Hi everyone, Daniela here.
In a previous post, we explored what a “sustainable wedding” truly means, moving beyond the buzzwords. But how do these beautiful ideas translate into a real, professional practice in a country as rich and complex as Italy? How do we ensure our choices are genuinely impactful and not just “fashionable”?
To dive into these crucial questions, I had the immense privilege of speaking with a true leader in the field, Silvia Sottocasa. Not only is she an expert wedding planner creating stunning sustainable celebrations on the island of Elba and the Tuscan archipelago, but she also holds the vital roles of Vice President of AIWP (Associazione Italiana Wedding Planner) and the association’s official Delegate for Sustainability.
Her insights offer a powerful blueprint for how to plan weddings with deep respect for heritage, community, and the planet.
Beyond Green: Unpacking Sustainability & Avoiding Greenwashing
Silvia immediately highlighted a key challenge: “Many suppliers are sustainable but don’t know it, they don’t realize they meet certain criteria.” Conversely, she warns, “it’s necessary to educate consumers with criteria to avoid situations where a supplier strategically highlights four things and claims sustainability just because it’s fashionable.”
This really resonated. True sustainability isn’t just a label; it’s a holistic approach grounded in three pillars (as defined at the first Earth Summit): Environmental, Social, and Economic. It’s about ensuring practices allow the planet, its communities, and its economies to thrive harmoniously.
Silvia also emphasized the need to requalify the wedding planner’s profession. “It’s not just about ‘throwing parties’,” she notes. Planners manage significant budgets and complex logistics. Incorporating verifiable sustainability standards, like the UNI ISO 20121 standard for sustainable event management, adds objectivity and credibility. “Following legislative criteria gives solidity,” she explains, allowing the event’s sustainability level (even potentially zero impact through offsetting) to be certified by an external body – something Silvia helps facilitate.
Social Sustainability: Giving New Life to Italian Heritage
Perhaps Silvia’s most captivating point was her emphasis on social sustainability through engaging with the local territory. “How do we study the territory? Its history, culture, architectural heritage – which is often unknown, dead, without value?”
Instead of automatically choosing a standard villa or resort, she champions “giving life back to what was already there, without rebuilding something new.” This, she argues, is truly socially sustainable.
“Think about using places that change from their original use but gain meaning. We revive a place, and it gives powerful significance to the celebration.” She mentioned her students proposing projects to local administrations to revitalize territories, and the potential of using historic castles, villas, disused mines (like on Elba), or even forgotten villages (borghi fantasma) as unique, meaningful wedding venues. “Imagine organizing an event inside an old ghost town! Living that part of history can be a magical moment for an international couple.”
This approach avoids unnecessary construction often found in new, “cold” reception halls. It also allows couples to contribute to preserving local heritage. Working with authorities like the Sovrintendenza (for protected sites) requires protocols and trained planners, as there’s often fear of damage from events.
The Contrast: Industrialization vs. Slow Weddings
Silvia offered a crucial word of caution against the “industrialization” that can happen in Italy’s most famous wedding destinations. She explained that when a region becomes hyper-popular, the immense demand can sometimes lead to overexploitation, where the quality of renowned products (like certain wines) becomes diluted and the authentic charm that made the area special begins to fade. As she aptly puts it, “[This] is not sustainable long-term for the territory.”
Instead, sustainability fosters Slow Tourism and Slow Weddings. “If you want a certain product, you have to go get it in the territory and wait for its seasonality. You have to wait,” she insists, contrasting it with out-of-season strawberries grown with unknown chemicals and shipped long distances. Couples seeking sustainability often have this sensitivity. “People with stressful lives seek this slowing down, a slow wedding… to pause, savor calmly, take a breath over several days, and experience the territory more sustainably, really connecting with it.”
Balancing Impact & The Role of Local Communities
Silvia realistically acknowledges that destination weddings inherently have an environmental footprint due to travel (“sustainable tourism doesn’t exist, if we want to be precise”). The goal, therefore, is to balance the impact. This involves measuring CO2 (using protocols) and compensating, ideally by supporting local environmental projects.
Crucially, social impact also comes from using local operators. “Ensure the people working at your wedding are local,” she advises. “Because if they come from outside, they come, take the money, and leave. Mobilizing local resources ensures a positive impact on the community.”
Sustainable Weddings in Italy: Practical Advice for Couples
So, how can couples planning from abroad ensure their Italian wedding is genuinely sustainable? Silvia suggests focusing on three key areas when vetting suppliers and locations:
- Suppliers: Where are they based (local?)? How do they work (ethically? sustainably?)?
- Raw Materials: Where do products originate (Km 0? Industrial? Do they meet ethical parameters?)?
- Location & Waste: Does the venue prioritize sustainability? What happens to waste (possibility of redistribution, like Rome’s Equo Evento for leftover food)?
“Analyzing location, suppliers, and raw materials already helps you understand if it can be sustainable,” she advises. She also strongly reiterated the need, especially for international couples, to have a trusted intermediary – a planner who knows the language, the territory, and can coordinate all the moving parts.
The Future: Innovation & Meaning
Silvia is passionate about elevating the wedding industry beyond its sometimes “frivolous image.” She recently organized the first Italian conference on experiential sustainable weddings, exploring synergies between events and territorial revitalization, rediscovering local food (including innovative vegan options alongside ethically produced traditional ones – like seasonal ricotta respecting animal life cycles!), and highlighting the immense potential for positive impact.
She believes there’s huge scope for innovation and giving new life to territories, even securing public support for events that bring value and visibility.
Final Thoughts
Chatting with Silvia was a masterclass in what it means to plan with depth and integrity. Her vision of sustainable weddings intertwines environmental care with profound respect for culture, history, and community. It’s a philosophy that proves your wedding doesn’t just have to be a beautiful day—it can be an event that actively contributes, leaving a place, and the people involved, perhaps even a little better than before. This is the very essence of what we champion here at Love Grows Hope.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this important topic, so do not hesitate to get in touch 🙂
Top photo: Wedding at Elba mines. Credits NENA & TOMY FOTOGRAFI, Event ELBAWEDDINGSTYLE by Silvia Sottocasa
