Waste Diversion Results from Our Sustainable Pandemic Wedding

It happened! It was beautiful! It was our sustainable pandemic wedding! My husband Mark and I declared our love and commitment a couple of weeks ago with an intimate group of 35 in a socially-distanced indoor/outdoor setting.

Ever since we began planning our wedding last summer, Mark and I knew we wanted it to be as sustainable as possible. Mark has worked on-site diverting waste with me at many events, and living a low-waste life is a value we share.

I detailed some of the safety and sustainability measures we took in a previous blog post. Now I’m excited to announce the results of our efforts!

Even for all the waste reduction we built into the planning process, I was floored to realize we only generated 22 pounds of waste on the day of the wedding, 17 of which we recycled or composted.

Here are the three factors that contributed most to generating such a small amount of wedding waste:

1) We prioritized preventing food waste.

Having handled food waste for so many events, I’ve seen first-hand how leftover food is often a major component of an event’s waste. So from the very beginning, I knew food waste was the biggest issue we would need to tackle for the wedding, and I chose to prioritize preventing food waste when creating the vision for our big day.

Obviously, our small guest count of 35 was a factor in having minimal food waste. However, our food waste plan was already set from before the pandemic when we were planning for more guests.

The two choices that had the biggest impact on preventing food waste were two of the decisions we made earliest: Choosing a venue with no strict catering vendor list, and choosing a catering option that would allow us to save the leftover food.

Many in-house caterers have a policy against removing food from the property after an event. However, if you choose an option like restaurant catering, what you’re typically purchasing is a defined quantity of food which is then yours to do with as you please. Some restaurants will even provide staff to stick around to help serve the food.

Think of the difference between a family picnic and a ballroom banquet. You wouldn’t expect to take food home from a ballroom, but you generally take home whatever didn’t get eaten at a picnic.

We effectively went with a formal iteration of a family picnic. So while we did have an estimated 50 pounds of leftover food, we packed up our leftovers and enjoyed a week of tacos and rice bowls, instead of having been required to compost that food at the end of the wedding.

For larger events, restaurant catering and saving leftovers may not be practical. However, for smaller, casual meetings and social events like weddings, reunions, and family gatherings, I encourage you to explore catering options where you will be in control of the full quantity of food you order.

2) We used rented dishes and glassware instead of disposable.

From my experience handling waste at events, I knew that the other biggest component of waste besides food itself is often the disposable dishware on which the food is served, as well as disposable cups. Mark and I were committed to eliminating disposables for the wedding.

We rented reusable dishes, glassware, utensils, and linens for all food and beverage service at the wedding, so instead of having trash bins overflowing with unrecyclable plasticware, we had trash bins that stayed virtually empty all night.

3) We chose minimal, reusable decorations.

First, we chose a venue that needed minimal decoration in the first place. The Barn in Zionsville features a rustic barn with chandeliers, string lights, and swags of living ivy, plus a ceremony pergola surrounded by lush trees. We didn’t need to add a lot!

Our centerpieces—crystal candelabras decorated with silk flowers—were both reusable and reused from a friend’s earlier wedding. In addition to the centerpieces, we purchased two coordinating swags of silk flowers and a length of white chiffon for the ceremony pergola. We plan to resell all of these items using online bridal resale groups. We made a few other small arrangements of silk flowers that we’ll continue to use in our home.

What our wedding planning process drove home for me was the importance of pre-planning to reduce waste, and how planning decisions have a huge impact on how much waste there is to handle on-site.

I’d love to chat with you about the meetings and social gatherings you’re planning, and how you can eliminate on-site waste with intentional event design. Drop me a line anytime!