And With This Ring...
08.02.12
4Culture
A Natural or Ethical Wedding can not only be cost-effective, but also wonderfully memorable
If you’re getting married, the sheer stress of arrangements can make it difficult to maintain a sense of perspective. The average cost of a wedding in the UK hovers between a gobsmacking £15,000 and £21,000, yet the average annual salary is only slightly more than that. While it may not be spending of Eccelstone proportions, there’s no escaping the fact that it is a staggering amount of money to spend on a day’s festivities (not to mention the impact it may have on the planet) After all, a wedding lasts a day, but a marriage lasts a lifetime.
Yet alongside all this waste and conspicuous consumption, an alternative wedding industry is blossoming: that of the eco-wedding. While the term may arouse thoughts of Druidic chanting or tambourine jangling, don’t jump to conclusions: there is nothing strange about having a natural or organic wedding, in fact, they are becoming increasingly common and many pay tribute to country traditions which have been alive for generations. Such weddings are not only recession-friendly but also earth-friendly, and often involve collaborations with friends and family, making the memories of the day all the more special.
Lucy and James on their wedding day, outside the church which was decorated by a local parishioner
Lucy Mullaly married James in September of last year in Fowey, on the South Coast of Cornwall. "James and I were both quite conscious of living in a sustainable and ethical way and neither of us were ever so enamoured with the idea of our ‘big day’ to warrant spending a huge amount of money on it,” she says. After James presentied her with an engagement ring from Ingle and Rhode, made from fair trade white gold and set with a conflict-free diamond, they decided to keep costs low by recruiting friends, family and local people to help out on the big day.
They married in the local church, but, rather than forking out a fortune on flowers, they came to a suitable compromise. “We gave a donation to the local parishioner who was responsible for the weekly church flowers and just requested that she did her usual displays but in our colour scheme,” she explains. “It was great to give her a small gift for the work she usually does for free and saved us from hiring a florist.”
The sweets at Lucy and James' wedding were provided by friends and family, and Lucy made the cake stands herself
Their reception venue, the town hall at Fowey Harbour, cost less than £100 to hire for the whole day. It was a plain setting which only needed a little imagination and creativity to customise. “We had access the evening before to dress it up, she says. “The room was a very basic rectangular hall with a stage at one end. It wasn’t beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a 2 minute walk from the church, had great views of the sea and looked beautiful once we put our creativity to the test.” The reception flowers were cut locally from the gardens of friends on the morning of the wedding, and the bride’s bouquet was bought from the local greengrocer and arranged with the help of her mother and mother-in-law, giving them a chance to bond.
Charlotte Burton, founder of the Natural Wedding Company (an online directory for eco-friendly and natural weddings) also used seasonal flowers, which she displayed in an eclectic range of earthenware pots, old pewter mugs, and blue glass bottles. “I chose May to get married because I love the Costswolds at that time of year, with the cow parsley filling the lanes, so we chose to fill the church with only cow parsley picked from the surrounding countryside,” she says. The food was also all locally sourced, with the couple knowing exactly where it had all come from. “The clotted cream came from a family-run business in Devon, the main meal was sourced from local ingredients, and the apple jelly my granny made with apples from her garden.”
The garden tent at Charlotte and Nick's wedding, which was decorated using objects from their home. Photo: Mark Tattersall Photography
Above: Charlotte's dress was made from 100 year old lace, and her bouquet of country garden flowers. Photo: Mark Tattersall Photography
Above: Lucy, a seamstress, made her dress herself from antique lace from Shepherd's Bush market, and descrbes it as a 'labour of love.'
In fact, recruiting friends and family to help can be one of the most cost-effective and memorable ways of planning your wedding day. At Lucy and James’ wedding, all the music at the ceremony was performed and led by friends, many of whom also helped out with the catering. “We asked some of our friends and family who are especially good in the kitchen if they wouldn’t mind baking cakes for the day,” she says. “Instead of a main cake we had a table of cakes and treats donated by friends.” Lucy displayed them on vintage style cake-stands, made by gluing floral plates from a charity shop together with glass goblets between each layer. For Lucy, the fact that everyone chipped in is what made it such a special day.
But what of the dress, that crucial central element that is so frequently regarded as the be all and end all? Lucy worked as a seamstress at Rigby and Peller so was able to make her own, but what if you are lacking somewhat in the dressmaking department? Charlotte, having read about mass-produced wedding dresses, didn’t want a new design. “My dress was made by a dressmaker in Cheltenham from antique, 100 year old lace,” she says. “for me, using old antique lace meant I was reusing something, and I liked the idea that I was supporting a local business. My garter was made from vintage ribbon, and my husband’s cufflinks were made from old typewriter keys and bought from Etsy. The veil I wore was a family heirloom.”
Designer Franco Francesca showcases the first couture wedding dress in the world to have been made from corn fibre.
Even if you have the budget and have always dreamed of wearing a couture wedding gown, there are eco-alternatives. Italian designer Franco Francesca is the creator of the first ever couture wedding dress of fabric made from corn fibre. “Made from one of the most cultivated and abundant plants, corn fibre, was the first fibre to be synthesised from an annually renewable resource,” he explains. At €15,000, it doesn’t come cheap, yet Franco maintains that there is a market: “I manipulated ordinary eco fabric to make high fashion,” he says, “I was recognised as the first designer to start the Haute Eco Couture concept.” His Eco_Vintage collection was presented on February the 4th at Bergamo Bride Fair in Italy, and he is hoping to gain some kind of distribution as a result (he currently only works on a made-to-measure basis). “I knew the future would be green fashion…I’m so surprised how many people contact me for help and advice,” he says.
Whether you’re after high-end design, wanting to cut back costs, or in love with the idea of a simple country wedding, the trick seems to be following your heart. “There are so many magazines and websites telling you ‘you need this’, making you question whether your wedding will feel like a wedding if you don’t do them,” says Charlotte. “It’s not just about being eco-friendly , it’s about thinking of ways to celebrate your love for each other and who you are as a couple.”
For more information and tips for your ethical wedding, visit Ethical Weddings and The Natural Wedding Company. To learn more about wedding dress designer Franco Francesca, visit his website here.
