Sustainability in Style: Unveiling Eco-Friendly Weddings

Amidst the lively crowd, there was a lady with fiery red hair, a grand hat perched atop her head, and a radiant smile that could light up the night. She held a camera in her hand, capturing moments as if they were pure magic.

Her stall was just across from ours and the whole night, she kept smiling at us until she finally came over to introduce herself - Kat from Red Eclectic.

Yes, this was the first time we met Kat.

Little did we know that she is a massive advocate for low-impact weddings and loves everything about eco-friendly wedding vendors who will treat the couple, and the planet, with care.

Why is this important, you ask?

Well..there are a million and one reasons I could give you, but I am sure that deep down you already know them. Let me just give you a quote that seems very suitable to sum it up - `We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children`.

Did you know that according to the Wedding Industry Report (by Easy Weddings) the number of marriages (in Australia) predicted for 2023 is 139,000. Out of those, about 80% are likely to use candles (with real flames) and on average there are 50-60 candles used per wedding. (1)

This totals over 6 million candles used in 2023! And in most cases, candles only get used once, and then just thrown out. We think that living in the 21st century, we must do better and find ways to reduce waste.

Enter Chameleon Sand Candles - 100% plant-based and non-toxic, which means that there are no synthetic dyes or fragrances (some coloured candle sands you may see on the market use synthetic dyes or paraffin wax).

Only very little sand gets used with every burn, making it very sustainable (unlike normal pillar candles that mostly get used only once in weddings). And the candle sand itself (along with wicks) is home-compostable. Yes, that's right. You can throw that into your compost pile alongside your banana peels.

Chameleon Sand Candle's new tubes have FSC-certified and biodegradable packaging and we have also used plant-based inks.

And here's a little secret I can't wait to share with you - we're working tirelessly behind the scenes, brewing up some downright exciting solutions for eco-friendly colored candles. It's all about leaving a brighter, cleaner world for the little ones.

But back to Kat now.

In addition to being an awesome and eco-conscious human being, she loves connecting with like-minded people who share the same values. And one of those people is Tara from Euka Floral Design.

With a wild passion for nature, Tara’s work is created with deep intent for our planet. Using only natural, compostable or recyclable materials, her arrangements are a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative and are 100% plastic-free!

Tara uses chicken wire instead of floral foam. Did you know that each floral foam block is equivalent in weight to around 10 plastic bags? It is not biodegradable, nor recyclable and it eventually breaks down into microplastics which wreaks havoc on the environment. The survey of more than 1200 florists globally found two-thirds of florists use foam, and of those that do, 72% pour the foam wastewater down the sink or drain, while 15% add it to the garden or soil. (2)

Tara only uses wildflowers - they are not only unique and beautiful, but they are long-lasting, hardy and can dry beautifully into everlasting arrangements for you to enjoy for years to come.

The carbon emissions produced by transporting flowers into Australia from across the globe are massive! The other problem with imported flowers is the chemical application process that is used to prevent the importation of pests & diseases. Australia uses a method called methyl bromide fumigation which is banned in most countries because it depletes the ozone layer. But here it is an acceptable practice for the sake of biosecurity. Imported flowers also have more packaging requirements compared to Australian flowers — again for biosecurity reasons. (3)

So no wonder Kat and Tara get along, right?!

From those two minds grew a mindblowing concept for “Wildflower Styled Shoot”, which ended up being a collaborative effort between a bunch of incredible Perth wedding vendors:

Photographer - @redeclectic

Sustainable Florist - @eukafloraldesign

Venue - @feldandco

Eco Candles - @chameleonsandcandle

Pre-loved Dress - @littlebirdbridalstudio

Audio Guestbooks - @gladyoucalled.co

Food - @ourrubygirl

Hair & Makeup - @amandagallowaymakeup

Plantable stationery - @paper_and_bloom

Wedding Cake - @cakesmatilda

Model - @_chloeeehill

The magic was created at Feld & Co during an extremely cold and rainy September day, but we felt this only added a layer of perfection to the whole thing and when the crew is this pumped, nothing can bother them. As Kat says…she does her best work when she is working with like-minded business people and entrepreneurs who share the same passion for the environment.

But let the photos do the talking here…