A Green, Blooming & More Sustainable Wedding
The Art of Sustainable Floristry in Wedding Design
For eco-conscious brides and grooms interested in protecting and preserving our beautiful planet, part of the love story is the shared value of sustainability. If it’s important to you to make sustainable choices for your wedding and waste as little as possible, consider these three principles as you interview potential floral designers:
Avoid Floral Foam
Have you ever noticed a damp block of green foam underneath an arrangement or wreath? That’s floral foam, and because it is inexpensive and easy to work with, it’s the industry standard. At Studio Nectar, we never use it, because when it is cut into pieces it produces toxic dust that is unhealthy to inhale and can make its way to water sources. Also, floral foam never biodegrades. There are many floral designers in the industry who offer alternatives to floral foam. We use chicken wire as our base, and it results in a loose, sculptural look we prefer.
Choose Local and Seasonal
A generation ago, most of the flowers in this country came from local flower shops sourcing from US farms. Now, a great quantity of flowers sold in the US come from Columbia (see this excellent Smithsonian Magazine article ). Though recently there have been steps to improve growing practices in Columbia, many of the growers there still use huge quantities of insecticides and pesticides, and the flowers travel long distances by plane and by truck. Some florists develop allergies from working with these chemical-laden flowers. That’s why, whenever possible, Studio Nectar seeks out seasonal flowers, fruits and foliage from local, organic farms in New Jersey or New York. In cool climates like the Northeast, even the most well-intentioned florist will have to go beyond what’s local in winter, but if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, it is meaningful to select what’s in season and locally available whenever possible. See our seasonal Arrangements page for specifics about what’s seasonal on the date of your wedding. (link)
Choose a Floral Designer who Composts and Recycles
Weddings produce abundant waste, and composting cuts back on that waste. Spent blooms emit the greenhouse gas methane when they are sent to a landfill, yet they emit less-damaging carbon dioxide when they are composted. We offer a local pick up service for spent blooms and materials. We like to reuse vessels and chicken-wire foundations, compost organic matter, and send everything that is good for the soil back to it.
About the Author Amy Gofton is the founding director of Studio Nectar , a floral studio in Montclair, NJ, that creates wedding designs that are sculptural, seasonal and one-of-a-kind.