Oh well, let’s face it – outdoor summer wedding can be a painful experience
Summer is at its peak here in northern hemisphere. But the thing is that… we all enjoy sunshine and hot weather until we need to stay in that the very same sunshine for longer period of time and survive the heat without proper protection. As for weddings, add sophisticated yet not always comfortable dress or suit, as well as that painful experience of wearing new shoes, and the overall feeling can remind a torturing session. Furthermore, the experience of your guests can turn to be even more unpleasant if you are planning to throw an outside wedding and will ask ladies to walk on the lawn or sand while wearing heels. All that said, let’s try to find at least few ideas of truly useful gifts which will help your summer wedding guests’ life much easier.
By the way, USEFUL = MORE SUSTAINABLE. If you really want to treat your guests and care for the planet’s resources at the same time, it’s good to think about some practical gifts. Please believe me, people will appreciate these more than some cheap plastic magnets with your names and the date on them. What good can a magnet do for your guests on a crazy hot day anyway, m?
1. Mini bamboo parasols
Bamboo can be a very sustainable crop. Parasol can be a very useful accessory for heat sensitive ladies and a great protection for little kids. Need I say more?
2. Summer hats
Ladies probably won’t want to destroy their hairstyles and will be very happy about the shadow of the parasols. But you should take care of your male guests as well. Here the summer hats come to your aid! How to choose the style? Well, from the bucket hat to the panama, every style can be on your radar. Choose according you wedding style! Oh, and I personally prefer ethical and sustainable hats crafted by artisans.
3. Reusable tote bags
Fancy a magnet style wedding favor idea yet with a bit more meaning and a possibility to use that gift in everyday life? Look no further! Custom made reusable beach bags will do the trick! They will be useful for your guests to carry their stuff during the wedding day and can be also reused after the wedding. And you can even have some lovely phrases or quotes that are dare to you written on these bags (hey, who still needs those useless magnets now, ha-ha). Opt for more eco-friendly options, for example, consider ordering bags made from sustainable cotton. You know this… Together we can clean the planet! We just need to reuse our bags and avoid the plastic ones in general!
4. Old good flip-flops
I know, I know, this idea is not new at all. Actually it could even be called an idea-veteran for an outdoor wedding. But it is so important to take care of your guests’ feet that I just had to include flip-flops into this list of useful gifts for your outdoor summer wedding guests. Just what I wanted to say… please try to look for recycled, vegan or eco-friendly flip-flops. This will guarantee you extra karma points by default!
Choose some clever and useful gifts and your guests will want to keep them all summer long (and maybe even for the next season as well)!
Just one more option
Long time ago for my first blog Bride Goes Wild I prepared a post about sunglasses as an outdoor summer wedding favor for your guests. While you can definitely find and purchase eco-friendly sunglasses these days, this option is a bit more tricky than other four. That tricky thing is the style of sunglasses, as it’s complicated to choose the style that suits many, you know. If the sunglasses won’t suit your guest, she or she is less likely to keep it and to use the glasses after your wedding day. Therefore, there is a possibility that the sunglasses will go to the bin (sorry, just trying to be realistic here). However, it’s just one more idea and it’s up to you what you will decide to choose at the end. I am here to offer more options. Oh, one last thing – if you will decide to opt for sunglasses, please do your best to find sustainably made ones!