Sustainable Wedding Supplier Showcase
This summer, nestled in the grounds of Sheepdrove Organic Farm, were a collective of sustainable wedding suppliers working together (socially distanced of course) to create a fresh, autumnal bridal shoot with all the trimmings.
“I just love the relaxed, festival vibes created by a tipi wedding and was excited to work with local, Berkshire based Forest Edge Tipis.”
Forest Edge Tipis’ tagline is ‘An enchanted wedding venue’ and they certainly live up to it. With tipis large and small they are able to design a magical space to work perfectly for you.
Plantable, planet friendly stationery
The wedding stationery suite was designed by Jo at Grace and Bramble.
The invitation cardstock is certified FSC and GMO free and contains 30% post-consumer recycled waste. It’s also been produced using 100% green energy, and has been coloured with natural ingredients, with things like corn and grapes.
The simple and elegant place cards were printed on seed paper, packed full of bee-friendly flower seeds, made from 100% pre-consumer waste cotton. With the guest names on one side and planting instructions on the reverse.
Autumn, textural tablescape
This Autumnal tablescape is design around autumnal colours and textures. Rich wooden tones with accents of rust and sage.
The wooden coasters are hand crafted by Liz at Love HeartWood, made from sustainably managed local sources. She exclusively uses native British grown timber and minimises waste by using off cuts from larger items to make smaller ones… even the sawdust is used as pet bedding!
Who doesn’t love a lollypop? We love these heart shaped beauties from the definitive lollipop guru, Willow and Boo. They’re great as favours. There are so many options to choose, and if you still can’t find what you’re looking for they offer a bespoke option, matching each lollypop to your style, theme or stationery. The sticks are paper so can be recycled too.
Dress to impress with sustainable, ethical Bridal wear
Sustainable fashion and wedding dresses in particular means so many things to so many people, but whatever it means to you, buying responsibly is here to stay. There are so many ways you can do your bit, including reducing carbon footprint by choosing a designer that manufactures in the UK, use of vintage, recycled or plant-based fabrics when making a new dress, pre-loved and shop samples…..to name just a few.
“At Queen Bee Bridal we can help with the latter with a wide range of designer preloved and sample dresses in all styles and budgets to suit your requirements, and available to take home with you on the day! From our beautiful boutique in the stunning hamlet of Mapledurham Village we offer brides a magical wedding dress buying experience, you’ll have the whole boutique exclusively to yourself and all the time you need to try on as many dresses as you like to ensure you’re happy that you’ve found ‘the one’. To add the cherry on top all of our dresses are hugely reduced from the original RRP!” Kate Norris, Owner of Queen Bee Bridal
The brides are wearing shoes from Beyond Skin. Founded in 2001 with the objective of offering luxury vegan footwear showcasing individuality, authenticity and sustainability.
They’ve created a brand for the discerning, for those who care about where their fashion comes from and what it stands for, pioneering the way in sustainable fashion. Designed in England but ethically handcrafted in Spain, all shoes are made using luxury Italian fabrics. We love their unique, timeless style.
Bridal hair and makeup should be about enhancing your natural beauty, which is something that Toni Searle, our MUA specialises in, helping Brides feel comfortable in their makeup all day long. She uses cruelty free and vegan products from certified B Corporations. She also minimises the use of any plastic packaged products, for example using bamboo cotton buds.
Intricate vintage wax headbands
The vintage style headpieces are designed by Julia of Vintage Wax Headbands, in her Hampshire studio. Entirely handmade and completely original. We love the ‘Snowdrop’ hair pins, individually and painstakingly made from wax and the flower blooms from clay, bound together with decorative beads. You can also see the full circle headbands Evelyn and Fern.
Sustainable, eco resin earrings
Hello Stud supplied pieces from the Golden range, which is inspired by femininity and natural, earthy tones. Each piece is individually designed and handcrafted using hand coloured and poured eco resin.
We only use resin made with renewable plant-based carbon, in place of traditional petroleum-based carbon. This process reduces the environmental impact through a reduction in CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions, producing less byproducts and reducing power and water consumption.
It’s Cocktail Time
The smaller tipis are perfect for an intimate cocktail reception, or evening snug. It’s the prefect spot for the Jam Jar Cocktail Club’s small bar.
Brothers Joe and Ethan have handcrafted their mobile bars, using reclaimed and sustainable materials. They’re passionate about supporting small and local businesses (inc. breweries and fruit suppliers), and reducing plastic packaging. We love the handwritten chalk board cocktail menu and personalised cocktail options.
They’ve also curated a fantastic collection of cocktail kits for people to buy, which make great luxury favours too!
Truly tasty vegan treats
Colline’s Kitchen made this beauty of a cake. I love the simple, rustic dried flower design. I know you can’t taste it but I’ll promise you it was even tastier than it looks! A truly vegan masterpiece!
“Sustainability is important to me and my business as for the food industry, food waste is one of the biggest problems in our society. By buying more local and quality products in quantities that we need only we believe that these small changes can make a big difference. We shouldn’t wait until we can be fully sustainable. If all of us can make one sustainable change in the running of our businesses it can have a massive positive impact.” Colline’s Kitchen
We love a good grazing table, but are very aware that we don’t want to contribute to massive issue of food waste in the world of weddings. But it doesn’t need to be that way. The Grazing Company Wiltshire creates mouth-watering tables and platters that you can tailor by table so that you know everything will be eaten as you’ve given them all their favourite foods. All locally sourced, fresh and delicious.
Planet friendly, natural and living florals
All flowers were locally grown by the Skylark Flower Company, a flower farm just 5 miles from the venue.
For the shoot, they supplied their beautiful locally grown seasonal cut flowers as part of one of the three services they offer: ‘Bouquets & Buckets’.
Skylark Flower Company created the bridal bouquet and also provided a curated bucket of blooms, in line with the ‘colour theme’ for the shoot (autumnal, dusky pinks and copper tones with pale foliage and dried elements). Claire from the Luxe Design Co styled the bud vases and flower arrangements.
Skylark created the hand-tied bridal bouquet using SFCo flower and foliage ingredients: Dahlias – Cafe au lait, Small World, Preference, Burlesca; various Rudbeckias; Ammi Green Mist, Cosmos – Snow Puff, Cranberries, Purity; Lunaria pods; Nepeta; Asparagus fern; Penstemon grass; Miscanthus grass; Snowberry; Smoke bush; Everlasting Strawflower; Eucalyptus; Astrantia; Chinese Aster; Scabiosa; Apple and Chocolate mint; Daucus and Chocolate Cosmos.
We asked Skylark Flower Company why sustainability is so important to them and their business: “Dr Luther King’s quote, ‘If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way’ resonates so strongly with us both. It’s about so much more than ‘just’ pretty flowers – we have created a business which has the power to positively impact upon our corner of the world, nurturing the land, wildlife and people around us. It’s about encouraging people to shop local, to make sustainability a priority, to be a small part of a greater mission to protect our planet. Because if enough people do small things to take care of the world around us, we believe, together we can achieve big things.” Lorna & Kathryn
Sustainable, thoughtful styling
Claire from the Luxe Design Co, styled the overall shoot. Providing all props, and styling for the intimate ceremony set up and dining table.
Hiring rather than buying is always an eco-friendlier option. Based in Berkshire, they’re perfectly placed for couples looking for dry hire or full styling.
Captured by
All the photos were taken by Rachel Mullins Photography, based in Berkshire, just 10 minutes from the venue used.
It’s always a pleasure working with Rachel. She’s approachable and likes to work with her clients (planners and couples alike) to create imagery that they hoped for. She has a relaxed and unobtrusive style; making you feel at ease, as if she’s one of the guests even, making an effort to blend in where she can.
Where can I find out more about these awesome eco suppliers?
Keep an eye out on the blog in the coming weeks for supplier spotlights on all the eco friendly wedding suppliers featured in this photoshoot, as well as on our instagram and facebook page.