Eco-friendly/sustainable venues :)

Found a couple articles here listing places:

https://www.brides.com/story/most-sustainable-destination-wedding-venues

^ # 2 sounds great

https://www.theknot.com/content/eco-friendly-wedding-venues-sustainable-wedding-venues-earth-day

^ this is more USA based

Hi Taylor! Here are a few US wedding venues I've found that sound very sustainability-focused:

Juneberry Ridge in NC

Cedarwood Weddings in Nashville

Barndiva in Healdsburg, CA

Malibu Nature Preserve

Shambhala Ranch in Mendocino

Bardessono in Yountville

Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford

Westin Verasa Napa

Long Meadow Ranch in St. Helena

Brix in Yountville

Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach

There's also a company called Eco Caters that does catering in LA, San Diego, and Washington DC that you should check out!

Is $10k your total wedding budget or the portion of your budget allocated towards your venue? Also how many people?

We decided if we were going to spend a lot of money to host a big event, we were going to keep the money in our community and invest in vendors that shared similar values to us, so selected local small businesses that were supportive of diversity and inclusion and championed environmental sustainability. Our venue was a family owned farm that had a sustainably designed wedding barn (not rustic, very modern), raised ethical livestock, and catered using local, often organic, farm-to-table food as our venue. Our florist was a local flower farm that grew flowers using organic and low-till methods only. Our bartending service used compostable cups (instead of plastic ones) for drinks, and we used cloth napkins and real china and silverware for meals.

If you are looking for sustainable vendors I would consider the following:

> Nature and environmental education centers, arboretums, and botanical gardens

> Small scale family farms, particularly those who specialize in organic produce or ethically raised livestock

> A menu that highlights in-season, local ingredients from pesticide-free, low impact farms

> In-season, locally grown flowers or a sustainable "forever" option like sola wood or paper flowers

> Avoid single use items, from plastic dinnerware to gimmicky wedding favors to customized wedding signs that will never serve any purpose after your big day (I see so many people on here ask if certain less expensive things, like dollar store fake flowers instead of real flowers or plastic plates instead of renting china, are "tacky" but never once consider how awfully wasteful those single use items are)

There are a lot of sustainability choices you have control of as a client. My engagement ring and wedding band were from a jeweler that uses recycled metals and conflict free gemstones. We had friends who used entirely compostable ware for their wedding (plates and utensils made of buckwheat hulls, the usual cornstarch cups and recycled paper napkins). I got my dress pre-owned, which saved me a fortune and was a much more sustainable option than ordering something new. We purposefully chose a local venue (20 minutes from our home) to limit the amount of travel for guests, and therefore the overall carbon footprint of our event. I'm so glad to hear that environmentally sustainability is a priority for other couples - it should be a priority for everyone!

Our venue was Mayfair Farm in Harrisville, New Hampshire and we loved them. If your overall budget is $10k then Mayfair would be over budget, but if that is the money you have set aside for just the venue then you should definitely check them out if you are considering a New England wedding and a more pastoral/farm setting would work for you. If you end up there, I would absolutely recommend Vera Flora Farms for your florals.

In general, I think you'll have better luck finding eco-friendly vendors in communities known for sustainability (like Burlington, Vermont) as opposed to places where environmental prioritization is not as embedded in the culture (like Las Vegas, Nevada). Also if woody forest vibes are your thing, stick to searching in areas that have ample natural forests, like the Pacific Northwest, New England, or the Appalachian Mountain region.