Simple Swaps for a More Sustainable Wedding with Jamie Chang
In this episode of Now That I’m Engaged, How Do I Get Married?, Kevin and August sit down with Jamie Chang, Destination Wedding Planning Wizard, Designer of Joy, Champion of Sustainability, and Founder of Mango Muse Events. Jamie is a passionate advocate for creating celebrations that care for both people and the planet. With over 16 years of experience planning weddings across the globe, Jamie has seen it all, and she’s here to share why sustainability doesn’t have to mean sacrifice.
From choosing a local venue to swapping beef off the menu, Jamie breaks down simple actions with high impact that any couple can take to make their wedding more eco-conscious without losing style, comfort, or fun. She also shares insights from her work with couples worldwide and why she believes progress, not perfection, is the key to planning responsibly.
Highlights:
- Why your wedding location is the single biggest factor in sustainability
- The surprising protein swap that drastically reduces your wedding’s footprint
- Plated vs. buffet: which catering style is more climate-friendly (and why)
- How florals and décor choices can support local farmers and reduce waste
- Easy guest transport solutions that save money and emissions
- Creative ways to give your flowers a “second life” after the big day
- A fresh perspective on reducing, reusing, and recycling in wedding planning
Whether you’re dreaming of a chic city celebration or a faraway destination wedding, Jamie’s approachable advice will leave you inspired to make mindful choices that are good for your budget, your guests, and our shared home.
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Transcript
Alright folks, welcome to another episode of Now That I'm Engaged, How Do I Get Married? We have Jamie Chang here with us today to talk about sustainability and weddings, but before we jump into all that good information, Jamie, welcome. And can you tell us, oh, I'm glad to be here too, but can you tell us a little bit about Jamie and how we got you here today?
Jamie Chang (:I'm so happy to be here.
First of all, thank you so much for having me. Super excited to be here. Excited to talk to you all. ⁓ I'm Jamie Chang. I'm the owner, lead planner, designer, all the hats of Mango Muse Events. My company, we do destination weddings. We've been doing this now for, I always have to think about this a little bit, over 16 years. ⁓ It's been a fantastic, wonderful journey. ⁓ So we plan destinations all over the world.
Kevin Dennis (:You
Hehehehehe
Jamie Chang (:⁓ and in sort of that process of working with couples all over the place, I've seen a lot of things and done a lot of things and in different ways. And that has all kind of led me down this path to, and this is always something I've cared about as well, ⁓ to sustainability and the importance of thinking about that in conjunction with your wedding. ⁓ not just because it's great for your fellow man and animal and
this place we call home, but also because weddings, and we'll get into this, I'm sure, are a beautiful celebration, but a very, you know, it's a one-time situation, and that results in a lot of one-time decisions and things. And if we can be a little bit more conscious of that, ⁓ even if it's just a little bit, that makes a difference.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah, I'm glad you said it one time, because that's the goal, is to make these weddings one time. So all right, so we're going to dump into sustainability. But for couples who feel overwhelmed, what's the easiest first step they can take to make their wedding more sustainable?
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:Yeah, so I actually think the first place to start really, and it really has the biggest impact as well, is where. So the actual location of where you're getting married. it's a little bit different, right, if you're doing a destination wedding versus something in your hometown. But even in a hometown wedding, think about sort of the physical place makes a big difference in the sense of, and specifically around travel.
Kevin Dennis (:⁓
August Yocher (:Mmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Jamie Chang (:So we're
talking, you know, that could be a plane, that could be multiple planes, that could be a plane, a boat, and a car. Or if it's, you know, somewhere in like say Northern California, right? In the Bay Area. It could just be that you live in San Francisco and you're getting married in Napa. Or you live in, you know, Oakland and you're getting married in San Jose. Like choosing where that place is in conjunction with
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:sort of where you live, but maybe more importantly, where all your guests live plays a big factor in that travel aspect. How far, how long, how are they getting there? And for most people, right, that tends to be by car. If we're talking like a hometown wedding or some form of a hometown wedding. And so thinking about that is a good place to start because if you can reduce that travel, not only is it
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:happier for your guests, right? They don't have to travel as far. ⁓ But it also means the amount of greenhouse gases and climate impact is smaller.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:And that's such an easy way of looking at it. never, you know, bite bulb moment for me, but it was like that's such an easy way of looking at it.
Jamie Chang (:Yeah, I mean, it's a huge, huge decision, right? It's a big decision. Where you get married, obviously.
August Yocher (:No, I'm sure it makes a big difference. Totally, totally. And especially on the number
of guests you have too, right? Like out in the Bay Area, we get some pretty big numbers, like upwards, like 400 people sometimes. So like looking at each individual person and if they're all driving a certain distance, like that really can make a big impact.
Jamie Chang (:Most of your guests say live in San Jose, right? Making them all trek up to Napa for example, not that we don't love Napa, but making them all check up to Napa Is it is it is a drive right? It's a two-hour plus drive depending on where you're coming from Right, right exactly, right? Two hours is probably like on the middle of the day on a Wednesday We're talking the weekend
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Without traffic. ⁓
Yeah, 10 to 2, 10 to 2.
Jamie Chang (:It's a totally different story. so reducing that travel time and that distance makes a big difference. And once again, not only is it a bonus for your guests, right? They don't have to travel as far, but it also just means that the climate impact of the location is already reduced.
August Yocher (:Yeah, in that case, are you kind of a big fan of shuttles for guests too? Like, do you think that makes a big difference as well, like getting from the hotel to the venue?
Kevin Dennis (:love it.
Jamie Chang (:Definitely. ⁓ And I think how you do that and how that's like the logistics of that depends on the wedding. In some cases, maybe it doesn't make sense, but shuttles are great because it's once again, it's just more climate friendly, right? And then, you know, there's bonuses of that, right? Then you don't have drunk drivers, then people don't have to figure out how to get there. ⁓ There are logistics around that, obviously, and not everybody likes shuttles.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Jamie Chang (:But in a lot of cases, it works really well. And then, you know, then you're not driving either, right? Which is who doesn't who I mean, okay, some people like driving, but I would say most people would rather not drive if they have a choice. So yes, shuttles for sure. Or if, if you happen to be in a place like, let's say you're in S in SF in San Francisco and there's like decent public transportation, like having that as an option is great. Or even just ride share.
August Yocher (:I don't. ⁓
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Jamie Chang (:Like if you can utilize ride share and carpool, right? Like all those things help make a difference.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:No, yeah, and I do think that is an easy first step. Are there any like small things, like small swaps that couples, you know, it doesn't cost a lot of extra money, but can make a really big environmental impact on the wedding overall.
Kevin Dennis (:I love it.
Jamie Chang (:Yeah, and actually that's a really good question because a lot of people will think or do think that when you're choosing sustainability, you're paying more. And that is the case in some cases. That is true in some instances. But in a lot of cases, the decisions you make can actually save you money. here's another really like, it's simple because ⁓ it's a simple act, but for some people this can be a little hard. ⁓
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Yeah. ⁓
Jamie Chang (:is if you're thinking about your wedding meal, so know appetizers, plated dinner, whatever, if you just eliminate beef as a choice, just that one decision, you can replace it with fish, you can replace it chicken, you can replace it with pork. Yeah, but just removing beef...
difference. Like, massive difference. Because beef as a food product, right? It requires more water, requires more land. There's the methane aspect. There's a lot that goes into it, and I would probably bore people if I went into it. But the point is that it's like, on the scale of proteins, it's way higher. So if you just literally take that out of the equation, everything else
August Yocher (:Hmm.
Jamie Chang (:the same, let's say. know, flavors, type of meal, ⁓ vegetables included, sauces, all that good stuff. Just doesn't have beef? Big, big difference.
August Yocher (:That's so interesting. didn't like that's yeah, just such a small thing that is totally doable. And honestly, you might save money because I do feel like sometimes at venues like the beef option is a little bit more pricey than chicken or fish. So yeah, that's a super easy thing for for couples to manage.
Jamie Chang (:Yup.
people are like big beef lovers. Like I've had clients like this and I know people. So I understand that that's not necessarily an easy decision for everybody. But if you can, yes, it will save you money because it tends to be a more expensive protein in addition to the fact that, you know, it'll help the sustainability of your wedding, which win-win, right? ⁓ That's kind of awesome and not that hard.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:You're not really changing that much.
Kevin Dennis (:I love it. All right. Since we're on catering, you know, and we talked about like beef being like one easy way of doing it, what are some other choices that can help make the wedding like cut down on waste or emissions when it comes to catering? Are there other other things as well?
August Yocher (:No, yeah, you're really not.
Jamie Chang (:Yeah,
there is. So you know how there's sort of that debate between plated meal versus buffet versus family style versus stations, right? And everyone has strong feelings about these things. So I'm not going to try to impart what I think is like the best meal choice because there isn't really one. But I will say from a sustainability standpoint, plated meals are easily the best choice. And mainly because you know exactly as a caterer, right?
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
⁓
Jamie Chang (:You know exactly how many people and what they've ordered. And so the amount of ordering, you always will have extra because that's what caterers do. Just in case, Judy decided that she wanted the chicken and now she wants the fish, right? There are instances of that. So you have to have some extra or, know, Uncle Joe happens to bring a date that he wasn't supposed to bring, you know, there's an extra person. Yeah, it happens.
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Hehehe.
Good old Uncle Joe.
Jamie Chang (:So you have to have some extra, but the quantity of extra is a lot less, right? Because they know exactly how many people and how many plates they're making versus like with a buffet. You never quite know. I mean, yes, they have estimates because obviously they're in this business and they have historical data. But as a whole, you never really know, right? You don't know how much chicken or people are going to eat. You don't know how much beef, let's say beef is on your menu.
people are going to eat, how much salad, whatever. So you have to have enough so that you don't run out. And so there's more leftovers.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm an abundance. Yeah
Hmm.
Jamie Chang (:We can go into what you do with leftovers, but just choosing like your meal choice as a plated meal just reduces the amount of like food purchasing that has to happen and thus food waste that happens post.
Kevin Dennis (:But
do you think a lot of caterers push sometimes the buffet because it's easier for them? Is it labor or what is the reason behind that you think? OK.
Jamie Chang (:Mm-hmm.
Yeah, it is labor. So with a plated
meal, you need more people. You have to be able to bring them out kind of, you like to bring them out as a table, right? So it's not five people get their meal and the other five are sitting there going like, where's my meal, right? They kind of come out at once versus a buffet doesn't require as much staffing. I mean, unless it's a buffet where they're serving you, literally at the buffet, they bring it out, right? And they just have to replenish.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Hmm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:So it doesn't require as many hands, if that makes sense. And so there's more food, but there's less staff, versus plated is the opposite. Less food, more staff. And then if you go into like family style or stations, then it can be like more food, more staff. Because you need to have the hands to serve, replenish.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm
makes sense.
⁓
Jamie Chang (:bring things out, but you also need to have enough food so that you don't run out.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
August Yocher (:Well, and I have a question. No, I bet. Yeah. Well, and one question I have for you, because I know, like, obviously, you're a big champion of sustainability and you've been in the industry for a long time. With a lot of the caterers you work with, do you find that they are trying to put forth initiatives to be more sustainable or do you think it's fair for couples to ask those kinds of questions with their caterer when they're booking them?
Jamie Chang (:Pleases a cost, too.
Yeah, no, fantastic question. So I do think there are a lot of caterers who are working on this. Some are more forward than others. ⁓ It's to say that it's a world. Well, first of all, we're all small businesses, right? So I think keep that in mind as a couple. ⁓ And it's, know, we don't have necessarily the funding to make like changes all at once on a dime. So it takes time.
August Yocher (:you
Jamie Chang (:You have to adopt things, you have to figure out how that's going to work and how it doesn't disrupt whatever your process is or your chef or whatever. So it takes time. So I'd say like progress over perfection is the key here. Like no company is going to be perfect likely, but if they're trying, that's a big deal. And I would say most caterers are trying. I think there's a lot now, especially in the Bay who, you know, the focus really is sort of that farm to table in general.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:And so they're working with local farmers. They're trying to get their products locally, which is another great step in being more sustainable because it doesn't have to travel as far. It's fresher. You know, it's, it'll taste better. Like that's, that's a big plus. It's seasonal, right? They're working in seasons so that things are in demand and it's not hard to find, you know, I don't know, strawberries in January, you know, ⁓ they're, working with what they have and they're making, you know,
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:yummy things with that. So I think there's a lot of caterers who are, like, that's kind of a good step that I think a lot of people are doing. The question is like, what happens beyond that? Right? And, and the, just asking, like as a couple, if you don't know what you're looking for, let's say for example, you don't have a planner who can guide you on this, or it's not super clear, let's say from a caterer's website, what they're doing or how they're doing.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Jamie Chang (:You can just ask the straight up question, like, what are you doing to be more sustainable? And just see what their answer is. And in some cases, they'll be like, we're working on this and this, or we're thinking about doing this. Or their answer might be like,
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
August Yocher (:Thank
Jamie Chang (:And if it's sort of the, ⁓ right, then you kind of know, right, they haven't really thought about it. But I will say whether or not you choose them, the good thing is asking that question gets them to think, right? ⁓ maybe this is something I should be thinking about, or maybe this is something couples care about. And so as a, you know, as a vendor, that's a, that's kind of a nice push. But I'd say as a couple, just purely asking that one question to anyone.
Kevin Dennis (:Hehehehehe
Yeah.
August Yocher (:Totally.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:really any of your vendors is a good way to start that conversation and just like learn what they're doing or what they're not doing or what they're interested in doing, even if they haven't done it yet. Right. Like that, that shows intention. And I think that makes a difference.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:I love it. love it. Okay, so let's move past or kind of past a little bit catering to like beverages and bar service. there's a winery here locally in our town that has been doing a big sustainability ability push to like make their wine more sustainable and the processes that they do. And it's been a long, it's a long process that they've been going over for the year. So like,
Jamie Chang (:It is.
Kevin Dennis (:Can couples incorporate sustainability into their bar and beverage choices as well? is that a difficult thing? it is. OK.
Jamie Chang (:Totally.
It's totally possible. would say there are sort of two ways you can attack this depending on sort of, and I guess really there's three, depending on kind of your situation. I would say if you're hiring a bartending company, there are companies who specifically source, you know, their beer or their wine or ⁓ even like their spirits potentially from companies that are local, perhaps is like step one, right?
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Jamie Chang (:⁓ Step two might be it's a company who's, you know, using recycled glass or who knows, right? Who knows what their process, because I'm not a professional in this area. ⁓ But, you know, during that process of brewing their beer or, you know, ⁓ storing the wine or whatever those steps are that they take to grow what they need to grow or source what they need to source or make what they need to make, they're taking steps to
Kevin Dennis (:Hahaha!
Jamie Chang (:you know, whether that's eliminate waste or be more efficient with this in the sense of electricity, like their warehouse operations, or maybe that's the, you know, the physical gear of what they're using and how they reuse it or, I mean, it could be lots of things, honestly, but there are companies who are taking steps. And so if you're working with a bartending company,
August Yocher (:Thank you.
Jamie Chang (:who is also aware of the various companies, let's say, and are utilizing those companies. That's an easy route to go, right? Because no thinking on your part as a couple. You just hire the right bartending company. But in the case of if you can BYOB, right? Because there are venues that allow that as well. Then it's on you to think a little bit more about that as well. And so I think a good first step is local. If you can source things locally.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Jamie Chang (:Once again, reduce transport time, it's fresher. You can have conversations with those individual companies, depending on how far you want to go with this. ⁓ And then if it's not none of those things, right, and you're working with a venue that supplies the bar, ⁓ then it's just asking that question again, right? Like, how do you source your spirits or your beer or your wine? And do you have options that are more, you know,
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:natural wine focused or sustainability focused or eco-friendly, right? And they may not have an answer for you or they might be like, yeah, we have these three we've been exploring. Let's have you try it at the tasting or whatever ⁓ to allow you to make those decisions. And once again, it's sort of like a progress, not perfection situation where like maybe not everything is like super sustainable. Maybe it's like a little bit here and a little bit there and maybe not this.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:But it's okay. You know, doesn't have to be perfect. It's just every little decision you can make collectively makes a difference. Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:helps. and I
think it goes to the overall picture. And the nice thing is, I mean, being in Livermore, California, we have 60 wineries in our area. So there's lots of wine choices to choose from locally. But also, the nice thing is, there's a lot of breweries in our area as well, that make a really decent beer, as well as there's a handful of spirit companies out here. You know, so there's a way to incorporate that locally and bring that in. And I think a lot of our venues in our market are really embracing
buying from the local folks as well. So it's nice to see.
Jamie Chang (:I mean, it's great, right? If you think about it from a business standpoint, and obviously, this is meant to help couples, but from a business standpoint, it really benefits them too, right? Like, they're supporting local as a couple, you're supporting local, and that's so good. I mean, everyone likes supporting local, right? These are your neighbors and your community, and that's... And even if you're doing a destination wedding, right? Let's say you're coming in and you don't live there.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:You're supporting that community that you're coming into. And that's awesome. I mean, who doesn't like that? It's win-win, really.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah. Yeah.
Well,
if you think about it too, I'm big on guest experience when it comes to weddings. so when you're doing that, you're exposing them to other, you know, maybe wines or beers or things that they don't normally drink, you know, so it's also, you know, giving them a great guest experience as well.
Jamie Chang (:Yeah, it's new, right? And that's fun too. If you're not familiar with this winery or that brewery, right? It's interesting. It's not something you find in the grocery store necessarily, right? It makes your wedding a little more fun too.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Yeah, it does.
August Yocher (:This is cool. feel like it's a very cool conversation to have. It definitely gets the wheels turning. right now I'm just thinking, the more we're talking about this, I'm like sustainability is like an onion. We just keep pulling it back and pulling it back. And we're learning these new things to think about. But I know we definitely want to touch on a few other vendors as well and just kind of figure out sustainability in those areas.
Jamie Chang (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:You
August Yocher (:What do you think about sourcing like florals or decorations? Like what can couples look for to try and keep things eco-conscious in that area?
Jamie Chang (:Yeah, so let's do floral first, and then we'll separate decor for a second. So floral, the way to kind of think about that, I would say is very similar to catering, where if
August Yocher (:Okay.
Jamie Chang (:You can work with a florist who sources locally. That's like big step one, right? It's sort of that same vein with the bar and the food. It's like, it'll be fresher, it'll be in season, it'll look beautiful. You're not shipping it halfway across the world. It doesn't need refrigeration for as long and travel time. It's just better. And it's cool because once again, you're supporting local farmers. So if you have a florist who...
is mainly on that or solely on that or even grows their own flowers. Those exist too. That's a great way to start, I'd say.
Kevin Dennis (:We have amazing
florists here locally that grows a lot of her own flowers, then also supplies what she, ⁓ you know, grows to other florists as well, locally as well. it's, yeah, Vo from, Cheng from Flow Flowers, we got to go to her flower farm and it was such an amazing experience. Yeah.
August Yocher (:Thank you.
Jamie Chang (:Bye!
August Yocher (:It was so cool. It was
really cool.
Jamie Chang (:mean, that's awesome, right? You can grow it and make it or like you said, you're being sourced from someone like that, right? That's kind of awesome. It's growing in your backyard, right? As opposed to something that's in Thailand that, you know, in some greenhouse and it has to ship across the world. And I'd say in that same...
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah
Okay.
On an airplane to
get here because they can't get here fat, you know, so yeah
Jamie Chang (:come fast, right? Super
fast. ⁓ I would think about it in the sense too of if floral is really important, which for a lot of people it can be sort of maybe in some cases their number one thing. ⁓ If that's really important. If a particular something is really important, like let's say ⁓ peonies, which lots of people love. Like get married in the season, peonies are in season.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:married in December, get married in June. If that's an important piece for you, then do that. Because, once again, it might not be grown locally, potentially, but it's not going to have to come as far. It's going to be more in supply. It's not going to be as expensive as it would be if you were trying to get it in December.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
They're probably going to look better too. Like there'll be nicer flowers that when they're in season.
Jamie Chang (:Yes, yes, more options, right? More colors, all the things. so think about that too. If that's a big, like you gotta have peonies, then, you know, get married when peonies are in season. Cause it'll just help you. It'll help your budget. It'll help your florist look better, more local. ⁓ So I would say that's a big piece of like picking a florist is if you can work with somebody who works with local seasonal blooms.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
You
Jamie Chang (:Because it'll just, once again, sort of win-win, right? It'll be less expensive. It'll be in supply. It'll be fresher. You won't have to travel as far. You're supporting local. Like, all wins. I would say the other thing to think about with floral is, and I'm sure we'll get to this, is sort of the waste aspect, the after the fact, which I think a lot of people think about. For some, if you want to keep it, fantastic.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
You
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:Decorate your whole house with floral. Like, who does not give it away to Aunt Judy, right? And Uncle Joe. ⁓ Pass that out. That's OK, too. ⁓ Get it to live a little longer. But if you can't, if you want to go down the route of donation, there's options for that. You have to do a little bit more legwork. You very likely, in some cases, have to actually have somebody do it for you. ⁓
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:bring it. I actually recently got an email from a high schooler up in, think she's like, Sal Salito or something. And she's doing this like, it's like a personal passion project where she wants to get floral post events and, you know, donate it and take it to like nursing homes and rehab centers. And ⁓ I was like, that's awesome. Right? Like if you're willing to do the
the legwork, right, which is the hard part. It's the coming, picking up, and then delivering, know, redoing and delivering. There's like, there's so many people where there's just leftovers that just, and that's an awesome thing.
August Yocher (:Yeah. Well, in here, ⁓
in the Bay Area, in our little Tri-Valley area, there's actually this really wonderful organization called Big Bay Ray, and they do exactly that. So there are a few florists in venues who do this in the area. So typically when they meet with the couple during the planning process, they'll ask them, like, you know, what are your plans for the florals after? Like, are you repurposing them for a brunch or do you want to give them out or?
We work with this organization that will come pick up the flowers after the event. And I actually took a meeting with her once. She was so sweet. And she said, basically, they take all the florals and they kind of split them up into little bud vases. And then they take those little bud vases to the local nursing homes and the Veterans Hospital we have nearby. And then they'll just, you know, share the wealth with everyone. And it's so sweet.
Jamie Chang (:Yeah.
Yeah, and then someone gets to enjoy it after the fact, right? It can live on for a little longer. It's a little less one time use only. ⁓ There's so many benefits to it, and that's awesome. Because that kind of service doesn't exist in every place. It might not be, depending on where you're getting married. But ⁓ I would think about that, because it's a nice way for your floral to live on, for at least a little while. And then I would say, big thing is once they die,
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:On you.
Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:Like if you have compost in your area, compost it so much better than just throwing it in the trash.
Kevin Dennis (:Yep.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Well, that should be with everything. Everything when it comes to the wedding should be composted and all that good stuff because there's a lot of waste when it comes to weddings. yeah.
Jamie Chang (:⁓
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:There is, there is. if it can, you know, if it
can become something that can then feed something else, like that circular is awesome. So there's floral. I mean, we could go on to other things with floral, but I'd say that those are the big kind of easier things to do in the sense of choice. Your other question was decor, right? ⁓ So I think decor is if you can.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:rent it. Like, renting is the epitome almost of that concept of reuse, right? Like, it out once and then it gets clean, it goes out again, and then it gets clean and it goes out again. And so it lives on and on, and it's not a one-time purchase, which I think a lot of people veer towards naturally is just, I'll just buy it. Right? And maybe, in some cases, maybe it's pretty cheap.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Yeah, it'd be cheaper than buying new. Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:hop on to Amazon, right?
And so that can be an easy choice for a lot of people, but then, A, it's like, where is it coming from? Probably China. What's it made of? Probably crap. And then what are you doing with it afterwards? Probably nothing. So if that's the case, you can rent it because then you don't have to buy it.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm. Yeah.
It's gonna say nothing, yeah.
Jamie Chang (:You don't have to store it. You don't have to set it up. You don't have to take it down. You don't have to figure out what you're doing with it afterwards. It, ⁓ have another life. And then if you have to buy it, let's say it doesn't exist in the rental world, which sometimes it doesn't, ⁓ see if you can buy it secondhand. Like, you know, Facebook marketplace, Craig's is Craig's list still around? Am I dating myself?
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Mmm.
Yeah.
August Yocher (:you
Kevin Dennis (:No,
you are, but yeah, it's still around.
Jamie Chang (:You know, ⁓ buy now groups, right? Or buy nothing groups, right? There's, there's things like that as well. ⁓ you can look at those places. There's a, there's a lot of stuff there that, you know, just, it's fine. It's great. It's like votives or whatever, right? That you need a whole bunch of votives, but do you really want to own a hundred votives? Probably not. ⁓ see if you can go to your neighborhood Goodwill or
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Jamie Chang (:thrift store, what have you, right? And that could just be something that's bought secondhand and then re-donated potentially. has a circular life. I would say the other thing too is if you happen to have, ⁓ you know, a family member, a mom, a sister, or friends who like have cool stuff, you can also borrow things.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:No. Got to borrow, right? It's part of it.
Jamie Chang (:One time thing.
Say you have a mom who loves candles. She just has tons of them, like tons of these glass, you know, votives or... ...operated because she likes putting them all out in the living room during Christmas. I don't know, I'm making stuff up.
August Yocher (:you
Kevin Dennis (:He
Jamie Chang (:Like you could just borrow it, use it, and give it back to her. It's a beautiful situation, you don't have to spend any money, which is fantastic. It serves its purpose, which is what you want, you know, the look, the ambiance, but you don't have to buy it, and it doesn't have to end up in the landfill.
Kevin Dennis (:Alright, well there you go. So speaking of landfill, what are some of the easiest steps to minimize waste when it comes to the wedding, like overall, the whole day itself?
Jamie Chang (:Yeah, so I think, and this is totally gonna date me, but way back when, so guess you probably would never have heard of this, there was this whole camp, there was this whole campaign, Kevin, you probably have, around like, reduce.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
August Yocher (:Okay.
Kevin Dennis (:Thanks. So I'm old
and you're young, August. She's figured us out. ⁓
August Yocher (:Okay.
Jamie Chang (:Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Kevin Dennis (:Yes.
August Yocher (:No,
I definitely- that was in elementary school guys, don't worry, I remember that. The three R's. Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:So there was a whole PSA, right? Like it was a huge
Kevin Dennis (:Yep.
Jamie Chang (:nationwide thing. And I think that's a great way to think about your wedding. it's, and what I realized as I got older is it was sort of like, these are three options you have, but really the way to think about it is it's one, two, three. So reduce first, reduce second, recycle third. So if you think about a physical thing, that could be your dress.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm.
August Yocher (:⁓
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Jamie Chang (:That could be ⁓ the card box that people bring cards and put into. That could be favors. That could be signage. mean, whatever. Whatever we're talking about. I think the first thing to think about is reduce. So not reduce just to reduce, but like, do care about a garter toss? Do you even need a garter? Do you care about having three dresses?
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:for your wedding? Maybe not. Do you care about having a veil? Do you care about having signage behind your seat that says, you know, newlyweds or whatever, right? Do you care about having ceremony programs? Do you care about having like a, what do call it? There's like a sign that goes into a cake.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:that has words, right? Do you care about that? Or is that just something you found on Pinterest that you thought was cute? So, there's a lot of things when we get down to it, when you really ask the question, someone would be like, actually, you really don't care about that. I don't care. I just thought that was something I was supposed to have. That's what's in all these pictures. thought that was needed, right? And if you don't need it, if that's not important to you, and if it is, that's a totally different story.
Kevin Dennis (:⁓ Yeah.
August Yocher (:Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:But if it isn't...
You full permission to not have to do what you think you should do and just do what feels right for you. In some cases that might be chucking a whole lot of things into the, know, into the dump pile, the imaginary dump pile because you're not even doing it. But you know, that dump pile already eliminates, right? You don't have to buy it, you don't have to think about it, you don't have to rent it, you don't have to worry about it because it's not even on your table of things.
August Yocher (:Yes!
Jamie Chang (:that you need. So I would say reduce first. That actually eliminates a lot of things.
really want a favor, but everyone does a favor. It's like, you don't want a favor, don't do a favor. If there's not something that, um, well, then we'll get into number two that can be reused or enjoyed or, you know, is special to you. Then what's the point? Why waste the time? Why waste the money? It's not, not going to benefit you in any way. It'll probably just get dumped. So I would say reduce first. It's like a great way to start.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:⁓ The second would be reuse right so going back to the kind of discussion we had around decor right? Is it something you own already? Is it something you want to own? So let's say ⁓ You really wanted to put this like cool ⁓ Case vanity like vintage thing in your wedding and you totally know where you're gonna put it in your house afterwards Like that's a different situation, right?
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:Go
find the thing you want that you'll reuse that's going to live in the corner of your bedroom that you're going to love. That's great. Like that reuse concept is fantastic. Or it's buying secondhand, right? And you're reusing it and then it's going to get reused again. Or it's, ⁓ you know, that could even be your wedding outfit, right? Like there's so many awesome vintage stores. There's so many options now online ⁓ where you can buy some. And that's not for everyone. Not everyone's going to love that, but
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:if that's kind of fun to you, right? Something has a history. And even if you change it, right? You could buy something and change it. That's cool too, but that's also reusing, right? As opposed to getting something new. And then I would say the last is recycle. So if those two things can't happen with whatever the physical thing is that you're making or buying or getting or using, make sure it can be circular. So it...
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:It's the kind of paper that can be easily recycled. It's glass, right? It's something that, I don't know, maybe you're crafty and you're gonna upcycle it into something new. That's cool too. One of those three is, and one, two, three, I'd say is the route you're trying to go, is the goal.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
I love it.
Jamie Chang (:so that you don't have as much that's purely, I bought it and I threw it away.
Kevin Dennis (:I want to feel like you started your own little ⁓ PSA there, one, two, three. You got it.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Yeah, I like that.
Jamie Chang (:you
August Yocher (:Well, I feel like there's like a certain like charm and magic to weddings that have a lot of like, you know, what's where I'm thinking of like thrifted items or secondhand items. Like we had my friend Meg got married last year and we had her on the podcast to talk about her experience, but she incorporated a lot of that. she loves to thrift. So a lot of her decor pieces were thrifted.
Her centerpieces were plants that she just grew in her home just for her wedding. And obviously, it wasn't 100 % sustainable. She still bought a dress. She did these other things, but she did make a lot of small conscious choices. And I do love the idea you're saying. It's just baby steps, right? Small things can make a big impact. So even if you have five out of your 10 choices go in that direction, it's just...
Jamie Chang (:Yep.
August Yocher (:and amazing traits to make.
Jamie Chang (:It is, it is, and it can look awesome. It's gonna look unique, right? In a lot of cases. For some, that's not what they're going for. That's not their vibe. And I get that. But I think you are open to exploring that or are into it for some reason. And she...
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:think it's great is that's kind of who she is, ⁓ you know, and her personality. And so the fact that her wedding reflected that is awesome. It's not, it doesn't have to be this thing you're like stressing out over necessarily. I think it's just, it's just a matter of being a little bit more thoughtful. And you know, is there a better choice? Cause maybe there is that would be more cost effective, maybe even look better.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:maybe be easier and then also, you know, be more sustainable. A lot of sustainable things honestly have a lot of multiple benefits and I think that's the beauty of it. it can, you know, like it can save you money and it can be more efficient and you can support someone else and it can ⁓ reduce the amount of work you need to do and it can make it look amazing. They're not mutually exclusive. It can be awesome and memorable and beautiful and also be sustainable.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:I love it. All right, we're getting on time here. So we're going to ask you one more question before we wrap up. I'm just curious. So we're going to put you on the spot. And it could be even something that you already talked about. So what's the one sustainable wedding tip you wish every couple knew?
Jamie Chang (:Okay.
What's the one sustainable wedding tip I think? I think it's one of the ones we've already talked about. I'm not sure I can pinpoint one, but I would say you can think about location. You can think about beef.
Kevin Dennis (:Okay.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:That's what it's funny.
I thought back location was when I was going through it. Yeah
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:it's honestly it's the biggest contributor to you know if you were to like if you were to yeah you would account like actually calculate and that's honestly that's kind of hard but if you could actually calculate it and took the time to calculate it the travel aspect is the biggest piece so if you can be a little bit more local and if you can't and sometimes that's not the case right like i do destination weddings so i know this firsthand
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Well, that was the first thing that came to your mind when we brought it up.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Jamie Chang (:You have family on the East Coast. You have family on the West Coast. You have family international. People are coming from all over the place. If you're just a little more thoughtful about where you choose so that, let's say the majority don't have to travel as far or there's a direct flight, or if we're talking a hometown wedding, right? You're being conscious of where people are coming from. Most of the people at least. If you can think about that, that makes a big difference.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah. All right. I love it.
Jamie Chang (:Huge.
August Yocher (:Yeah. Kevin,
can I ask one more question really quick? We'll allow it. Okay, because I'm just and I'm sorry if this also feels super on the spot as well. But since I know this is something that's very important to you, I was wondering if you could share if there's something that comes to mind of maybe like a really unique, maybe one of your favorite ways that one of your couples has incorporated a sustainability act. ⁓
Kevin Dennis (:I guess we'll allow it.
August Yocher (:aspect into their wedding was is there one thing that kind of stands out to you in the past?
Jamie Chang (:I'm trying to think if there's, it's hard to pick one. I, to be really honest, I think couples who care about this, it's a part of who they are and what they value. It tends to permeate a lot of things. It's not sort of just one thing, I would say. Yeah, but.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Yes.
One big thing, yeah.
Jamie Chang (:Think!
One thing that is maybe also the undercurrent of everything we've talked about is local. Like if you can just think locally, right? Like where you choose, the vendors you pick, the venue, right? The products, et cetera. Like that can permeate a lot of that sustainability by just keeping things local.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Jamie Chang (:⁓ And once again, like it's a bonus of you're also supporting the community, which is awesome. So that might be the undercurrent, would say, maybe of kind of everything we've talked about is this idea of local. Now, obviously it'd be wonderful if those businesses are also doing their own thing to be more sustainable, but let's shove that to the side. Like if it's just, you know, the people in your neighborhood, right?
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
August Yocher (:You
Jamie Chang (:It's and whatever that neighborhood is right that might not be where you live that might just be the place you're getting married, but You're supporting them. You're pulling things that are grown that are made that are ⁓ crafted ⁓ by people who are living there small businesses, it's it's a nice way to go about it that also
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Love
it. All right, Jamie, we always wrap up all the episodes of Now, Them Engage, How to Get Married, asking our guests, what's their favorite part of a wedding? What's your favorite part?
Jamie Chang (:⁓ I am always a ceremony person. ⁓ It's the reason why you're there, the reason why everyone is there. And I think it's ⁓ also that moment when as a couple, kind of, yes, you're standing in front of all these people you love and whether that's 30 people or 150 or 400, there's this moment that happens when you've kind of forgotten about everybody else. And it's usually when you're saying your vows.
Kevin Dennis (:Are you?
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
you
Jamie Chang (:Not always, but usually. like a magic there. I almost, I cry almost every wedding that I've ever been to and done. And it's, because it's special. This is like their commitment to each other. And no matter where we are or what it looks like, it's just that they're looking at each other and they're vowing to, you know, support each other and be with each other through thick and thin. And that's, that's my favorite part. It's always my favorite.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
It's funny you say that because when my wife and I got married, we had almost 20 guests or whatever at our wedding. I don't remember seeing anyone at the ceremony. I just don't remember that. I remember walking out and waving at people when we go, but I couldn't tell you who they were or what they. It was just such a blur. But was like being in that moment, I agree with you.
Jamie Chang (:Yeah. Yeah. So
when I got married, just as a side ⁓ story is apparently when I was doing my vows, there was like this big ⁓ fire truck ambulance alarm happening like down the street. everyone's like, they're like, they were all worried, right? Because I'm talking and I was like, I didn't even hear it. Like, I literally did not hear it.
Kevin Dennis (:that drove by.
August Yocher (:⁓
Kevin Dennis (:that's yeah.
Jamie Chang (:And I think you're just so, you're in that moment, right? Which is beautiful, you should be. And that's just, I love that. That's really,
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah, and it's funny that
you, yeah, that's, I totally can understand what you're going through because not that I had fire trucks, but being there, you just don't, you don't see anything that's going on. So anyway.
Jamie Chang (:You're
in this special place, in this special time with this special person that you're committing to be with. that's, it's just beautiful. It is.
Kevin Dennis (:Night.
I agree. All
right, Jamie, how can folks get in contact with you and hire you to plan their destination weddings?
Jamie Chang (:Yeah,
so my website's mango muse events. I'm on all the major socials. I'm probably most active on Instagram. I do blog and I share a lot of the tips, some of the tips, more tips on the blog as well around sustainability, planning, ⁓ et cetera. So check me out over there.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm.
All right, I love it. right, Jamie, we will have all your information in show notes as well. And we can't thank you enough for being here and making us all a little bit more intelligent when it comes to sustainability. So thank you for being here today. All right, bye, guys.
Jamie Chang (:Thanks.
Thanks for having me.
Bye.
