How I provide truly sustainable wedding photography in the UK and EU

Welcome to the third (and for now final) part in my series about what I do to provide you with truly environmentally friendly and sustainable wedding photography or handfasting photography.

In part 1 I talked about why I photograph purely digital and never on film. And how it helps reduce the environmental impact of my business and your wedding.
I also spoke about why being a sustainable wedding supplier, beyond the popular buying carbon offset tokens and re-using my water bottle, are so important to me.
It is basically because of witnessing the human impact on nature, wildlife and other people and their farms in the farming village I grew up in.
If you missed it, you can find it here.

In part 2, I spoke about other important and big impact steps I am taking to not only provide environmentally friendly wedding photography, but to also lead a sustainable life. If you have missed it, you can find it here: Environmentally Friendly Wedding Photography Part 2.

Not just the big and “marketing worthy” bits

Today, I want to tell you about the smaller steps I take to being a green wedding photographer …and human.
I want to talk about this, because this is where I think the proof of a green wedding business lies.

It is much harder to consistently follow through on all the small steps then just tick off one big (impressive looking) step to enable greenwashing of one’s marketing message with a layer of diluted sustainabilty. I have worked in big comanies for nearly 20 years before setting up my own business, so I sadly have seen how this works.

If a business and the people in it care about the environment more than the marketing message, then they will also take several little steps.
There are lots of little steps we all can take to make the wedding industry and our lives greener. I have taken many steps for such a long time (several decades), that I only realise I am doing them when I see someone else not doing them.

So here is what some of them are. And if you want to know how I got to do so many things automatically, I talk about it in part 1.

The little things I do to reduce my environmental impact – in business and life!

Plastic: recycle or avoid

You might have guessed by now, that this for me goes beyond having a reusable water bottle. And you are correct. There is no avoidable single use plastic to be found in my camera bag or my house.

I have been avoiding it since I was 9 years old, which means looking for plastic packaging free alternatives has become second nature. To be honest, I avoid anything single use if I can. Especially plastic!
Where avoiding single use isn’t possible or when something breaks, I reuse and recycle as much as I can.

Re-cycle and Re-use

I deeply dislike waste. Of any kind.
Whether this is at home or in the business, if there are things I no longer need but are still in good and usable condition, they get rehomed via various platforms: from the neighbourhood WhatsApp group to freecycle, and Olio for food items.

My environmentally conscious diet

We know meat and dairy have a large CO2 footprint, but I rather stumbled into reducing my CO2 food footprint. I became vegetarian and largely plant-based for animal welfare reasons many years ago.

Growing up in a farming village, I know how meat, dairy and eggs can and should be produced.

Sadly, I also saw some idyllic farms (like those shown in advertising) turned into big factory farms.
The sort of place where animals are kept in unnatural conditions. And where run-off from overstocked land pollutes local rivers harming wildlife and neighbouring farms.
I just could not be part of this practice that harms nature and the village alike!

So I cut out most animal products and started buying organic vegetables whenever I could.
And this is how I accidentally reduced my carbon food footprint long before anyone even talked about it along with my chemical footprint.

Getting from A to B and to your wedding

I walk, cycle and bus short distances wherever I can. And I looove going on the train for longer distances.

I don’t know why I love trains so much. But I remember my first ever train journey as a jittery 7 year old to Salzburg in Austria. I don’t remember anything about Salzburg. Nil! However, I can describe the train carriage and the stations in detail.

Since walking, cycling and public transport are not always possible, and the broomstick thing looks more and more like folklore the more I try it, I use efficient cars.
I also took economic driving lessons to learn how to drive as fuel efficiently as possible.

How I will travel to your wedding or handfasting depends on a few factors. For dog photo shoots, it just depends on where it is.
Ask me if you want to find out how I will travel! Whichever mode of transport I choose, I allow plenty of time to get there, just in case of delays or traffic jams.

Trying to make a bigger difference

This stared early with me! And in small steps.

You might not find me on board of a Greenpeace ship, but amongst other things, I have been proudly putting family and friends off battery eggs for more than three decades.

It is still small steps, but I have never stopped.

While all the little steps I take and nudging family and friends to also take more steps makes a difference over the years, I believe the real change can only be achieved in mass. That’s why I still support organisation that can push for change in a wider local area or on a significant scale.

I am a member of Surfers Against Sewage and the Natural History Museum.
I am a regular supporter of a wide range of organisations like Greenpeace, the Wildlife Aid Foundation and the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.
And, of course, a constantly expanding list of dog charities, like the Dogs Trust or Many Tears Rescue (where my little girl came from).

I care about the environment and animals, and I also care about people. It’s a tradition (I made sure it is) in our house to support Crisis at Christmas.
And I am very proud of the student orchestra I play with for our regular benefit concerts raising money for many humanitarian causes.

Leave no trace, just photos

I have been on the journey of living greener for over 30 years.

There is always something new to learn and something we could do better. In fact, I could write a whole book about all the little things I am hoping to do better in the future.

But not today!

If I had to put it into a short phrase, I would describe my approach as:

I do what I need to do to capture and deliver irreplaceable memories, while causing no harm to nature and people. I try not to use any more of the earth’s resources than necessary.

If there is anything specific you are concerned about or want to know, just ask me. I am always happy to talk about green practice and the sustainability of my business…and about pets!
You can get in touch via my contact form.

The big steps I take to provide sustainable and environmentally friendly wedding photography UK

Together with the previous two parts of this blog, the above make up most of the steps I take to be as environmentally friendly a person and provide wedding photography that is as sustainable as possible.

Want to read the other parts? Find them here!

Get in touch if you want to find out more or see if I am available on your big day via the contact form.

Follow me on social media to find out when I share my next blog. Links in the footer of this website.

Bright blessings,

Sustainable Wedding Photography from the Handfasting And Pagan Wedding Photographer UK and EU