Sustainable Wedding Experiment! How to hold an unforgettable eco-friendly wedding?
Hey Malaysians! It’s been a while! During this time apart, we’ve experienced wonderful moments in life. You read that right—I’m married! We successfully hosted a sustainable wedding that my husband (still feels shy saying that!) and I will always cherish. The video is still in the editing phase (we’re working hard on it!), but for now, I’d like to share some inspiration for anyone in Malaysia considering a sustainable wedding. If you want to see highlights from our professional team, click here!
I started convincing Yu Xiang to have a sustainable wedding years ago, haha! When I was studying environmental education in Taiwan, I came across a couple who shared their “waste-free wedding” online, and it really inspired me. I was determined that whenever I got married, I would have a zero-waste wedding! Years later, I never imagined this dream would actually come true! Of course, it took a lot of effort and blessings from many people, so let me share how we made it happen!
1. Venue Selection: A Perfect Blend of Nature and Sustainability
Because of the distance—Yu Xiang is in Johor Bahru, and I’m in Kajang, Selangor—we knew we needed to hold two small wedding celebrations for family and friends. I’ll share details about the other one later! Most of our relatives live in southern Selangor, so we decided to have the outdoor wedding in Hulu Langat. After some research, site visits, and considerations, we chose a sustainable Airbnb called “Far Far Away.” Malaysia actually has many outdoor wedding venues, with budgets ranging from hundreds to thousands of ringgit, and several places really caught my eye!
What attracted me most to Far Far Away was the sustainable philosophy of the hosts, Terry and Yati (and of course, that dreamy name of the location, haha!). The entire venue harmoniously blends with the natural surroundings, and every brick and piece of furniture was handmade or upcycled. We had tables of all shapes—big, small, long, hexagonal, oval—seating different numbers of guests.
Terry and Yati are also very compassionate and have adopted many stray animals. Their eco-friendly approach even earned them Airbnb’s Green Stays Award! If you want to learn more, you can click here. I absolutely love their home, their philosophy, and their beautiful love story; everyone should consider visiting!
However, Terry and Yati emphasized that they don’t often host weddings, but because our values aligned and they felt our sincerity, they agreed to work with us. So, if anyone is interested in having a wedding there, now you know how! Haha! Of course, I also highly recommend going there for a relaxing vacation; it’s truly therapeutic!
Back to the wedding preparations—Terry and Yati helped us immensely, especially with arranging the tables, waste sorting, and parking. We were so proud to share that despite having so many guests, the amount of waste, including food scraps, was surprisingly low!
Sustainable Considerations: Choosing a venue close to home, coexisting with nature, and supporting local sustainable businesses.
Benefits: Guests felt relaxed, as if they were in a paradise, enjoying meaningful conversations.
Challenges: It’s a bit of a journey away from the city, so guests had an adventurous feel getting there, but we provided video guides to help!
2. Invitations and Guest Reminders: Reducing Paper Waste
We opted for entirely digital invitations, which we created using Canva, haha!
Since our guests were our closest relatives and friends, we could better manage the headcount. A month before the wedding, a week before, and even on the day itself, we sent repeated reminders and information about the wedding — like bringing their own containers, carpooling, and our dress code theme. It was incredibly moving to see everyone raise their phones and read the collective vows together during the ceremony; We felt so blessed.
Sustainable Considerations: Making good use of electronic products to minimize printing and paper waste.
Benefits: Improved communication with relatives and friends.
Challenges: Some older relatives without smartphones found it difficult to get the information. We had to communicate through phone calls, visits, or through their kids.
3.Transportation Arrangements: Reducing Carbon Emissions
The venue had limited space for cars, but this aligned perfectly with our sustainable values, providing a great reason to encourage carpooling! Before the wedding, we communicated with friends and relatives individually to figure out where they would be coming from and arranged them in groups to share rides.
Sustainable Considerations: Encouraging carpooling to reduce carbon emissions.
Benefits: Allowed unfamiliar relatives to connect and get to know each other.
Challenges: It required careful communication and planning ahead of time to confirm guest numbers and vehicles. It’s helpful to create a sheets to plan carpool routes and times and to encourage unfamiliar relatives to meet and exchange contact information before the wedding.
4. Wedding Decorations and Favors: Creative Nature and Handicrafts
We kept our decorations simple and natural, utilizing the venue’s beautiful scenery (it was already stunning!). We didn’t want to create waste, so we avoided making arches or too many disposable decorations. However, the decorator suggested we needed some elements for the ceremony area to create a sense of occasion and help guests know where to stand (and she was absolutely right!). So we added a fabric piece to the ceremony area, haha!
With ideas from the event planner, we decided to use fruits and vegetables, along with items we already had (like bamboo racks and mirror from our studio) to decorate. The overall effect was just perfect! We also loved our bouquets and boutonnieres!
After the wedding, we gave the fruits and veggies as favors to guests, spreading happiness. At the end, guests felt like they were at a market, having a blast! A few days later, we received photos from guests sharing delicious dishes made with the fruits and veges; it was so adorable!
For the table number cards, we chose photos from the time we were born until we met. These pictures became an album after the wedding, turning into treasured family memories.
Sustainable Considerations: Choosing local, hardy, and long-lasting fruits and veggies, avoiding damage during decoration to prevent waste, and reusing materials as much as possible.
Benefits:The handmade elements filled the wedding with warmth. And the fruits and veges was a hit, guests loved them!
Challenges: Design took time and creativity, along with much communication! Huge thanks to my team and friends for their expertise and patience in brainstorming creative waste-reducing ideas. We also needed to be mindful of where we stored the produce, especially outdoors, considering the weather. It’s a good idea to find more friends to help out (and it strengthens bonds!).
5. Attire: simple and comfortable!
We opted for simple, natural wedding attire, avoiding multiple outfit changes or complicated makeup. Before the wedding, we discussed with the makeup artist how to minimize waste by reusing tools and avoiding unnecessary purchases. The hairstylist had great ideas and collaborated with the florist to match the environment and our outfits, utilizing available flowers (some picked directly from her home) for the designs. Hair accessories and floral pieces can be reused after the wedding.
For immediate family and siblings, we asked about the color schemes of outfits they already owned, without requiring everyone to wear the same thing. Even though the outfits weren’t uniform, the overall look was harmonious, and everyone felt comfortable in their attire!
Sustainable Considerations: Avoiding the purchase of brand-new outfits. We rented the wedding dress from a local brand and minimized changes in styles. We aimed to use reusable cotton pads instead of creating single-use waste for makeup. For hairpieces, we also tried to incorporate existing accessories.
Benefits: The attire matched the natural vibe of the wedding, as everyone felt relaxed and enjoyed their time with family and friends.
Challenges: There was a lack of understanding about sustainable makeup and local brands, with few reference cases available, but everyone used their expertise and experience to create something creative and stunning!
6. Catering and waste sorting: reducing waste at the source
We chose to support local restaurants and prioritized local ingredients. Each dish was carefully discussed to avoid single-use utensils, especially desserts, to minimize waste from the start. We also reduced meat options and chose dishes that wouldn’t dirty hands or produce hard-to-manage scraps.
Additionally, all utensils were reusable, and we ordered only what was needed for the guest count (which was actually more than enough!). We encouraged guests to bring their own containers to pack leftovers, and we provided clear waste sorting signs. On the wedding day, the amount of waste was surprisingly low!
I want to share that 小紅書 (Xiaohongshu) is a great place to buy preloved wedding supplies! Throughout the wedding planning process, I found many second-hand items there that were passed down from previous couples. Not only did they bring good luck, but they also looked really beautiful! Thanks to this, we didn’t use any disposable cups during our tea ceremony!
Sustainability Considerations: We chose a buffet style to support more local foods, avoid over-ordering, reduce single-use waste, reuse utensils, and support local businesses.
Benefits: This approach helped us manage waste and minimize food waste.
Challenges:It required careful communication about the ingredients and presentation of the dishes. We had to double-check the number of guests, as not everyone would bring their own containers, so we needed a backup plan for food waste disposal. Fortunately, our venue already practices waste sorting and composting, so we didn’t have to worry too much. Plus, there were leftovers that could be fed to animals, and the caterer provided takeout containers, ensuring that food waste was kept to a minimum!
7. Wedding design: Focusing on Emotion and Connection
For us, the most important part of the wedding was the emotional connection with our loved ones and friends, creating beautiful memories together. So, we decided not to use any projectors (partly because there wasn’t much equipment available, haha). We wanted to fully immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of the event. The emcee’s and friends’ heartfelt sharing, surprise performances, and the interactions with guests filled the wedding with genuine warmth and love.
Another special highlight was our vow exchange. A few days before the wedding, we unexpectedly found some recycled paper made with a paper-making machine that Yu Xiang and I had tested years ago. We decided to write our vows on this paper we had kept all these years, which made the moment even more meaningful! They looked so much more beautiful with the ribbon tied around it.
Sustainability Considerations: Make the most of existing resources and simplify the process.
Benefits: Being fully engaged in the wedding allows us to feel all the warmth and joy.
Challenges: It’s essential to communicate and plan everything in advance, with clear divisions of tasks! This ensures that we can be present and calm on the big day. However, the great thing about a small wedding is that all the guests are close friends and family. No matter what happens, they will always look out for each other and lend a hand, so we can just relax and enjoy!