Wedding ceremony outdoors at Virginia Aquarium. Photo Credit: Dragon Photo Studio.

From the venue to the clothes to the party favors, there are a lot of elements to think of when planning a wedding. Fortunately, there are just as many opportunities to ensure your big day incorporates your love for the environment alongside your love for your partner. The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center hosts weddings, engagement shoots, and other private events at our facility, and we have a few tips to help make your special day as eco-friendly as possible.

Header photo credit: Dragon Photo Studio.

Choosing a Venue

One of the most efficient paths to planning a sustainable wedding is to choose a venue that prioritizes sustainable practices. For example, the Virginia Aquarium is a Virginia Green Travel partner which means all events we host ensure to avoid waste as much as possible. This includes restrictions on balloons, glitter, and single-use plastics in your décor.

Venues like ours also supply additional activities or entertainment for guests without additional waste. Your family and friends can wander through the exhibits throughout the event.

Catering Options

Ask your caterer about reusable or sustainable place settings, as well as environmentally conscious menu items. The Virginia Aquarium has an exclusive caterer who offers reusable dinnerware, and only compostable items when disposable plates and cutlery are ordered. Not only does the reusable dinnerware upscale the look of your event, but it’s sustainable. When working with a caterer on food, make sure the seafood is sustainably sourced. The Virginia Aquarium’s exclusive caterer sources their seafood from Virginia farmers, and composts any leftover food they can through our compost partners at NOPE Compost Co. after an event ends. Your seafood will taste better, be local, and provide an additional layer of sustainability to your wedding.

Catered food display in Aquarium Stranding Response Exhibit area.

Decorating for the Day

When selecting a venue, a more visually impactful space can help reduce the need for (and the cost of!) decorations for the big day. Rather than buying an arch to get married under, you can use your ceremony location as the backdrop for impressive photos of you and your partner. Whether getting married in front of our shark exhibit, sea turtles, or Owls Creek, it’ll be budget-friendly, and require less planning and less decor waste. Still want specialized décor for your big day? Renting decorations is a better option, since items can be returned to the vendor and reused rather than end up in the landfill or cluttering your attic. As for florals, dried flowers are more sustainable than fresh, and can be brought home afterwards as space-saving keepsakes!

What to Wear

Look for a consignment shop that offers quality secondhand gowns or tuxedos. Renting gowns and tuxes is another sustainable option, as it ensures fabric won’t eventually be thrown out, and is a cost-effective choice for both the happy couple as well as their wedding party. Some people even take advantage of family heirlooms by using their parents’ or grandparents’ wedding outfits!

Event setup in Promenade Room with tall colorful jellies centerpieces on tables.

Party Favors

Though some couples opt to forego party favors, keep function in mind if you do want to offer sustainable gifts and goodies for your guests. Forego items like disposable bubble bottles and instead try thrifted photo frames to place instant photos from the party in and take home, or even homemade snacks or sweets in cute paper packaging. Need more ideas? Take some inspiration from some recent weddings at the Aquarium: one couple set up a wall of thrifted mugs for guests to choose from, while others provided wildflower seed packets or jam jars from a farmers’ market with the couple’s’ names on the labels.

Event Transportation

Though you can’t always avoid the carbon impact of having guests visiting from out of town, you can reduce the overall carbon output to and from your venue with a bus or shuttle rental. Many weddings at the Virginia Aquarium take advantage of shuttle or bus services that transport guests to and from nearby Oceanfront hotels, reducing emissions from multiple cars. Plus, with a shuttle you don’t have to worry about finding a designated driver!

However you choose to make your wedding a little greener, booking at the Virginia Aquarium offers eco-friendly options built into our wedding options. Learn more about what we offer through Private Events !

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