From the Professionals blog... Eco friendly Weddings

Each month we delve deeper into subjects to find out more and bring you some useful snippets of advice from our trusted Professionals!

Eco-friendly weddings have grown hugely in popularity over the last few years and the trend is set to continue. As we become increasingly aware and 'green' in our everyday lives with reusing, recycling and reducing of waste, the idea of being Eco-friendly has expanded and that includes weddings!

We are very proud at Whitewed to have an abundance of suppliers on the Directory that pride themselves on being Eco-friendly. This month we introduce you to Vaughan's Kitchen, an environmentally aware catering company and Corky and Prince, a florist that is conscientious of mother nature and its seasonal crop.

Vaughan's Kitchen is headed up by talented chef Peter Vaughan, who is passionate about using locally sourced produce, reducing food miles and supporting the local economy. Here's what Vaughan's Kitchen had to say when we quizzed them on how, why and when they chose to become Eco-friendly...

"Vaughan’s Kitchen Events is built on 2 decades of Eco experience & awareness. We started with an independent health food shop & natural food restaurant. At the time, Chef/Director Peter Vaughan was cooking on various TV cooking shows such as ‘Only Organic’ and ‘A to Z of Food and Beauty’ with Liz Earle for Carlton, BBC & Granada Television.

After training with the culinary elite, Peter has now developed a style of cuisine he calls ‘naturally balanced’ and this ethos is applied to everything we make, serve and teach, as we run Vaughan’s Cookery School as well. Using small, local suppliers where we can and companies such as Essential Trading Co-operative, we can make sure that our ingredients are seasonal, fairly traded and as close to their natural state as possible.

Our preference is to cater at wedding venues that are environmentally aware, such as Wellington Barn in Wiltshire. They are both within very short driving distance from our production kitchen so that our food miles are at a minimum, as well as those of our ingredients! Both of these venues were created by farming families who are naturally passionate about the land, agriculture and, ultimately, the environment."

Peter believes that a wedding day can be extremely symbolic of a couple and their beliefs, and choosing an Eco-friendly wedding is a ‘statement‘ from the couple to their friends and relatives. The day is a symbol of who the couple are, their morals and the bond of believe that they creating together.

We asked Vaughan's Kitchen to give us their Top Tip's for couples wondering how to make their wedding Eco-friendly...

The caterer - Choose a local caterer who believes in what you do and ask for a menu tasting session.

The season – What is readily available at the time of year that your wedding date is set, should help dictate what will be on the menu. This means that the produce will be fresher, tastier and kinder to the community and the environment. For example, why on earth would you have roasted courgettes & fresh peppers in winter if your wedding is in the UK. Perhaps consider roasted roots with smoked garlic & rosemary instead.

The produce - The amount of food needed to serve approximately 80 /100 guests for a wedding day is considerable. If you would like meat on your wedding menu, then make a song and dance about it, serve great quality, humanely reared cattle or poultry and surround it with loads of seasonal garnishes. Great quality meat costs a lot more than intensively farmed meat, but delivers on taste and texture, as well as giving out a very powerful message.

You now know all about how to make your wedding day Eco-friendly from a catering point of view, but have you considered how to go green when it comes to your wedding flowers and displays? We went direct to one of our wedding florists, Fi from Corky and Prince to find out more...

Fi, the florist behind Corky and Prince says 'Flowers are a must have element for your wedding but they don't need to cost the earth - quite literally!' and we couldn't agree more. Being considerate to the environment, the air miles required and the impact on the planet are all factors that Corky and Prince take seriously.

Fi is passionate about all things floral as well as being a keen plants woman and artist. This love of the natural world translates into beautiful floral designs that are in harmony with the seasons and tailored to the look you are seeking for your very special day.

Photography credit: Eve Dunlop Photography

We asked Fi of Corky and Prince to give us a few top tips on ways that couples can have fabulous, Eco-conscious floral designs. Here's what Fi suggested...

* Ask your florist to use seasonal British flowers. These have lower 'flower air miles' and if you're going to DIY your flowers, there is an excellent network of local growers now via the flowersfromthefarm.co.uk site

*Consider designs that are foam-free as the green foam used by florists is not biodegradable and will still be in landfill in a 100 years time. Hand-tied bouquets, greenery garlands and table centres created from vases or jugs are just some ways to 'green' your wedding flowers.

*Make your wedding budget go further by asking your florist to create living arrangements for table centrepieces that can be gifted after the wedding.Photo Credit: Siobhan Beales Photography

Corky and Prince are super creative and brilliant at thinking up new idea's that will transform your wedding day flowers into long lasting memento's or fun additions whilst being thoughtful to the environment at the same time.

Earlier this year they created a Gin-garden themed wedding for a couple that included Lemon and Olive trees, along with planters of fresh herbs ready for snipping into the gin cocktails. What a fabulous idea for table centre pieces - not only was it resourceful and reusable, they are also a great way to gets guests interacting with one another.

Photo Credit: SIobhan Beales Photography

So there we have it-loads of insider knowledge and top tips for you to think about when planning a Eco-friendly wedding and what suppliers consider in order to make themselves conscientious and 'green' suppliers.

For more information about our brilliant contributors check out their pages - Vaughan's Kitchen and Corky and Prince.

Happy planning!

From Team Whitewed