Three ways to throw an eco-friendly engagement party

Guest Blogger: John Bramer from 77diamonds.com

An engagement party can be a beautiful way to celebrate your love and commitment to each other with your friends and family. It can be a good opportunity to bring people together from both sides that haven’t met, and get everyone mixing before the big wedding day.

If sustainability is important to you, this is a great chance to set out your ideas and start planning with your loved ones. There are plenty of ways that you can make your engagement party eco-friendly, and this will set the tone for your upcoming wedding.

Pick your food

The key words here are simplicity, seasonal and sufficient. Whilst you might love the idea of serving everyone a fancy three course meal to celebrate your engagement, think about what your guests will actually eat. Would a buffet style meal be better? Could you give your guests options so that they choose something they’re happy eating?

 It can be difficult to cater for a large group, so try and minimise food waste as much as possible. Choose simple food that everyone will enjoy, and work out the quantity you need rather than having lots left at the end of the night. To minimise the distance that your food has travelled, make sure to choose local and seasonal ingredients – they’ll be extra tasty too!

Choose your venue

Whilst rural venues can feel special and intimate, the best option for the planet is to choose somewhere local to the majority of your guests, that they can ideally get to by public transport.

 Research shows that the average CO2 emissions for a petrol car is 180g per km, whereas a local bus is 82g per km, so making it easy for guests to travel by bus can seriously reduce the carbon footprint of your event. If public transport near you isn’t good, or you have your heart set on an out-of-town venue, then consider matching your friends and family up to see if they can car share.

 You can also support eco-friendly businesses by choosing a venue that takes sustainability into account on a daily basis, and offers a fair wage and ethical working conditions for its staff.

Sustainable gifting

In order to celebrate your engagement, it’s possible that your loved ones might want to get you a present, or they might start asking you for ideas for your wedding registry. Why not use this as a chance to let them know that if they feel like they do want to get you something, you’d love them to choose a sustainable gift option?

You could ask for gifts that will help you on your eco journey as a couple, such as a compost bin, solar lights or bamboo toothbrushes, or Fairtrade items such as rugs, cutlery and tables if you’re looking to furnish your home. Most people will be delighted that you appreciate and will genuinely use their gift, and it makes it easier for them to choose something rather than struggle for ideas.