Tying the knot? Well done! Your ‘main event’ should be truly memorable. The cost depends entirely on your budget.
The actual marriage process is surprisingly economical, with the government notification fee standing at €200. A full-on ‘wedding’, however, tells a different tale. According to professional wedding estimates, couples who go all out end up spending around €36,000 on average.
From the location and invitations to the attire, food, music, flowers, gifts, fireworks, classic cars, and even balloon releases, it might be challenging to determine where to draw the line. How much is enough to make your wedding day your significant event?
A practical way to avoid spiralling into an extravagant wedding scene is to establish a sustainable plan for your wedding early on. While it undoubtedly saves you money, the primary focus isn’t frugality; rather, it’s about making ecologically aware decisions instead of unnecessary compromises.
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While coordinating your nuptials, be prepared for some vendors to insist on an ever-growing array of extras. Bear in mind that when the music ends and the last visitor leaves, most of these items are destined for waste or landfill: unused courtesy flip-flops, ‘disposable’ cameras, place cards, service order booklets, plastic fans, photo props, glitter, bubble wands, wedding favours, and wilting off-season blooms.
Beef or salmon? More than half a kilo of food per guest finds its way into the bin at the average Irish wedding, according to Irish conservation group Voice. The most discarded items are vegetables, potatoes, meat and bread – with about 87% still being consumable.
Research by UK retailer Sainsburys indicated that one-tenth of all wedding food is wasted. Around 15% of guests eat only one of the three courses and the same percentage of newlyweds end up discarding a portion of their wedding cake.
In accordance to a guide by ring vendor 77 Diamonds, a singular matrimonial ceremony can generate upwards of 20kg of plastic rubbish, and surprisingly, almost forty percent of attendees tend not to consume the edible wedding gifts. There are alternative options for duos who aspire to have a greener, less wasteful wedding; they can choose to invite fewer people, opt for digital invitations, locate festivities nearby, arrange collective means of transport, and hire, rather than buy, wedding clothes.
A group of five wedding premises located in west Cork, Dunmore House, Fernhill House Hotel, Camus Farm, the Celtic Ross Hotel and Dunowen House included, have pledged to implement an alternative approach to the typically wasteful nuptial celebrations. Their “Green Wedding” package enables couples to have a wedding day that considers the environment, a scheme brought about by the Waste Not, Want Not programme from Voice.
The initiative aims to decrease the waste generated by weddings on their premises by a minimum of 50 per cent by the following year. This includes the offering of locally sourced, seasonal food obtained from nearby producers, with a vegetarian dish as a main meal alternative to meat or fish. They are also developing measures on portion sizes to reduce food wastage, and will utilise local flowers.
In addition, they’re investigating the use of renewable energy resources, allowing beforehand food selection and providing environmentally-friendly wedding keepsakes. This distinctive package will undoubtedly attract couples who want to extend considerations of their future to the environmental impact of their matrimonial celebration.