It all started back in 2018; there up on the Santa Justa Elevator in Lisbon, Portugal; where he decided to pop the question, after ten years. The unsuspecting girl in pink slides and a day bag, that had put on a slight façade about not being that fussed by marriage...turned into a blubbering mess and lost all composure and decorum.
My name is Holly Shaw, and after graduating with a masters in Environmental Governance, I gained over ten years of industry experience as a sustainability consultant, working with large corporates in the private, civil and public sector. Being passionate about the environment and our precious planet is very much a part of me... so, I started planning an eco-friendly wedding to reflect a bit the values that I hold dear.
Why I wanted a #greenwedding
The UK Wedding Industry - Facts & Figures estimate that there's a "£14.7 billion direct spend on weddings every year". The National Wedding Survey conducted by 'Hitched', surveying over 2400 couples, predicts that "the average UK wedding in 2022 cost £18,400". The wedding industry is absolutely huge in the US "with a market size by revenue of over $57 billion as of 2022". Zippia.
My point is, it's a big industry and generally one of the biggest things a couple will spend their savings on (aside from a house or a car). Perhaps down to a cultural shift towards the 'fairy-tale' wedding, embodied by the royal weddings that were broadcasted to millions, globally. Extravagance and status in the form of century old horse-drawn carriages, a 25-foot bridal train and just the floral arrangements had a budget equivalent to a mansion. A lot of couples want a taste of this fairy-tale day. I get it - we aim for this to be a once in a lifetime event...something extraordinary. An opportunity to showcase our personality, maybe make it more individual than the weddings we've attended previously. We want to give our guests a day that they'll never forget.
The problem is extravagance is, more often than not, synonymous with waste. The Green Bride Guide states that "the average wedding produces around 180 kg of rubbish and 63 tons of CO2. With an estimated 2.5 million weddings in the US per year , that is about 1 billion lbs of trash and as many emissions as approximately 4 people would produce in a year, in just one single day"
We wanted to bring our awareness of environmental impacts to every purchasing decision we had to make. I would omit the green / eco-conscious element of the wedding planning to certain family members so to evade the eye rolls and yawns. But then as I inundated myself with all things wedding, I decided that I was quite adverse to the 'traditional' wedding industry offerings and actually wanted to integrate sustainability into my our big day and celebrate it.
My eco-friendly DIY summer garden party wedding
The Green Bride Guide by Kate L. Harrison describes a green wedding as "thinking about who you are, what your values are, and what kind of wedding you would want if the industry were not constantly telling you what you should want"
A summer, outdoors wedding - under the trees was something I'd dreamed of as a little girl. So we found the perfect place in Devon that allowed us to have the ceremony and reception on their grounds.
After weeks of torrential downpour right up until the morning of the wedding, it was nothing short of a miracle when the sun came through for the whole day and we pulled off the perfect DIY wedding under the trees and with carefully curated décor; no single use anything. Wines and food menu were conscientiously picked to ensure a flavour extravaganza without compromising the planet.
I wanted to work with suppliers that had commitments to minimising their environmental impact and to make my day carbon neutral. There wasn't one supplier that could offer both. I spotted a gap in the market and decided shortly after the wedding... that I was going to fill that gap. I calculated the emissions associated with energy, waste and guest travel myself and offset them through a tree planting initiative.
Fast-forward to the following summer when we're in the midst of lockdown #1, we have the genesis of Eco - Deco. I decided to create a business from the décor that I had accumulated since the wedding, to make the operations from that business carbon neutral and most importantly, offer couples the ability to offset the emissions from their big day as well.
I quietly worked on building the business in the background; curating more stock, building a website, meeting other suppliers, attending wedding fairs all whilst working full time as a consultant.
Then in October 2021, along came our beautiful daughter Arlen. What a roller coaster of a ride that first year was. After navigating a very tricky first year of motherhood, it became imperative that I try to create a life that enabled me the time and energy to be the best mother that I could be to Arlen. Nothing finetunes your drive to protect our precious little planet quite like having a baby. So I didn't return back to work after maternity leave and decided to pursue my eco-business and make 2023 the official year of its launch.
How is Eco-Deco eco-friendly?
My mission is simple, I want to banish single-use items from weddings and events. To do this we promote circular, which means hiring out things that can be used again and again.
Our business operations are carbon neutral, which means that we offset any emissions associated with the travel of any products that we purchase.
We love to use upcycled products; from repurposed window shutters, vintage wicker chairs to vintage crystal table décor.
Our neon signs are made from energy efficient LED neon flex. Sure, they're made from plastic… BUT they're re-uasable, low energy and we donate to tree planting schemes for the travel of these goods.
We try to work with like-minded suppliers as much as possible.
Lastly, we offer our couples the chance to make their day carbon neutral and present them with a beautiful certificate (made with special eco-friendly paper embedded with plantable flower seeds)
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