wildlife-friendly paper product alternatives
go paperless with e-vites
Email your save-the-dates and invitations. It saves trees, and people are less likely to lose them. Many couples use wedding websites, which include easy, online RSVPs that avoid the challenge of people who forget to mail back their RSVP card.
reduce & recycle
If you have wedding guests who aren’t internet savvy and you still want to send snail mail invites, use recycled paper products and only include the essential information; everything else can go on a wedding website.
send an invite they can grow
There are companies that print your invitation on paper that contains seeds, so instead of tossing the invitation in the trash, guests can plant it and enjoy the flowers that grow. Just make sure the seeds are for native species of plants.
One study found that gardens with native plants can attract up to five times the number of butterfly and moth species compared to gardens with non-native plants.
biodegradable place cards
If you’re assigning tables or seats, place cards are hard to avoid (and they can be useful to indicate to servers what meal guests have selected). Get creative and use biodegradable materials like leaves with names written on them in place of having cards printed.
signage
Use signs instead of individual paper programs and menus that just get left behind. There are many ways to do this creatively with chalkboards, repurposed window panes and other reusable materials.