We all dream of a Picture Perfect Wedding , that is the reason why these days we’re seeing an ever increasing number of couples hoping to reduce their wedding expenses in imaginative ways. The last thing you need is to be barraged with shock charges and costs on your big day that also come at the cost of the environment.

Weddings are a core part of our culture both locally and for diaspora who are closely connected to their heritage. We all have fond memories of the colourful clothing, endless functions wrapping up in the early hours, aromatic food, the dancing and the games. Weddings for Indians and South Asians are not just about tying the knot with your loved one, they bring together families and the broader community with a unique and special warmth #IYKYK.

With approximately 10 million weddings taking place each year in India, the $50bn industry is certainly leaving its mark on the planet. With recent studies proving that all women, regardless of diet, now have microplastics in their breast milk, our consumption choices really do matter not only for our personal and environmental health but also for future generations. There are a lot of ways to reduce the environmental impact of your wedding, Shehlina Soomro, Co-Founder Saritoria, tells you a few hacks to consider:

Invitations:

· Choose e-invites or even your own wedding website instead of physical paper invites. You’ll be saving time and money too with this trick as the RSVP function of a lot of the dedicated wedding invite portals are super user friendly and make it easy to coordinate your guests.

· If you really insist on having physical invites, consider using plantable paper – a beautiful gesture where your guests can grow new life from your wedding.

Food:

· Reducing the number of dishes at your wedding and food waste is an easy win! Food waste accounts for a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. If you still do have leftovers, you can organise for them to be packed to enjoy after the festivities.

· Ask your suppliers to ensure produce is locally sourced.

· Plated meals tend to cause less food waste than buffets!

· Avoid any disposable tableware.

Clothes:

· Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?

· Buying preloved is a no-brainer both for the bride and groom, as well as wedding guests

· Share links to Saritoria on your e-invite so that guests have an easy way to access luxurious preloved outfits. Especially helpful for any non-Asians attending who will probably be wearing the outfits as one-off.

· With fashion being responsible for 35% of microplastics in the ocean, we’re trying to reduce the shocking 85% of clothing that ends up in landfill.

· When you do buy your pre-loved outfit for your special day, choose something that can be re-worn easily or mixed and matched to ensure that you get your money’s worth as well as extending the life of the garment.

· Re-sell any wedding clothes so that you can both cash in on your garment again as well as share the prelove with more brides and grooms.

· If you’re lucky enough to have heirloom pieces in the family, why not raid mum’s wardrobe for your wedding choices too?

Wedding Favours & Decor:

· There are so many great choices when it comes to sustainable packaging for your wedding favours that it’s easy to avoid plastic wrappers. Consider using post-consumer packaging, which is a step up from recycled materials in terms of the environmental footprint as the processes to produce them use less chemicals to repurpose the materials.

· Instead of cutting flowers, why not consider small plant pots at your tables that can continue living and growing instead of decomposing after your fabulous events?

The great thing about conscious wedding planning is that couples can still be creative and fabulous without compromising our planet!