No one is really talking about the waste generated by big weddings. It almost feels as though you can’t have a big wedding without a huge impact on the environment… as if most of the wedding media are implying it’s just one day: what harm can a wedding really do, and do you even need to think about sustainable wedding planning?
All images in this feature are by the terrifically talented Luke Flint Photography. Discover more from Luke at https://www.lukeflintphotography.co.uk
We know there are lots of you out there who would love to reduce the carbon footprint of your wedding. We believe the wedding media should play a much stronger part in normalising sustainable weddings. Right now, it still feels a little as though they’re a niche choice – but that’s wrong.
Let’s TALK about sustainable weddings more.
We have one big fact to share with you today.
The bigger your wedding, the worse your carbon footprint is likely to be.
It’s a bad fact. It makes us sad.
But it means the secret to a more sustainable wedding is dead simple: reduce your numbers.
Here’s a nice fact, for balance:
Smaller weddings tend to have a lower carbon footprint.
Isn’t that lovely?
If you’ve already considered the environmental impact of your wedding, you’ll be familiar with Green Union. In their words, “a happy accident of COVID-19 is that intimate weddings are by their very nature more sustainable: the fewer the guests, the lower the carbon footprint of travel, the less waste… the list goes on.”
We’ve talked so many times about the beauty and warmth of micro weddings. The trend towards smaller and more intimate celebrations was beginning to emerge before the pandemic, but 2020-21 really saw a huge shift in the size of the average wedding.
It wasn’t by choice, of course – but for many couples it was a revelation to be able to have a cosy and heartfelt small wedding, with a big party later.
And whether knowingly or not, couples who celebrated with their very closest people had a minimal impact on the environment compared with the average ‘big wedding’ of 2019.
We hope micro weddings are here to stay, we really do.
We appreciate that not every wedding guest list can be culled – we really do! Different cultures and different family traditions will often dictate the size of your wedding. Often it’s out of your control who will come: if your parents are footing the bill for example, or in cultures where the wedding is as much about the family coming together as it is about the couple.
And that’s fine. All we’d ask is that you look at reducing single use items, consider transport and reducing or offsetting your carbon footprint as much as you possibly can.
But if your situation is a little more flexible and you’re in the position of being able to really have “your day, your way” – then you have the option to minimise your guest list and have a sustainable wedding.
Here’s how to keep your guest list planet-friendly!
- Start with parents, close grandparents, and siblings
- Invite your very closest friends – the ones you see every week
- Everyone else is optional 😉
- DON’T feel you need to invite people you don’t see often
- You don’t have to invite everyone whose weddings you’ve been to
- There’s no rule that you have to invite colleagues
Remember, lots of couples choose to have micro weddings now, and people will understand if they’re not invited when you say yours is only a small wedding!
The ultimate in planet-friendly weddings: why not elope?
The sweet spot for a micro wedding is 20 – 30 people. An elopement might be just the two of you, or a couple of witnesses. You can always have a party later, and if this party is more relaxed with none of the traditional… well, traditions!… of a wedding*, there’ll be less waste, fewer single-use items, less chance that people will buy a special outfit they’ll only wear once… and another little win for the planet.
*Think: floral arrangements, table settings, seating plans and signage, favours, food waste, vehicle hire, decorations…
If this intrigues you, read more about planet-friendly elopements
With thanks to lovely Gwenda from Green Union for the inspiration – more coming soon!
So often we hear about “wedding stress” that it’s almost taken as a given: you should expect wedding planning to be stressful. I think this is a dangerous perception, as wedding planning can be difficult, but it shouldn’t have an impact on your mental health.
Golden hour wedding photography by Becky Harley
If you’re suffering from stress as a result of wedding planning, it’s time to take a step back and look for help.
Wedding planning can be hard.
It’s the first test of your marriage, before you’re even married!
Planning a wedding can cause family arguments and plenty of tears.
It can also be a joyful adventure – and it’s all about balance and how you approach your wedding planning journey.
Our approach is to be conscious of the potential impact of planning a wedding, and to focus on your mental health from the very beginning.
We talk about mental health as part of our sustainable wedding series for one reason: weddings shouldn’t break our planet or people.
We don’t hear enough in the wedding media about looking after your mental health. That’s such a shame – we think it’s really important.
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- You’re a team – be strong together
- Be there to support each other
- Don’t overburden yourselves
- Balance responsibilities
- Think carefully about what you both want
- Avoid people-pleasing
- Focus on having a personality-filled, joyful celebration
I asked top UK wedding planner Mark Niemierko about wedding planning and managing stress. As wedding planner to the stars, the Niemierko brand is known for huge and extravagant celebrations – and Mark had some wonderful tips to share with us.
So much wedding planning stress comes from peer pressure. This has always been an overall factor, but when you add in the pressures of social media – the likes of instagram, Pinterest and even WhatsApp, peer pressure is huge.
Mark talked about weddings being one of just 3 major life events: the others being the (very private) birth of a child, and funerals. There’s something about weddings which everyone finds so exciting. They’re the one celebration in your lives where everyone will be together: your closest family and friends, as well as work colleagues – most likely you’ll have people from all kinds of different backgrounds together in one space.
I like to remind a couple, as cheesy as it sounds: “You’re in love. You’re committing to one another. Let’s bloody celebrate it! But celebrate it in YOUR way.”
Focusing on having a celebration full of personality is key to managing wedding stress. It’s far easier to plan a day which feels natural and enjoyable to you both, than it is to style a celebration inspired by Pinterest.
And we’re not talking colour palettes here: we mean finding a venue you’ll feel at home in, embracing only the traditions YOU really care about. Perhaps most importantly of all, reducing your guest numbers and having a more intimate celebration will help reduce wedding planning stress on so many levels.
- Stop trying to do everything at once.
- Put things into categories and tick them off one at a time.
- “You’ve got to be practical before you can be pretty” – ie, understand all of the logistics around the venue before any decorative ‘extras’
DON’T SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH YOUR WEDDING, WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Everyone has an opinion. Unless you specifically need someone’s advice or opinion about something, don’t ask for it!
Mark told us it’s amazing for guests to experience your wedding for the very first time on the day, and be surprised and delighted by what they see! – so keep them guessing!
(And in the run up to your big day, who cares about their opinion anyway?!)
How to politely tell family and friends you don’t need their opinion on your wedding plans
It’s not always easy to keep secrets about your wedding, or to avoid a conversation with someone who wants to know all about your plans (and then share their own ideas and opinions about your wedding!) – so how do you politely but firmly avoid their questions?!
I asked lovely Mark, and these were his tips!
Answer with, “Darling, all I need you to do is look fabulous, turn up and enjoy the day!”
Say, “I don’t want to turn into that person who sits with their friends and talks about their wedding.” – and then ask them a question about their life.
You might want a best friend’s opinion on your dress… but don’t take four friends with you when you’re choosing your dress! (You could always take friends to one of your fittings.)
If you have an overbearing parent who wants to be involved, the best thing is to involve them in something specific – for example, you might have narrowed your menu choices down to two options and you don’t really care which is the final choice – get your parent to make the final decision. That way they feel important.
If parents are paying for some or all of your wedding, they do need to have more involvement. It’s just about managing it.
And if you overshare, be prepared to get opinions!
Although the Niemierko brand is known for the most incredible luxury weddings in the UK and beyond, Mark’s background is modest, and he’s a wonderfully down to earth and charming person. When it comes to unique weddings, Mark’s secret is to fill your day with your personalities:
“There’s something unbearably chic about just being yourself!”
Niemierko weddings are famously unique and different. And while they’re extravagant and fabulously decorated, the secret to having an amazing wedding is one that works for any budget: it’s that whole ethos of just stripping it back to create something really personal.
“People getting into debt for their wedding and the need to do that is a really terrible thing. I think it should all be relative.”
Think of your wedding as an opportunity to create NEW traditions. If you don’t fancy a cake or flowers, then don’t have them! If your passion is vegan food, have the most incredible plant based feast you can dream of! None of the ‘standard’ wedding traditions (outfits, transport, classic venues) are must-haves.
Beach boho Styled shoot captured by Sarah Hoyle Photography
Don’t feel pressured to style your wedding a certain way
Wedding stress can come from feeling the need to tick the box or the latest trend on the internet – for example, the whole ‘learning to have a dance’ thing was a big trend a while ago, and it can leave the groom (if he’s not a good dancer) feeling absolutely nervous and not enjoying it. (Mark says, “He should be dancing really badly and being himself! The only time you should do something like that is if you’re a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, in which case the entire wedding should be themed around dancing!”
Look for inspiration but do things your way.
For example – One of Mark’s couples wanted karaoke in the dancing. They knew it was naff but they didn’t care, and the groom was a singer. It worked out brilliantly!
The first time Mark heard of a photo booth was before they were a thing: “it was really different, and look how that took off!”
I agree 100% with Mark at Niemierko that fun is such a big thing – the amazing excitement of being engaged can be followed by all the stress of planning and the feeling changes – but you’ve got to have fun.
Planning fun things can be amazing (for example, Niemierko had a Prince impersonator at a wedding – it’s something that’s really quite weird, but it’s fun! The groom was obsessed with Prince. He knew every single song, even the B-sides. Everyone in the room knows he was obsessed with Prince) – we hear Mark and his team are planning another wedding with an amazing lookalike to appear late in the evening after the main band.)
“It could have been a bit tacky, but it wasn’t – well, it was, but in a good way!”
7 secrets to reducing wedding planning stress
- Have a plan
- Work out what to do when (and allow yourself lots of time)
- Allocate responsibilities: who does what? (Remember you’re a team: don’t split everything down the middle! Divide and conquer doesn’t work in weddings!)
- While you’re planning your wedding include breaks, treats and rewards for yourselves
- Remember real life
- Make sure you schedule in plenty of wedding planning-free days
- Look to the future: plan treats and adventures for after your wedding. Life doesn’t stop once you’re married!
1. Have a plan
Mark shared some fantastic advice to focus on the core components of your wedding first of all. The best way to think of of planning a wedding is like building a house from scratch:
Think of the venue as laying the foundations and think of the florist as the cushions and curtains.
Would you go cushion and curtain shopping before you’ve even laid out your house?
Those 5 core components to decide first are:
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- Your guest list
- Your dates (but don’t fixate on a single date until you have…)
- … your location
- Your budget – and be honest, what can you afford without getting into any debt?
- Your ceremony type (religious, civil, celebrant-led etc)
2. Work out what to do when
Perhaps you’d like to get married two years’ from now, or maybe you’d like to be wed before Christmas. Either way, you will need to figure out when stuff needs to be done.
Have a plan – however you two work best as a team (it might be Excel or a kitchen wall planner – something that works for you both). Work out what’s important and when you need to tick it off as ‘done’
(Wedding checklists online aren’t necessarily helpful here – keep things simple at first and don’t listen to anyone who says you NEED to send out invites three months in advance or Save the Dates a year before the big day. There are no rules!)
However, if you’re hiring a venue, buying a traditional wedding dress or booking a photographer, don’t let time slip through your fingers, as they can book up a couple of years in advance. Flexibility is your friend: do you really need all of these?
3. Who does what?
Most of your wedding planning items should be done together (e.g. photographer meetings, venue visits, guest list decisions) – but there will always be little bits you can allocate between you (budget overseer / spreadsheet queen) or to family and friends (chief gardener / maker of signage).
If anything, writing down responsibilities is a reminder that you’re in this together, working as a team!
4. Breaks, treats and rewards
If every weekend has a wedding planning task, it will drain you. Letting your wedding take over your life is a warning sign that your mental health could suffer.
So reward yourselves and make it tons of fun. Have a weekend away after you send out your invitations. Get together with friends for a barbecue when the sun shines. Treat your mum or dad to a lovely day out… and don’t talk about the wedding!
5. Real life
At first you might think you have eighteen months to plan your wedding – and it’s easy to assume that the whole of that time can be used for wedding stuff. But reality check: life carries on.
Allow yourselves to relax and unwind. Expect that you’ll still need time for all the usual stuff: a family member might need your support if something unexpected happens. A friend might need help moving house or you might be faced with a sudden career change. Real life won’t stop for your wedding, and anything at all can happen.
There will be times when your wedding isn’t the most important thing in your life, and that’s absolutely fine. Remember – be kind to yourselves.
If for any reason you need to postpone your wedding, we’ve a useful article from the mental health team at Bupa on how to deal with wedding postponements. This was written when Covid was impacting lots of couples, but it’s equally relevant for postponements due to family illness or other situations.
6. Planning-free-days
Take a break. Allocate days in your shared calendar where you’re not doing ANY wedding-related stuff. Taking the pressure off for a while will help keep you sane through the busy times!
And schedule these planning-free-days in. Because as your wedding planning gains momentum, it’s harder and harder to ‘find’ time for other stuff. If that time’s already set aside, it’s easier to tell people you’ve got other things you need to do on a particular day or weekend.
7. After the wedding
Don’t forget there’ll be a day when you’re all married and don’t have any wedding planning to do. Keep making plans for then – book in time to visit friends and family, for your hobbies, for whatever adventures you love doing in ‘normal life’!
The build up to a wedding can be intense.
The comedown after a wedding can be really hard if you suddenly find your diaries are empty after months of being busy doing exciting things. So make sure you plan good things for this time!
Most importantly, above anything on this list, is to ask for help if you’re struggling.
Mental health issues can’t be fixed by a few tips on the internet.
If wedding planning stress is having an impact on your life, reach out. Look for professional support and therapy. It really is ok not to be ok – and the support is there for you.
Further reading:
Our friends at Bupa shared their top 5 tips for stress free wedding planning
We do love planet-friendly, sustainable weddings! This lovely and super useful article to help you plan your eco-friendly wedding was written for English Wedding by Hampshire wedding photographer Sarah Hoyle
If you are planning your wedding this year, you might be well aware that it can actually have a huge impact on the environment. There are lots of things only used once for the day and at high cost. You may be feeling the pressure to fly guests in from abroad and also to fulfil a more traditional idea of a dress or suit, or flowers.
All images are by eco conscious Hampshire wedding photographer Sarah Hoyle Photography
Remember it is YOUR day done YOUR way, and if caring for the environment is something you do as part of your lifestyle, all your values shouldn’t go out the window, just because it’s your wedding day. Also if you are the kind of couple who wants to help make positive change in the world this should be reflected in your wedding as part of who you are. Celebrate your selves and honour all that is important to you.
So, where on Earth (excuse the pun) do you start?! There’s a lot to think about and juggle anyway with planning a sustainable wedding and trying to make eco choices along the way just adds to the confusion and overwhelm. This is why I’ve put 5 easy tips down as a starter for ten. Small swaps can make BIG differences so shop smart and I’m sure you will have the day of your dreams without compromising your vision and creating a large carbon footprint.
1. Firstly ethical wedding food!
Try to avoid using too much meat and dairy in your wedding menu. The way we farm and produce meat and dairy at the moment contributes to 14.5% of global greenhouse gasses. Vegan food is much more accepted now and plus it’s super tasty! And whatever your food choice, choose caterers who source local produce.
When you book your caterer check their eco policy. Do they recycle, separate and compost the waste food or do they throw it into the same bin afterwards? Also who oversees if this will actually happen? Sometimes caterers have great intentions, only to then hire in agency staff who know nothing of the environmental policy and unknowingly throw everything into black bin bags. A catering manager should keep ALL staff up to speed with what happens to the food afterwards.
Styling: Amethyst Weddings | Photography: Sarah Hoyle Photography | Stationery: Ellie and Liv
2. Your guest list
Consider a smaller guest list. After Covid most people have started liking the idea of small intimate weddings anyway. The more people means more waste at your wedding. So who could you get away with leaving off the list? Aunt Beryl? Also consider how far your guests have to travel to be with you. If any are driving miles, could they take the train or car share? Or if some would need to fly over, would you consider not inviting them? Maybe having a live feed to the ceremony instead? This is an emotional one, rife with family politics and pressure. But remember it’s your day!! But a tough one so just do what you can to reduce your wedding’s carbon footprint here.
3. Sustainable flowers
Styling: Amethyst Weddings | Photography: Sarah Hoyle Photography | Florist: Blooming Cow
Flowers are one of the most beautiful things about weddings. But do your research beforehand. Find a florist who works sustainably. This means seasonal, locally grown flowers. Not imported from abroad. Using natural ways to create displays and not floral foam, which is very damaging to the environment. It is made from synthetic, non-recyclable plastic and uses toxic foam.
Dried flowers that haven’t been bleached are also super on trend right now and are more sustainable as they last. I know it’s all very tempting to try and recreate that Pinterest inspired bouquet but if it’s using out of season flowers, the florists would have to import them in and they may well have been grown using pesticides and chemicals. Ask your florist first what is available at the time of your wedding and plan your flowers around what can be sourced ethically.
4. Ethical wedding favours
Try not to give favours just for the sake of it, it’s a tradition that seems to have lost its meaning of late. Most people don’t even use or take home the favour unless it’s edible! So consider whether or not you want to give them. But if thought about more, you could give something that can be reused or has an actual purpose. For example, a seed packet, small plant, homemade jam, homemade lemonade for example. All have small carbon footprints and are super cute sustainable wedding favours!
5. Your wedding outfits
Now of course your dress can be VERY important! However it’s a dress worn for one day, not the most eco friendly item on the list! So to reduce the waste and carbon footprint, source a locally made dress, use a sustainable bridal shop, use recycled fabrics, buy vintage or second hand or you could even rent. All great options and actually probably less of a strain on the old bank balance too!
The same applies to wedding suits – often hired, but there are other options including a local tailor, or buying second hand. Wearing a suit you already own is absolutely fine as well: why not accessorise with a beautifully patterned waistcoat, a bowtie or cute pocket square and tie from a local Etsy seller?
Hopefully you are feeling like you have more of an idea how you can help the planet and still plan the sustainable wedding of your dreams.
Here are some little extra thoughts too, I’ve seen these kinds of items panic bought at the last minute, so as long as you are planning ahead you can avoid buying mass produced tat from China!
- No single use plastic toys for kids
- no single use flip flops
- no pots of bubbles
- Ensure bar suppliers don’t use single use plastic cups
- Thoughtful thank you gifts for Mums and bridesmaids rather than bouquets that won’t last.
- Also you could consider offsetting carbon with planting trees or ask guests to contribute to tree planting initiatives as part of their wedding gift.
- You could use the National Trust to plant trees or sign up to Ecologi to plant trees and fund carbon offsetting initiatives.
Have fun, do your research and don’t be shy to ask for your wedding suppliers’ Eco Policy!
Sarah x
Styling: Amethyst Weddings | Photography: Sarah Hoyle Photography | Florist: Blooming Cow
Real wedding at Cain Manor, captured by Sarah Hoyle Photography
We love weddings! We’re excited for all of you lovely people out there planning your weddings. Enjoy the adventure… and along the way, let’s do our very best to reduce weddings’ impact on the world around us.
Credit https://www.freeformimages.co.uk Wedding here
As joyful as they are, weddings can be big, expensive, wasteful and stressful events. Much of the wedding media is focused on things to buy for weddings – and we want to change that.
A wedding is a happy celebration with origins as old as time: humans have been falling in love since we got here.
Weddings are a thing we invented.
They’re optional.
(You don’t have to have a wedding to get married.)
(You don’t have to get married to spend your life with the person you love.)
Weddings don’t have to cost a penny.
And weddings can be anything you want them to be: a celebration of love doesn’t need to follow traditions.
Let’s make some new, planet-loving wedding traditions!
Real Wedding in Norfolk by Damien Vickers Photography – find out more
Weddings are an opportunity to consider love for the earth.
Modern day weddings don’t need to lean towards consumerism.
A wedding shouldn’t be all about ‘things’, but about focusing on what’s truly important.
- Weddings generate a huge carbon footprint
- They create waste with single-use purchases – check the facts at 77 Diamonds’ Full Guide to a Sustainable Wedding
- They’re portrayed as high-spending events (and we fall for the hype)
We’d love to see more plastic-free weddings.
There are little choices we can all make around wedding planning. Little swaps like plastic-free favours or choosing ethical suppliers.
There are even ways to offset the carbon footprint of your wedding.
We’re not here to dictate what you ‘should’ do, or to judge you. We’re all doing our best, and reading this is enough. Thank you.
If you can make your wedding more sustainable, we think you’re pretty amazing.
Some quick tips and amazing swaps for a planet-friendly wedding
Credit: Nicola Gough Photography at Stockton House. Feature here
- instead of a big ‘do’, choose a cosy micro wedding
- instead of long journeys, find a venue close to home
- instead of imported flowers, use a local grower-florist or grow your own
- look for ethical caterers
- have a charity gift list
- give back to your community
If you’d love to have a more sustainable wedding, the best starting point for your eco friendly plans is with a completely blank slate.
- venue hire
- photography
- food and drink
- new outfits
- decoration
We know this is almost revolutionary (at least in the world of the wedding media) – but it’s true. There is NOTHING you have to have, to have a wedding.
A brief history: weddings and consumerism
Credit: Beth Beresford Photography. Feature here
Weddings haven’t always been this expensive.
Oh, and by the way: this is an alternative history which you won’t find on Wikipedia.
Modern western society has changed astonishingly fast in the last century. People have changed: we own a LOT of stuff.
Imagine just before the First World War. People worked hard, on farms and in factories, and earned little. They had houses, but they didn’t have TVs or phones or department stores. They grew their own food, made their own clothes, made just enough money to get by and often went hungry.
It really wasn’t so long ago.
Now, we all have Netflix and laptops and iPhones. We buy new clothes all the time. We spend our money on scented candles and flavoured gin. We fly abroad. We visit restaurants. We have savings and spa days, and cars and more than two pairs of shoes each.
Credit: Sally Rawlins Photography. Wedding here
Many of us live a very privileged life, and our weddings have changed with the times to reflect that.
Brides in the early 20th century didn’t go to a boutique and choose a £1,000 dress. They’d make their own from what they could afford, or they’d borrow, or wear their Sunday best.
Grooms wouldn’t hire a suit for the day. They’d wear their best one, and that was fine.
No one spent hundreds of pounds on flowers or cakes. Driving out to a grand old country house was beyond aspirational for most people. They’d have a church ceremony and a couple of group photos outside, and a modest reception if they had one at all.
Ask yourself a question: was there anything ‘wrong’ with the way your great grandparents got married?
It actually all sounds really lovely, doesn’t it.
And the impact on the planet of the wedding I’ve just described? Tiny, beautiful – and so much better than the harm we create with weddings in the 2020s.
Credit: Amanda Karen Photography. Feature here
Take a step back from the wedding media today.
Ask yourself what your wedding needs to be, and why. Talk about it between the two of you.
Your wedding can be anything you want it to be, and you can choose to spend as much or as little as you can afford.
Focus on what’s important to you both.
Create something beautiful.
And think of all the big and little things you can do, to make the world a better place.
Making weddings sustainable is important to us at English Wedding.
We’ll be sharing a whole bunch of articles to help you make your wedding better for the planet.
Follow us on Instagram so you don’t miss a thing!
There’s more to this article than meets the eye. Lovely Sarah speaks from the heart about her custom made wedding rings with vintage and family heirloom gems. And she won me over the first time I read this piece – what could be more romantic than giving new life to a treasured diamond or gemstone? The loveliness of Heulwen Lewis Bespoke also lies in its creator. There are plenty of ethical diamonds businesses, and bigger brands making bespoke rings. But having spoken to this lovely lady, I’d choose her if I was looking for a wedding or engagement ring. Because a special ring should have heart and soul, and Sarah’s shines through in everything she creates. Please read this – it’s wonderful.
Last month I had the pleasure of delivering a vintage style cluster ring made from preloved jewellery to a lovely client who wanted a remodelled piece. We used diamonds from three preloved rings and combined her 18ct yellow gold with some recycled platinum for added white sparkle! It was definitely one of my favourite designs to date: when the client called to say thank you, I found myself tearing up!
Hearing how happy she was was great feedback. Even after sixteen years in the jewellery business, I’ve never grown tired of breathing new life into preloved items and remodelling them to reflect the wearer’s personal style – and this feels even more relevant now.
Life has turned on its head over the last few years, and many people are rethinking how they want to live their lives. Shopping feels more meaningful these days: customers are telling me they’re vowing to support ethical local businesses from now on or that they’re avoiding fast disposable fashion.
This attitude applies to jewellery too. More couples than ever are asking us to create engagement and wedding rings that incorporate old stones. Others are bringing vintage gold or platinum they’d like to meltdown and remodel. Or sentimental items that have been gathering dust because they don’t suit modern tastes — the ring from a lost loved one, the vintage earrings from a grandparent, the pendant handed down from generation to generation. We love transforming these keepsakes to suit the current owner, so they can be worn with pride and treasured for years to come.
A lot of the feel-good factor comes from knowing these pieces are sustainable. Of course, I love the buzz of shiny brand-new things. But for the planet’s sake, I prefer to reuse what customers already own to create what they want instead.
Sometimes that means melting down customers’ metal and redesigning something fabulous. When this isn’t possible, we source recycled metals from other sustainable sources. Customers are sometimes surprised to hear that all loose diamonds and gemstones can also be reused, from the tiniest to the largest. Should there be any wear and tear, such as chips/scuffs from the old mount, these can be polished out until the stones look as good as new. Again, we source stones from sustainable and fairtrade sources when vintage stones aren’t available.
After all, precious gemstones and metals have been around for billions of years! And they’ll likely be around for many more. By their very nature, these materials lend themselves to being recycled and reused over and over. In this way, even as fashions and tastes change, it is possible to stay up-to-date in a sustainable way.
Looking for inspiration for your wedding? Take this redesign of a much-loved claw set ring, combined with two diamonds from a pair of unworn studs. I loved remodelling them into a stunning contemporary five stone engagement ring.
Or perhaps you’re looking for an alternative wedding ring for the groom? I created this signet ring from a preloved ring that we cleaned, resized and fitted with a specially cut stone.
So why not dust off your forgotten gems and get in touch? We’d love to transform your vintage jewellery into a future heirloom that’s sustainable for generations to come.
Get in touch here: https://www.heulwenlewisbespoke.com
Heulwen Lewis Bespoke is an English Wedding member