Kate and Chris got married at the Neu Neu in Minneapolis, and it was their intention to have a low-waste, sustainable wedding. With the help of Ashlyn at Luum Collective as their planner, they were able to have the fall celebration they wanted while ensuring that they were minimizing their impact on our planet.
Read more to see how they did it, and to get some ideas for yourself! Remember, there is more than one way to have a sustainable wedding, but the principles hold!
What made this Minneapolis Wedding Sustainable
Let’s start with the biggest-hitting items — the pieces of any wedding or event that will create the most waste.
First, there is catering. Kate and Chris worked with Chowgirls Catering to create a fabulous, seasonal, local, organic, and TASTY menu to enjoy with their guests on their wedding day. Chowgirls Catering is not only thoughtful about where they source their ingredients, but they also partner with organizations in the Twin Cities Area that support women, children, arts, hunger relief, local farming, food inequity, and sustainability. All that from your wedding caterer?? What’s there to not feel great about? Chowgirls provides dinnerware such as linens, plates, utensils, and glasses, so you can avoid single-use items there as well.
Second, let’s talk about flowers and decor. The biggest thing that helped Kate and Chris with sustainable decor is ensuring that everything was reusable, compostable, or eliminated. For example, their foam- and plastic-free floral was created by JNY Studios with seasonal, locally grown flowers. If we had bad weather that day and needed to take photos inside, you still would have known from their photos that it was fall simply based on their flowers!
They also worked with JNY to grow some of their centerpieces in thrifted pots, which guests could take home! I thought this was such a fun personal touch and a creative way to do favors! Low-key I still have a plant from my sister’s 2022 wedding centerpieces and I love it!
In addition to all these great intentional choices, Kate and Chris also worked with a sustainable wedding photographer (yours truly!). 🙂 It was awesome to work with this couple. Learn more about how Jessica Knighton Photography does business sustainably at this link here!
Lastly, on decor, they rented amber candle votives to fit their vibe from Keyed Up Events to ensure that those items would be reused by many other couples in the future. This saved them some money and also some headache from buying and reselling. Renting is pretty much always a good idea!
Next, the Neu Neu itself strives to be a more sustainable venue by taking measures to reduce its energy consumption and water use, while encouraging vendors to aid in sustainability efforts as well. Unfortunately, they do not have composting on site, but there is available compost drop-off for your caterer about 1 block away from the venue.
Finally, let’s talk about what wasn’t there.
Kate and Chris opted to forgo all stationery for their wedding. Other than potted plants, there were no party favors. And there was not a piece of single-use plastic on site! That’s right. No floral foam, no plastic cups or cutlery, nada! This lack of plastic truly made their wedding look so elegant and natural, and I’m so here for it!
Another trend that has been hitting this year are tchotchke items like glow sticks, foam lights, sunglasses, and glowsticks on dance floors. I admit it’s nice to have something for your guests to do with their hands, but I’m here to tell you these are cheap items that are likely to break before the night is out, and will definitely end up right in the trash sooner or later. I loved that they danced in the laser light with their friends and family and partied away just as hard without those things!
Sustainable Wedding Vendors Who Created This Day
Ok, I’ve mentioned a few of our vendors for the day that pulled off this fabulous, sustainable event at Neu Neu, but here’s the full list! Check them out as you plan your wedding to create even a little more sustainable day!
Planner: Luum Collective
Venue: The Neu Neu
Photographer: Jessica Knighton Photography
Floral/Decor: JNY Studios
Catering: Chowgirls Catering
Bar: Liquid Motion
DJ: Adagio DJ Entertainment
Makeup: Evry Makeup Studio
Hair: Curl Salon
Dress: Luxe Bridal
Suit: Suit Shop / Tie Bar
Want to learn more about sustainable wedding floral, where to find your wedding gown, or want to work with a photographer who shares your values for intentional and sustainable events? Look no further than those linky-links! Can’t wait to see what we can create together 🙂
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