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The new, conscious Indian wedding aims for no more waste – or patriarchy Nivedita Shankar and Vivek Seetharaman at their trimmed-down wedding in Singapore. Photo: Nivedita Shankar
When social entrepreneur Veena Balakrishnan married Vignesh Vancheeshwar in 2018, in Chennai, India, they knew they wanted a zero-waste wedding. We were both clear that we wanted to minimise resources used and also avoid wastage. I decided to wear my grandmother s sari and family jewellery. Vignesh followed me in wearing something from his wardrobe, said the 26-year-old, who runs a sustainable lifestyle company. Right from the e-invite, we planned carefully. We chose a wedding venue that was open air, to reduce electricity and lighting costs. Natural, seasonal flowers from farmers markets decorated the venue, she said. Plantain leaves and areca bowls were used to serve the vegetarian lunch. Almost everything was composted after the wedding. All the excess food was donated to the NGO Robin