Wedding.

If you are planning your wedding this year, you might be well aware that it can actually have a huge impact on the environment. There are lots of things only used once for the day and at high cost. You may be feeling the pressure to fly guests in from abroad and also to fulfil a more traditional idea of a dress or suit, or flowers.

All images are by eco conscious Hampshire wedding photographer Sarah Hoyle Photography

Remember it is YOUR day done YOUR way, and if caring for the environment is something you do as part of your lifestyle, all your values shouldn’t go out the window, just because it’s your wedding day. Also if you are the kind of couple who wants to help make positive change in the world this should be reflected in your wedding as part of who you are. Celebrate your selves and honour all that is important to you.

So, where on Earth (excuse the pun) do you start?! There’s a lot to think about and juggle anyway with planning a sustainable wedding and trying to make eco choices along the way just adds to the confusion and overwhelm. This is why I’ve put 5 easy tips down as a starter for ten. Small swaps can make BIG differences so shop smart and I’m sure you will have the day of your dreams without compromising your vision and creating a large carbon footprint.

1. Firstly ethical wedding food!

Try to avoid using too much meat and dairy in your wedding menu. The way we farm and produce meat and dairy at the moment contributes to 14.5% of global greenhouse gasses. Vegan food is much more accepted now and plus it’s super tasty! And whatever your food choice, choose caterers who source local produce.

When you book your caterer check their eco policy. Do they recycle, separate and compost the waste food or do they throw it into the same bin afterwards? Also who oversees if  this will actually happen? Sometimes caterers have great intentions, only to then hire in agency staff who know nothing of the environmental policy and unknowingly throw everything into black bin bags. A catering manager should keep ALL staff up to speed with what happens to the food afterwards.

Styling: Amethyst Weddings | Photography: Sarah Hoyle Photography | Stationery: Ellie and Liv

2. Your guest list

Consider a smaller guest list. After Covid most people have started liking the idea of small intimate weddings anyway. The more people means more waste at your wedding. So who could you get away with leaving off the list? Aunt Beryl? Also consider how far your guests have to travel to be with you. If any are driving miles, could they take the train or car share? Or if some would need to fly over, would you consider not inviting them? Maybe having a live feed to the ceremony instead? This is an emotional one, rife with family politics and pressure. But remember it’s your day!! But a tough one so just do what you can to reduce your wedding’s carbon footprint here.

3. Sustainable flowers

Styling: Amethyst Weddings | Photography: Sarah Hoyle Photography | Florist: Blooming Cow

Flowers are one of the most beautiful things about weddings. But do your research beforehand. Find a florist who works sustainably. This means seasonal, locally grown flowers. Not imported from abroad. Using natural ways to create displays and not floral foam, which is very damaging to the environment. It is made from synthetic, non-recyclable plastic and uses toxic foam.

Dried flowers that haven’t been bleached are also super on trend right now and are more sustainable as they last. I know it’s all very tempting to try and recreate that Pinterest inspired bouquet but if it’s using out of season flowers, the florists would have to import them in and they may well have been grown using pesticides and chemicals. Ask your florist first what is available at the time of your wedding and plan your flowers around what can be sourced ethically.

4. Ethical wedding favours

Try not to give favours just for the sake of it, it’s a tradition that seems to have lost its meaning of late. Most people don’t even use or take home the favour unless it’s edible! So consider whether or not you want to give them. But if thought about more, you could give something that can be reused or has an actual purpose. For example, a seed packet, small plant, homemade jam, homemade lemonade for example. All have small carbon footprints and are super cute sustainable wedding favours!

5. Your wedding outfits

Now of course your dress can be VERY important! However it’s a dress worn for one day, not the most eco friendly item on the list! So to reduce the waste and carbon footprint, source a locally made dress, use a sustainable bridal shop, use recycled fabrics, buy vintage or second hand or you could even rent. All great options and actually probably less of a strain on the old bank balance too!

The same applies to wedding suits – often hired, but there are other options including a local tailor, or buying second hand. Wearing a suit you already own is absolutely fine as well: why not accessorise with a beautifully patterned waistcoat, a bowtie or cute pocket square and tie from a local Etsy seller?

Hopefully you are feeling like you have more of an idea how you can help the planet and still plan the sustainable wedding of your dreams.

Here are some little extra thoughts too, I’ve seen these kinds of items panic bought at the last minute, so as long as you are planning ahead you can avoid buying mass produced tat from China!

• No single use plastic toys for kids
• no single use flip flops
• no pots of bubbles
• Ensure bar suppliers don’t use single use plastic cups
• Thoughtful thank you gifts for Mums and bridesmaids rather than bouquets that won’t last.
• Also you could consider offsetting carbon with planting trees or ask guests to contribute to tree planting initiatives as part of their wedding gift.
• You could use the National Trust to plant trees or sign up to Ecologi to plant trees and fund carbon offsetting initiatives.

Have fun, do your research and don’t be shy to ask for your wedding suppliers’ Eco Policy!

Sarah x

Styling: Amethyst Weddings | Photography: Sarah Hoyle Photography | Florist: Blooming Cow

Real wedding at Cain Manor, captured by Sarah Hoyle Photography

The post 5 Easy tips to make your wedding more eco-friendly in 2022 appeared first on English Wedding.