The Post-Wedding Clean Up: Where Do the Centerpieces Go?

Image source: flickr.com/photos/the_stein/

When you imagine your dream wedding, you see your big day going off without a hitch. Your dress will be perfect. The food will be delicious. Your guests will comment on how gorgeous the centerpieces were. It will be, without a doubt, picture perfect. What you won’t (or don’t want to) imagine is the big mess your picture perfect wedding will leave behind.

Planning a wedding can be stressful. The good news is that there are great options available to you to help cut down on stress and the waste of your big day.

Food

Maybe you ordered too much food, or maybe you had leftovers because of those pesky guests who RSVP’d “Yes” just in case, but couldn’t actually make it to the wedding. What will you do with all that extra food? Sure, you could give it back to the caterers or take some of it home. The chances are they’ll just sit in your fridge until you remember to throw them out.

Image source: InspiringPretty.com

Americans, as a whole, tend to throw away approximately 14% of their food. In order to avoid having your wedding contribute to this statistic, start by not having a buffet at your wedding. If you still have leftover food, you have a couple of options to dispose of it. You could donate the leftovers to a food bank with the help of Feeding America. If the food isn’t suitable to donate to a food bank, you can always compost!

Flowers

That floral arrangement that’s sitting in the center of every table is truly beautiful, but you don’t need to have fresh flowers to have a beautiful wedding. You can save money and cut down on the carbon footprint of your wedding by having alternative centerpieces. You could even get creative with your bouquet. 

Image source: etsy.com/shop/SeventhStudio

If fresh flower centerpieces are a requirement, make sure they find a good home after the ceremony is over. Floranthropy, a Seattle-based company, provides a local “flower recycling” service after the ceremony. If you’re outside of Seattle, consult your wedding planner or local directories to find similar services in your area. Local nursing homes may also accept donated flowers.

Dresses

You may not be planning to keep your wedding dress in a trunk for the rest of your life.  If that’s the case, you can have it cleaned before donating it to a good cause. Your dream dress may be another bride’s dream dress down the line. SmartBride Boutique will help a future bride have her dream wedding without breaking the bank. (Come to think of it, maybe you can find your dress there too!)

Image source: w-weddinggowns

Your wedding day will always be remembered, but you don’t have to keep all the knick-knacks for the rest of your life. 

You can find all the resources you need for your green wedding, including recycling resources, on our website.