If you’re looking for your wedding to be extra special, why not make it an eco wedding! By reducing your wedding’s environmental impact, you can create a day that’s special for you, your family and your guests that, literally, doesn’t costs the earth. Opting for a environmentally friendly wedding might even save you some money too!
Planning your eco wedding in 2019
Weddings involve multiple suppliers, organisations, people and items, so it can appear a daunting task to make sure every aspect is as environmentally friendly as possible. So, in this first article, we’re focussing on just one aspect of your special day – your wedding ceremony itself.
Eco friendly wedding ceremonies and services
To decide on the best environmentally friendly wedding music for your ceremony, you just need to bear in mind three key points:
- Power
- Travel
- Multi-use
Eco friendly weddings: power usage
The less energy your wedding consumes, the more eco friendly it will be. So, choose musicians and performers that can perform ’unplugged’, reducing your power consumption. Acoustic instruments are basically powered by all-natural human energy, after all!
Eco weddings: travel
This is perhaps the easiest way to reduce your wedding’s carbon footprint. Almost everyone involved in your special day will need to travel to it from somewhere else. So reduce the impact by booking musicians and wedding party bands that are local to your venue, saving time spent on the road. If you already know the type of entertainment you require, call us and we’ll help you find the best local bands and acts near your venue.
Sustainable weddings: multi-use
Basically this means: buy once, use many! Many of our party bands offer different line-ups for different parts of your wedding day. So, for example, you could have:
- A single guitarist at your wedding ceremony
- An acoustic duo or trio at your drinks reception
- A full-sized line-up at your wedding reception party
All of whom play in the same band!
Multi-use reduces the number of people travelling compared to a separate performer or act for each part of the day, and can significantly reduce costs. Ask us about wedding covers bands, swing bands, jazz bands and ensembles that offer this.
Your sustainable wedding ceremony
Wherever you choose to get married, there are simple ways to have a eco wedding ceremony that’s both gorgeous and green!
Inside wedding ceremonies: If your wedding ceremony is inside, choose acoustic musicians who don’t need amplification, such as
They’ll fill your venue with plenty of sound without a 13 amp socket in sight.
Outside wedding ceremonies: At the present time, it isn’t legal in England and Wales to get married in the open air, although the Law Commission is currently examining “How and where marriages can take place and how to meet the “growing demand” for legally-binding outdoor weddings.”
Legal wedding ceremonies can take place in a structure with a solid, permanent roof with a designated licence. Many couple opt to do the legal part in a registry office and then have a wedding ceremony outside led by a celebrant – and that can include any music you like! Just bear in mind that the lack of four walls will mean your lovely music could drift away on the breeze. So, look for wedding musicians that will be good for outside, and make an impact, such as:
- Steel bands
- A capella choirs
- Mariachi bands (why not!)
- Dhol or African drummers
- Marching bands (go on, think big…)
- Trumpet fanfares and bagpipers
- Solo opera singers (who can be remarkably loud!)
Eco friendly church wedding music
If you’re getting married in a church, it’s really easy to go green. Churches are ideal for eco weddings, as you’re using an existing community resource that may have stood for hundreds of years. They look fabulous decorated with eco-friendly natural foliage decorations too, and most permit the use of biodegradable confetti, or natural petals, for a traditional exit.
If your church has an organ, and you want hymns, please book an organist to accompany everyone singing. In older churches, many historic organs instruments need to be played regularly to keep them working and to justify their continued upkeep and possible restoration. By requesting organ music at your wedding today, you’ll help ensure their future too for generations to come.
Eco friendly entertainment for your wedding reception
Look out for our forthcoming article on eco-friendly entertainment for wedding receptions and evening parties – coming soon!
Want to talk through your green wedding options?
Call us. We’re always happy to help with advise and inspiration.