For a bright future
Tips for a 'Green' Wedding
Saying Your "I-dos" with a Clear Conscience
The moment you choose to get married on our beautiful island, you are already well on your way to have a more sustainable wedding than you would have anywhere else in the world. Bornholm is not only the most sustainability-conscious part of Denmark, but according to a survey performed by the European Commission, the ‘Sunshine Island’ in the Baltic Sea is the most responsible island in all of Europe with regards to climate protection.
In 2021, Bornholm was awarded the first ever RESponsible Island Prize, beating a competition of 2.000. The award honours the islanders’ contributions to green innovation, climate protection and renewable energy. Yet when you are planning a wedding, there’s so much more to consider if you want to reduce your carbon footprint on this planet. As local Bornholmians, our wedding planners in Wedding on the Rocks are obviously committed to aid in the green transformation in Denmark, Europe and the rest of the world. All the services we provide to you are guaranteed sustainable and eco-friendly.
However, you might want to find some climate friendly, sustainable solutions all by yourself. Here are a few tips on what to consider when going ‘green’ on your wedding day.
Find 'Green' Venues for Yourself and Your Guests
The greenest option for your wedding and the subsequent party unsurprisingly would be choosing the great outdoors on Bornholm. Not only do you reduce the energy consumption to Zero by marrying in nature, but fresh air, sunshine and sea (or woods!) will also make a positive contribution to your and your guests’ physical and mental wellbeing.
Bornholm offers some of the most diverse wedding locations in Denmark and the rest of Europe. From sandy beaches and rocky cliffs to impressive landmarks and dense forests, you will never fall short of finding a spot that’s perfect for you.
In addition, our wedding planners will make sure that your wedding ceremony will be held in the outmost sustainable fashion with no effect on the local Danish flora and fauna – without limiting the enjoyment of the event.
Choose Eco-Friendly Wedding Clothes
Our clothes currently create an incredibly detrimental impact on the environment. Huge piles of ‘fast fashion’ articles on landfills increase the global carbon emissions by 10%. In addition, the clothes manufacturing industry is known for its (ab)use of natural resources and energy – not to mention the blatant slave/child labour issues.
To reduce the negative impact somewhat, you might want to choose your wedding dress, suit and shoes from sustainable sources. There are several ways you can do this.
You can obviously start by picking a dress made from sustainable materials. Even better would be if you go retro or second hand by buying or renting a pre-loved dress. There are many online resources available with thousands of wedding dresses in need of a new bride. Or how about buying garments or wedding shoes that you will continue wearing beyond your wedding day, thereby breaking the vicious cycle of disposable ‘fast fashion’?
Wear Ethical Jewellery and Wedding Bands
As with your wedding clothes, you might want to take sustainability into account when you choose your wedding rings and the jewellery you wear on the day. In a time when natural resources have become increasingly rare, mining precious metals and stones as well as the subsequent manufacture have a huge impact on the environment and international labour conditions.
With a conscious decision when choosing your wedding jewellery, you can make a contribution for a more more respectful treatment of Mother Earth. Again, you have various options for a sustainable statement with your jewellery on your wedding day.
The easiest solution might be to look exclusively at jewellery and wedding band manufacturers with a sustainable, ethical profile. Other choices can include recycling family heirlooms, buying second-hand jewellery or simply borrowing some of the required pieces from family and friends.
Consider 'Green' Accessoires and Decorations
On many wedding occasions, flowers and other natural decorations arrive with a worse carbon footprint than the entire wedding party taken together. Also simple traditions, such as throwing rice or confetti can have a far worse ecological impact than you might think. Not only are they difficult to remove, but in the case of rice you would move into the field of food waste. You can always consider throwing dried flowers and plant material instead.
On Bornholm, a vast array of flowers and plants are grown locally in local farms. This is possible due to our ‘exotic’ climate in the warmer waters of the Baltic sea. From the bridal bouquet and wreath to the boutonnieres and table decorations, the flowers our wedding planners provide to you on your wedding day will come from certified local bio farms. The arrival time at your location is usually under an hour – with a carbon footprint next to nothing. And if you want to be nice as well as sustainable, you might want to consider donating the flower afterwards for others to enjoy.
Plan a Delicious AND Healthy Bio-Banquet
Wedding banquets require good food. Lots of it. Yet food production and agriculture have a major impact on the state of our planet and climate change. Denmark, and especially Bornholm, have long since worked on improving healthy eating habits.
By marrying on Bornholm, you will not be able to avoid delicious, yet healthy bio food. Our entire agriculture is performed after strict ecological standards. When you order or eat locally produced food on a wedding here, you can be sure that neither pesticides nor medically enhanced feed for livestock ever have come near it.
When serving ecologically produced bio-food on your wedding banquet, you not only improve the general wellbeing of your guests (and yourself), but also limit concerns on allergies or health impacts. Our sustainability-minded wedding planners can give you more information on how to plan the perfect wedding menu.
Be Responsible with Your Transport
When thinking about your sustainable wedding, you possibly want to consider more eco-friendly ways of transport for your arrival on Bornholm. There are quite a few options available to you and not all include an airplane.
Also the tradition of long car cavalcades on wedding days has increasingly become a thing of the past. High CO2-emissions, a detrimental impact on nature and the sheer nuisance of noise and fumes to unsuspecting bystanders have made this wedding tradition redundant on most wedding days.
It’s therefore not unheard of that bride and groom might pile up with their family and witnesses in a car – or even walked to the ceremonial office – whether that is indoors or out in nature.
Pick a Wedding Planner with a Sustainable Profile
Once you’ve thought about the different items on our list of tips for a sustainable wedding, you obviously will have to make some very personal choices. The best way, however, to start on the preparations for the big day with a green focus, would be to find a wedding planner with the same goal as you. That’s where we in Wedding on the Rocks come in.
When Siine Bergmann founded Wedding on the Rocks quite a few years ago, she not only wanted to take the bureaucratic hassle out of the wedding preparations for hopeful couples. She also aimed at giving prospective wedding parties the most wonderful day in the tranquil surroundings of the nature on Bornholm.
Siine is born and bred Bornholmian. As such, she also has an obvious interest in preserving the landscape she grew up in. Sustainability is therefore always part of her wedding planning. As a mother of small children, she also knows how difficult it can be to juggle the demands of every day life with the demands for a greener future for the next generations. Siine would love to help you with arranging an enjoyable celebration you also can be proud of with regard to sustainability.
You can contact Siine or the other wedding planners in Wedding on the Rocks through the form below, and they’ll all be happy to give you more tips for your sustainable wedding day
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