190From ancient times to the present, drumming, music, and the roar of ceremonial cannons seem to be the standard atmosphere for a wedding. But if the grand hall, fragrant flowers, and clinking glasses at the banquet all fade away, would you still say "I do" to such an extremely minimalist wedding?
When a wedding is not just an event between two people on a certain day but extends to the happiness of many, and is conducted in a way that shows love for the surrounding environment and the Earth, the significance of the wedding becomes even more enduring.
Recently, Carbonstop collaborated with a couple to create a "unique" wedding.
Li Shaoxin and Hu Wai met because of environmental protection and climate change. They agreed early on to have a sustainable, low-carbon wedding, trying their best to avoid any negative impact on the environment and climate. For example, they refused to use single-use items, made sure the floral materials were sustainable, hosted a vegetarian wedding banquet, and allowed international guests to participate online, giving their friends and family a unique carbon-neutral wedding experience. They also hoped to inspire more people to embrace sustainability continuously.
After calculation by Carbonstop, the wedding ultimately produced 23 tons of CO2 equivalent, with 17.7 tons of CO2 equivalent coming from travel emissions via planes, high-speed trains, and cars, accounting for 78% of total emissions. Approximately 4.4 tons came from hotel accommodation, 0.2 tons from catering, and 0.5 tons from floral materials and decorations. The couple offset all the carbon emissions from this wedding by purchasing wind power projects registered in the national voluntary emission reduction and emission trading system.
01
Refusing Single-Use Plastics
Throughout the wedding event, every effort was made to reduce single-use items and packaging, opting for reusable items whenever possible and avoiding plastic decorations. This seemingly simple decision proved surprisingly challenging to implement, as our lives are already heavily reliant on plastics and single-use items. For instance, individually packaged pastries would better preserve freshness and extend shelf life. However, to reduce packaging, the couple chose pastries designed to be less prone to breaking.
02
Letting Beauty Endure
The flowers and plants at the wedding should not only bloom for one day. Therefore, the florals used in this wedding were mostly potted plants that could continue to grow, and local floral materials were prioritized over disposable decorations. Ultimately, more than half of the plants and floral materials used in the wedding could continue to thrive. The branches used for decoration were collected from the mountains, and orchids, bamboo palms, tropical plants, and bird-of-paradise could return to the florist to continue growing. Eucalyptus leaves were dried and reused, and all locally sourced plants retained their roots and main stems to minimize the impact on their growth. For the flowers that were difficult to preserve, they were shared with the hotel and staff so they could be reused and enjoyed further.
03
Deliciousness Without Harm
The most distinctive feature of this wedding, according to the couple, was the vegetarian banquet. They wanted to prove to their friends and family that a memorable wedding does not depend on luxury seafood like abalone or shark fin; vegetarian meals can also bring joy. They hoped to use their wedding as an example to show everyone that we can celebrate the joy of marriage without sacrificing other lives or indulging in excessive meat consumption.
A carbon-neutral wedding, simple yet profound. It discards the formalism of traditional weddings, focusing more on the essence of the ceremony while integrating green and low-carbon concepts. By taking concrete actions, it achieved the goal of carbon neutrality, making the wedding unique. The couple celebrated their happiness while spreading the concept of green and low-carbon living.
Love and marriage need to last forever, and the environment also requires sustainable development. A green and environmentally friendly wedding not only reflects forward-thinking and advanced ideas and a unique, elegant taste but also benefits the real environment we live in. Let us find eternity and brilliance in every detail of life.
