Let’s talk sustainability…

As a florist, and a person, sustainability is important to me. At home we do what we can, I believe little changes by us all can make an impact on our environment, and future. 

However as a florist I do see it as an obligation to support the environmental future of the planet, and minimise Wildflower & Willow’s environmental impact as much as possible. For me nature is at the heart of sustainable floristry, and who becomes a florist without a love of nature, right?!

Sustainable floristry isn’t necessarily the easy choice, and does need some new considerations and approaches, especially when it comes to floral design, but for me the key aspects I can do day to day involve trying to cut out unsustainable practices such as using plastics, and non recyclable materials, and for flower installations that require mechanics and structural elements I use reusable or biodegradable materials wherever possible. All my packaging is recycled, recyclable or reusable, and even your bouquets and buttonholes come with little seeded paper tags so you can grow your own Wildflowers!

Another big one for me is using locally grown flowers, and aiming to never use flowers that need flown in – some flowers have a crazy environmental footprint if you trace them back through the journey they’ve been on from seed to hand! And how lovely is it to know your flowers were grown in your local area – I think it makes your whole wedding more personal. 

One of the best ways to be more sustainable as a wedding florist is sticking to seasonal blooms – one of the things I always recommend, as not only does it make sense to use Autumnal flowers for an Autumn wedding,  and spring bunches for April weddings – but the locality and availability means you are more likely to get more bang for your buck, as well as knowing you are doing a good thing eco-wise!

In 2022, Bridebook shared statistics stating that 39% of couples now consider sustainability when planning their wedding which was music to my ears! Sustainable wedding suppliers tend to not be the cheapest, but the fact that couples are considering sustainability as part of their wedding planning shows a change in the tide – perhaps we can thank Princess Eugenie for her plastic-free wedding! Either way if sustainability is important to you, pop in an enquiry form and we can chat through your ideas – I would love to hear them!