We are all doing our bit to help our suffering planet, and destination weddings can affect the environment in many ways (from travelling to the country, food waste and optional extras, they can leave quite a carbon footprint). If you love nature, mountains, hillsides and lakes, as we do, you will be conscious of planning very carefully how to have a fantastic celebration while minimising any impact on our world.

It’s impossible to have a totally ethical Italian wedding but by making small changes, you can show you care about our precious environment.

Luckily venues in Italy have regulations to reduce waste  and here they now differentiate waste in a very thorough way.

Using home-grown produce =  less plastic.  Having a Vegan or vegetarian menu (let’s say 40% of the menu) drastically reduces environmental impact and using local wineries and distilleries is another great solution. In Italy, you won’t have a problem finding those and of course the local olive oils.

Many couples are choosing to do their stationery digitally, foregoing paper – but choosing to have one gorgeous paper element on recycled paper.

Could you have a sustainable wedding dress?  buy a vintage wedding dress, a dress handed down in the family and re-styled, or support designers who use locally sourced fabrics and support fair conditions for workers.

Florists  use local and seasonal flowers – of course you can’t have a wedding without some special flowers, but there are sustainable ideas and re-purposing flowers wherever possible during your event.

Balloons and sky lanterns are really quite harmful depending on how they are disposed of.  Focus on other ideas like vintage candlesticks, bunting, fresh petals (no confetti).

You may want to give your guests a wedding favor as a thank you – think carefully – what about seed favors so your guests can plant a tree?  Avoid gifts in plastic & take a look at lovely rustic ideas home-produced in Italy. Hand-made bio soaps and candles are perfect.

If you’ve found this interesting, please share on your socials or tag us at  #casacollina with your story.

“Nature is the one thing we leave behind, let’s take care of it” – Jayne Seddon.

Below photos courtesy of Federica Ferrucci – www.justtuscany.com