Zero Waste Decor

We had no decor besides flowers/greenery as centerpieces and candles that were rented. We rented chargers, plates, silverware, glasses, and cloth napkins that were all washed and returned to the rental company.

This is great, we weren't completely zero-waste but we were very adamant about only having decor that was to be used again, whether it be in our own home, or given to my in-laws since they would use them for events for their restaurant/food trucks.

Our venue was a restaurant so we didn't have to worry about disposable items, perhaps beyond napkins.

And we got a bunch of glass bottles/vases for florals as small centerpieces. We encouraged our guests to take them in addition to favors, which was a nice way for them to enjoy the flowers for an extended period of time.

We also encouraged all our guests to take home any remaining desserts for the road.

I like your mindset as there's so much waste in most things we do, including wedding planning/finally having the party, and nice to think of ways to either use biodegradable materials or things that can be reused and repurposed.

I don't, unfortunately, have any other suggestions beyond from leaf or eco friendly confetti. Not sure what your venue looks like nor what your theme is but if you have a place that's decor is already set, it makes it all the easier!

I'd do live plants in decorative pots, painted in wedding colors, scattered between garlands of leafy green ferns or something feathery, then scattered with flower petals in your desired colors. Add in pillar candles here and there made of beeswax. If you don't want the plants at the end offer them to guests. You could offer to resell the Garland and left over candles to another bride for 50% or even free as long as she comes to pick it up at the end of the night and the rest is totally biodegradable.

Our centerpieces are rented from the venue. My bouqet is a solowood bouqet. My sisters are having kissing balls. All fake flowers. My FG will have a ribbon wand. With food you can go zero waste. Someone may not eat all in there plate. I know you can compost it.

I would recommend rentals and if it fits you can do different glass jars or mason jars from the thrift stores... Get decor ideas from Pinterest

What is your venue like? Ours is a restaurant with an in house florist, so we just asked for them to use whatever centerpieces they already have on hand. I think rentals or potted plants are both excellent ideas as well. For signs we borrowed a cricut - the letters peel off and you can use the sign again. We're using wood signs, picture frames and an easel that we borrowed and will give back. You can also try consignment shops, it's still a bit wasteful but at least it's getting multiple uses and you can donate or sell the items back to them instead of throwing them out. Good luck, we've been trying to keep these ideas in mind too while planning.

I’m not too familiar with it but we tried to be eco-friendly. We did online invites through Greenvelope, didn’t print anything except 1 photo info card in their welcome bags, etc.

We also bought & kept all of our decor used in ceremony. The decor used in reception was from the decorator & they re-use everything.

Our only decor was flowers and candles for centerpieces and other arrangements. Our venue supplied linen napkins and tablecloths and the china/silverware/glasses that we used for dinner.

We did use paper invitations and menus though.

I would suggest doing minimal decor and picking a few pieces that you really love and can have in your home one day. You could also reuse items friends or family already own - vases for example - and put a few simple lavender stems inside. For large quantity items, I would go with rentals so that they can be reused again and again. If you are on a tighter budget, you could purchase from wedding resale sites and then sell again after your day. I have seen several invitation options that are "green" also! There are options for compostable as well as invites that can be planted afterwards.

How do you normally plan parties with friends with zero-waste in mind? I would imagine you might be able to scale those events up to a wedding size.

I missed some important information.

The reception is being held at my house, and we have no tables. I'm trying to find ideas for decor for the walls since I can't do vases or flowers. Originally, I thought of crepe paper streamers, but I don't think you can recycle crepe for the same reason you can't recycle paper towels: they're too thin and have already been recycled as much as possible.

I'm new to zero waste and plastic reduction and have never planned a party where I considered these things.

View Quoted Comment How about pictures of the two of you throughout the years, or family pictures? I've often seen side by side pictures of the couple at different ages at showers or weddings. You could borrow the pictures from your family members. Or frame some engagement pictures, or make a collage of pictures of the two of you at different relationship milestones if you think that's something you'd keep. Other than that... borrow art from friends and family? This is a tough one lol

I've tried to keep that mentality when planning my wedding as well. And I've found that a lot of that can be obtained by cutting unnecessary items or consolidating purchases. What can I buy second hand? What can I resell? What can I rent? What can be used again? What can biodegrade or recycle? How much stuff do I want to be stuck with?

Our venue is providing just about everything we need: tables, chairs, dishes, flatware, drinkware, linens, etc.

We eliminated many paper products such as escort cards, menus and programs. Everything else can be recycled.

We are minimizing décor as our venue is already gorgeous and will be decorated for the holidays. Some components of our décor were bought second hand and I plan on reselling most of it after the wedding. We're having small centerpieces, guest book, card box, and cake stand and topper. I also plan on using my guest book and card box at my shower as well. That's it.

While we're having fresh flowers, they will be minimal. We're sourcing locally and will only have bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages. The girls are welcome to take their bouquets home to use. My mother has offered to buy a couple of potted poinsettias for our altar; and again people are welcome to take those home as well.

Even though I haven't shopped for my dress yet, my area has a few bridal consignment stores in which I plan to visit first. I bought Converse Chucks that match the bridesmaid's dress. I haven't decided if I want to keep them or resell them after the wedding. I'm undecided.

As for leftovers, I will be discussing with my venue their policies. And once the cake is delivered, its ours to do what we like. Guests are welcomed to take extra portions home. My FH and I have discussed connecting with services that work with the homeless.