Having turned vegan a few months ago, going the eco-friendly way for her wedding was easy for soon-to-be bride Pavithra Krishnaswamy. The 26-year-old Chennai-based marketing professional employed in an IT company, who is tying the knot later this month, has also shunned silks, plastics, etc in her wedding to be held in Kerala.
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She said, “The idea struck me at a friend’s wedding some months ago, as she wanted to reduce waste. When it was time for my wedding, we put together a bunch of things to show how to do it.”
Pavithra has done away with plastic bottles, opted for wedding invites made from recyclable paper and the thamboolam bags are in cotton and handprinted rather than being screen printed. She added, “Since I am marrying a Keralite, the wedding saree is a cotton handprinted kasavu drape. The entire wedding trousseau comprises both cotton and jute.”
Taking care of the minutest of details, she has also done away with the usual makeup that is manufactured after being tested on animals. “I have put together my own set with vegan and animal cruelty items,” she added. For the food being left over, she is ensuring that the leftover food is handed over to food banks. And it didn’t take her much to convince her parents, who were initially apprehensive about doing away with the silks. “But when they saw everything had an option and that I meant it, they backed me,” she said, adding that she also wanted to see every process through end-to-end, so that we can reduce waste or bring in natural materials wherever possible.
Pavithra is not alone, Archita R, who is set to get married in November, has ensured they use vessels made of steel and glass at the wedding. “We wanted to make sure that these are reusable. The flowers and decorative plants have also been chosen, keeping in mind, that they can be fed later to animals and are not wasted,” she said.
Wedding planners Rhea & Lado have been planning wedding ceremonies of couples who are conscious and dutiful towards environment and nature.
Rhea Vaishnav of the duo, said, “Some arrange small items that are used at the ceremony to be made in rural parts of the country, keeping them reusable and recyclable. There are intimate weddings planned to reduce waste.” She added that moving outdoors, they choose the location to keep decoration at its minimum and go for minimal flower decoration as these go waste.