Indian weddings have remained big-fat in format over the past decades, calling for maximized resource arrangements that in turn lead to mounting wastage. From pre-wedding rituals to a post-wedding reception, the journey consumes large amounts of non-biodegradable items. Imagine most of them making it to the landfills, every day. This has led not only the consumers but also the hospitality industry stalwarts to take an environment-conscious approach to plan wedding celebrations mindfully.
Here are some tips that a hotel/ restaurant management can consider to help the couple host a truly memorable wedding celebrations while serving the greater cause.
- Go Eco-Friendly or Paperless with the Guest InvitesÂ
As part of the wedding celebrations, the couple relies mostly on the hotel/ restaurant’s allied vendors for most of the arrangements, be it something as basic as invites too. Having a vendor in place who supplies chemical-free natural dyes and recycled or seed paper invites will not only win the couple’s heart but helps all the visiting guests in becoming a part of the fraternity that hails sustainability.
Going paperless is also a safe bet. Your in-house marketing and design team can help customize the event e-invite as desired by the client and help them disseminate it for maximized reach.
The hotel can also be playfully diligent in the Invite’s content recommendation. A strong point that leads the guests to use the seed papers for plantation or simply ask them to carpool to the venue or eco-friendly gifts accepted only, etc.
- Dismiss single-use Plastic
While several hotel and restaurant chains in the country have already been checking out PET water bottles to steer clear of plastic and carbon footprint burden. Try including refillable glass bottles on common counters in the banquet space. You can also place water dispensing machines and copper glasses to add to the aesthetic value while also plugging in the purity element.
There’s a lot of plastic otherwise used too. Instead of relying on plastic cutlery, use metal cutlery and bone-China plates to provide the guests with an elevated experience. Have you thought of including the recently available edible cutlery? Yes, many vendors now serve spoons, forks, and bowls made using edibles that can be consumed right after eating the food using them.
- Gifting Reimagined
The visiting guests need to know which gift is useful to the couple and which ones are not. A ledger maintaining records of items that can be accepted as gifts and which ones are not useful to the couple shared well in advance with the visiting guests can help them with a mindful approach to their gifting options. Moreover, the guests can also be guided on the front that not all gifts material are required. The couple can hence opt and guide the guests to bring no gifts but to be a part of the hosting venue’s giving initiative by donating money for either of the NGOs tied up with the hotel/ restaurants.
- Décor and art pieces need to be biodegradableÂ
Props make a wedding party celebration lively as it seeks the maximum attention of everybody present at the event. Dismiss the thermocol-based decorations and move on to the sustainable art pieces to host a wedding party. Hand-painted canvas pieces will not only generate income for the local artisans, but the clients can take them home to cherish the memories for a lifetime. With a Back-to-school approach, right from scribbling the bar and food menus on large blackboards; to presenting street foods in the traditional pop-up thela style while partnering with local street food vendors for the same, there are a lot of sustainability elements that can be added to the celebrations.
- Go Regional with Food & Beverages
Let’s face it, paneer tikka and galouti kebabs are the most common finger foods. Also, barely do people order virgin mojitos on the bar menu. Instead of keeping a large spread of food from all the continents, focusing on providing a local, limited F&B option to the couple is preferable. Add seasonal veggies and fruits to the menu and region-specific ingredients, be it spices, condiments, or geo-tagged food. Banana leaves used as plates will help serve as compost later or can be used to feed the cattle. Food is medicine is not just a philosophy, as local foods have helped people to check their well-being primitively. As the hosting venue, the couple shall be given the option to help their guests attain wellness through food.
As the hosting venue, partnering with NGOs that donate leftover food to the destitute people is yet another important aspect in a bid to hail truly diverse, equal, and inclusive tenets.
Conclusion
The intent of hosting conscious weddings strives to keep up with the big-fat element. However, the only shift is helping the wedding hosts and guests in going limitless not only for each other but also for the environment and the bigger community that we all live in.
