8 Environmentally Friendly Wedding Send Off Ideas for 2020

8 eco-friendly send off ideas that help the environment instead of harming it

Hannah Warren // Senior Writer & Editor

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Sustainable wedding send-off alternatives

What’s a wedding guest’s favorite part of the ceremony? The part where you get to throw things at the bride and groom, of course! Yes, the vows are beautiful and bring a tear to the eye, but all the guests are waiting for that moment they take their little pouch, empty it into their hand, and throw it up over the newlyweds’ heads.

Find the perfect eco friendly things to throw at a wedding

The only problem is, what do you give your guests to throw over you? If you want to be environmentally friendly (or if your venue gives you any restrictions) you can’t just give them paper confetti and expect someone else to clean it up. Thankfully, there are plenty of eco friendly send-offs you can hand out to your guests, many of which you’ll much prefer picking out of your hair before your photos than rice or paper confetti.

Before we take a look at the eco-friendly sendoffs, here are some other things you should consider before you make your choice.

Eco Friendly Wedding Send Off Idea Considerations

Theme and Color Scheme

What’s your overall wedding theme? Use this theme as a guide for what you choose as your wedding sendoffs and stick to your color scheme. Remember that whatever you choose will feature heavily in your first photos together as newlyweds walking down the aisle.

Weight

Petals and paper are light and soft and won’t be uncomfortable if they get down your dress and are unlikely to get in anyone’s eyes. Seeds and rice are another matter, so be conscious of what you’re going to have thrown at you!

Packaging

Don’t forget to consider the way you package your sendoffs, either. While a small decorative pouch is cost-effective and pretty, you probably aren’t ever going to use them again, so recycled paper bags may be best. Put out a wicker basket and ask guests to deposit the used packaging there so you can properly recycle it.

Buy ¼ – ½ cup for Each Guest

You don’t need to give your guests buckets of confetti, just enough for a handful each looks great in photographs, especially with larger groups of guests.

8 Eco Friendly Wedding Send Off Ideas

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01.

Small Dried Leaves

Small leaves are an ideal wedding sendoff, especially if you have a very natural theme or color scheme. Choose leaves that complement the season, such as dried brown leaves for fall, or choose leaves with a fragrance. Bay leaves like these are easy to get in bulk since they are used in a lot of recipes, or eucalyptus leaves like these grown naturally in the USA are small and thin and look great in photos when thrown.
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02.

Rose Petals

Rose petals are beautiful, soft, have a subtle scent, and will simply blow away and biodegrade after the wedding. If you want fresh petals, you’ll have to talk to a local florist about whether that’s possible, but dried and freeze-dried rose petals are another great option. These dried rose petals can simply be composted after use.

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03.

Dried flowers are a better option than fresh petals since it will take a little more time before they look the worse for wear. Fresh petals are beautiful, but if someone accidentally rests something heavy on top of your petals they’ll look a little (or a lot) beaten up.

A cute idea if you want to use multiple different flowers is to provide a petal or flower bar, where guests can fill their paper pouches with their own choice of flowers before the ceremony begins. (That way you don’t have to mix all the different flowers together yourself!) You can find plenty of dried flower mixes on Amazon, but this one from bMaker looks particularly ideal for weddings.

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04.

Lavender buds are tiny and extremely fragrant, so ensure you like the smell of lavender before you choose it. The seeds are light, and pretty much disappear after you’ve thrown them, and if you buy organic lavender buds like these they’ll simply fertilize the surrounding area.

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05.

Any dried herb will work equally well as dried flowers and may be more suitable for a fall or winter wedding. Choose your favorite herb and distribute it to your guests; dried mint is a great choice that won’t be too overpowering.

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06.

Eco Friendly Paper Confetti

If you like paper confetti but don’t want to throw treated paper all over the place, numerous companies make biodegradable confetti that dissolves when it comes into contact with water. These biodegradable circles are perfect and come in nine different color combinations.

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07.

If you’re having an outdoor wedding, seeds are a good alternative to rice and other forms of confetti. After the wedding you won’t have to think about doing any cleanup – the birds will do it for you.

If you are lucky enough to be getting married on your own or family land, give all the guests the seeds of your favorite flowers or of a meadow seed mix and ask them to spread a little on the floor as well as over the two of you – hopefully come your anniversary there will be flowers all around where you first tied the knot!

This Wildflower Seed Mix is all-natural and great for the local wildlife.

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© Weddings To The Wire 2020

08.

Paper Airplane Send Off

Set out a table with eco friendly, recycled paper and pens and ask your guests to write a note or piece of wisdom on each piece, then fold it into a paper airplane to throw at the end of the ceremony.

Ideally, they’ll throw it up into the air and not directly at you, so ensure you choose small notepaper rather than letter size so no one gets hurt. It’s a lovely way to take messages and memories home with you after the whirlwind of the day.

These lightweight pastel flashcards are perfect.

After the pictures are done, you can unfold and read each loving message that your guests wrote for you on your wedding day.

Closing thoughts

There are a lot of options when it comes to eco-friendly things to throw at a wedding send off, so be creative! You’re sure to find a unique send off idea in the list above that will work for your wedding theme and the atmosphere you want to create, so choose one you like and don’t be afraid to set some rules for your guests about when and how they can use the sendoffs, as well as how to dispose of any trash.

Have you found your ideal eco-friendly confetti idea in the list above? Let us know in the comments below!

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