In August 2021 I pulled together a team of passionate eco-focused Perth wedding vendors for a styled photoshoot in the Perth Hills. My vision began a couple gathering around a beautiful fireplace to have an intimate ceremony. Keep reading to find out how I pulled it together and most importantly, WHY!
What is an eco wedding?
As wedding vendors, we should be providing our services in the most ethical and sustainable way possible and I really wanted to highlight that an ‘eco wedding’ can still be beautiful. We wanted to show people what a small, intimate ceremony in Perth can look like. We wanted to do it in winter because we don’t believe in ‘wedding seasons’. We wanted to do it in the Perth Hills so we could enjoy nature while still being close to the city. We wanted to show how intimate an Airbnb can be, where a couple can get ready together and enjoy all the special moments of coming together and celebrating afterwards. And most importantly we only used vendors who are environmentally responsible.
Perth Eco Wedding Vendors
Photography: | Red Eclectic |
|---|---|
Hair and Makeup: | |
Dress: | |
Suit Hire: | |
Styling/Event hire: | |
Florals: | |
Celebrant: | |
Catering: |
Photography
Kat from Red Eclectic (that's me!)
As a photographer, I’ve chosen to specialise in elopements and small, intimate weddings because they generally have a smaller footprint. As I am often involved in the planning from the start, I like to help couples plan mindful weddings and connect them with other likeminded vendors. The photos are provided to the client in environmentally friendly packaging along with a little gourmet gift from local suppliers. Online copies of photos are only kept for 12 months to minimise the digital carbon footprint. For every elopement I photograph, I plant a tree with Carbon Neutral’s tree planting program, and for every wedding I donate money to the Malala Fund which supports girls’ education around the world.
Hair & Makeup
Gilly from Go-to-Gilly
Hair and makeup artist, Gilly, only uses products from the Inika Organic range. This Australian beauty brand has the strictest natural ingredient criteria of any makeup and skincare brand in the world. They are certified organic, cruelty-free, halal and vegan.
Wedding Wears
Dress – Rosa Bridesmaids
Suit Hire – Suit Vault
I'm a big fan of couples wearing whatever they want on their wedding day. I'm particularly fond of outfits that can be worn again.
My fireplace vision was of golden colours, so when I discovered a golden silky dress by local Perth fashion house Ilka's compliementary bridesmaid dress range called Rosa Bridesmaids, I knew this was the perfect dress for the occasion. The dress is locally made in Perth and the fabric is made in Australia. They are also a registered Ethical Clothing Manufacturer.
If you have no long term need for a suit, then hiring a suit is a great option. The team at Suit Vault have an amazing selection of suits available for hire.
What to consider when choosing your wedding wears:
Was it made ethically? Was it made locally? Can it be worn again?
Event Styling
Lea from Sustylable Event Design
Just like a real couple might envision their dream day, I had a vision of a mindful celebration centered around a fireplace and event stylist Lea from Sustylable made it come to life.
Because events can cause a lot of waste and leave a large carbon footprint, Lea from Sustylable set out to create a sustainable event styling company that only uses local, reusable, restored and one-of-a-kind items to style an event. She has sourced all her items secondhand or from vintage stores. Items such as arbors, tables, chairs, linen, tableware, glassware, cutlery, vases, candlesticks and other event decorations can be provided to clients in one hire purchase which means minimising the number of different vendors involved for each event and therefore minimising transportation.
Ways to style mindfully and sustainably:
Only use reusable items Minimise waste (such as flowers) Consider travel miles for the vendor
Florals
Katie from Gray Lane Event Design
You might be surprised to discover flowers can have a massive carbon footprint, because a lot of ‘on trend’ flowers are flown in from all over the world. Did you wonder why dried native flowers have become so popular in the last year? The pandemic meant availability of exotic flowers were harder to come by and florists started getting crafty!
Katie is an amazing allrounder offering event design, planning and florals. She began offering florals because there were very limited florists in Perth offering foam free floristry. For the gorgeous floral wreath and buttonhole, Katie used offcuts from previous projects and dried her own florals. Some of the floral elements were from her grandma’s garden!
Ask for no floral foam Locally sourced In season
Forage where possible
Catering
Nacha and Fer from Alma Catering
Did you know plant-rich diets and reducing food waste are two of the top most effective solutions for sustainability? (See @projectdrawdown for more info)
‘Alma’ means soul in Spanish, which is fitting for Alma’s catering ethos. All their meals are 100% plant-based, seasonal products are sourced in bulk and free of plastic, the food is produced locally by professional chef, Nacha, using only wholefoods free of additives, preservatives and refined ingredients. But that’s not all, they make their own plant milks (to save on packaging), they use reusable containers as much as possible, and provide all events with reusable tableware and cutlery. They also compost all their food scraps and use plant based cleaning products!
Ways to make your wedding meals more eco-friendly:
Plant-based meals Reusable tableware Reduce food waste and/or compost Minimise plastic waste
Celebrant
Sally from Sally Bruce Celebrant
How much impact can a ceremony have, you might wonder?
Sally co-creates low-waste weddings by encouraging her couples to only include the elements that are meaningful and significant to them in their ceremonies – not just repeating all the ‘usual’ wedding expectations because they think they ‘should’.
She encourages couples to use the Wedding Footprint Calculator developed by Less Stuff, More Meaning, and connects them with like-minded, eco-friendly vendors.
Instead of single-use stuff, she uses meaningful words to personalise the ceremony – most of her couples write their own vows.
Sally operates an eco-conscious business by making considered and careful choices about every aspect. Some examples are: printing vows on 100% recycled paper and rewearing the same ceremony outfits many times. She has strong focus on local couples to minimise travel, has meetings at local cafes with a sustainable ethos, and drives a carbon-offset hybrid vehicle.
Ways to make your ceremony eco-friendly
Create meaning around words, not things If you use rings, buy ethically sourced/made Use eco confetti
How to have your own eco wedding
Less Stuff More Meaning
One of my greatest inspirations has come from being part of the Less Stuff More Meaning community. They provide couples with an Eco-Ethical Wedding Directory of amazing vendors, a Mindfully Wed e-guide for planning a wedding, and a Wedding Footprint Calculator, which means if you really want those exotic, imported blooms then put it into the calculator and work out how you can offset this choice with something else. It’s all about consumer power, baby!
Want to see more?
Check out our feature on Polka Dot Weddings!
Need some help?
I am so passionate about eco-focused weddings that I am more than happy to help you pull it all together and have an epic love fest that still remains true to your values!