“I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    -Mother Teresa

Indian weddings have always been a sweet sight to behold. Every girl dreams her entire life about her big fat destination wedding and even some girls may get married just to live through that dream (this may or may not be true). This is the grandness of an Indian wedding that just binds everyone together. It has the power of reuniting families and making sweet memories.

But have you ever considered the waste that these big weddings generate? Well, let me enlighten you.

Fun Fact: An Indian wedding hosting around 400-1000 people generate around 3 tonnes of waste on average and in some cases, even more.

Have you ever considered the effect of these big fat weddings on our Mother Earth? Well, you must have but you might not have been able to do something. We know you want to play your part in preserving our Mother Earth and we’re gonna help you with that!
So, here we present you with 7 easy ways to make your wedding eco-friendly so that your conscience never gets a load.

1.Lit Your Venue Naturally

Instead of going for an artificially lit nighttime wedding, go for a naturally lit daytime wedding. If you still require some lightning, go with eco-friendly candles. Candles make everything so beautiful, elegant, and romantic. An outdoor wedding will help you not only to cut down your electricity usage but also heal Mother Earth by reducing the number of pollutants released that day. Maybe you can get some sun-kissed photos too. Now that’s a cherry on top, you deserve!

2. Be Smart About your Floral Decor

Now, you might think that flowers are organic, right? So how is this gonna affect our lovely Mother Earth? You must have seen that we use tons of flowers at our Indian weddings. What happens to them? Although many startups have taken up the initiative to reuse them here and there, most of them still go to waste. Many flower types can have a negative environmental impact and hence, using local flowers, that too in lesser quantity, can really help you to make a change. Don’t worry. Your wedding will still look bloomy.

3. Swap the Confetti

The confetti, in most cases, uses fake flower petals or colorful paper that ends up on the floor. This is mostly non-biodegradable and can be even ingested by wild creatures, ending their lives. To avoid going to hell for this sin, use biodegradable confetti made up of dried leaves or flower petals instead.

4. E-Invites is the New Normal

Every year tonnes of paper gets wasted in making wedding invites. They don’t really play any significance, at least for your guests and hence, end up in their waste boxes. Your special day in a waste box. Ouch.

Go paperless! Send beautiful and creative e-invites via WhatsApp or email. You can add gifs, video, or even your photoshoot pictures. Yes, make them go awww!

5. Shorten the Guest List

Indian weddings are famous for hosting countless guests. But remember that each additional guest contributes to additional waste. So, restrict your guests to your close ones only. There is no need to invite that friend back from kindergarten whom you can’t even recognize now.

Bonus: In addition to Mother Earth, you can save your pocket too by booking the best couple friendly and hourly hotels here!

6. Skip the Plastic

Plastic cutlery is one of the biggest contributors to the waste generated especially in Indian weddings. You listen to the news every day that how plastic is suffocating the sea creatures and creating a garbage island. So, it’s important that you minimize its use as much as possible. You should even avoid recyclable plastics because they lead to another problem as they consume tons of energy to recycle.

7. Donate the Leftovers

It is a well-known fact that Indian weddings waste heaps of good food. A study found that approximately 40% of the wedding food gets wasted and thrown away at the end. Just imagine how many poor children could have slept with a full stomach with this kind of food. So, it’s important for you to give catering orders according to your number of guests and donate the leftovers. There have been many initiatives taken by people such as the Robin Hood Army who will pick up the leftovers and distribute them to the needy. You will do a noble cause without any toll.

So, these were some creative ways that can help you to make your special day easy on our Mother Earth. We hope you’ll keep them in mind while undertaking your wedding preparations. Also, if you are just getting married, check out our cute couple-friendly hotels. You can have a look at some hourly hotels for your guests too here.