In all my previous blog posts, when I mention “No-Poo”, I refer to hair and body cleansing routines that are 100% natural and chemical-free. In reality, I apply this principle to many other things apart from body care, such as my no make-up routine or my water-only tooth brushing. When it comes to weddings, there’s no exception. In this post, I’ll walk you through my no-poo zero-waste wedding and how I managed to pull it off within 10 days.  

But before we get into that, let’s straighten out what No-Poo means to me.

photo credit: Joan A.

For me, No-Poo is never only skin-deep. It is a lifestyle and philosophy that I adapt to reduce my environmental footprint. After following this No-Poo life for over three years, I have become a believer that our body has the ability to take care of itself. At the same time, this journey has taught me to respect Mother Nature and allowed me to accept myself the way I am; through the good, bad, and ugly.

Some people may feel it’s gross that I don’t use soap or shampoo. But for me, certain societal norms need to be re-examined, especially ones that bring harm to the environment.

So, when I and my then-boyfriend decided to tie the knot during the COVID time, it is our wish that it is done without costing Mother Earth more than it should. August 8th was picked because it is said to be the auspicious day. We only knew of it 10 days before that. So, we only had one and a half week in total to manage it all! Thanks to this zero-waste wedding aspiration, it was not hard to manage all these things at all. All we need were good eyes to see what we can use a few mobile devices and a computer to reach out to our families abroad. 

For us, the wedding ceremony only serves as a symbol of societal approval and a sign of welcoming a new member into the family. We could choose to only perform a paper signing ceremony, but our Asian families would like to have a tea ceremony and ring exchange as well. So we agreed to do it on one condition; that it does not fuel the wasteful economy that we do not agree with. Hence, we decided that there be no new items bought for the event and everything is performed at home. 

With the pandemic, our online wedding relied on video conferencing software like Zoom or Line. Our families from five different countries hopped online to celebrate with us when the time arrived. Meanwhile, at the actual ceremony, we had two participants, two witnesses, an officiant, and two siblings who served as a photographer and an MC.

credit: Thomas A.

Following our zero-waste wishes, instead of the normal wedding gown, I put on a semi-casual Thai dress which I wore a few times before. My then-boyfriend wore a groomsmen suit from his friend’s wedding and borrowed a batik shirt from his dad. Instead of buying new home decorations for the event, we used potted plants and flowers that we already had. There was no make-up, nor jewelry apart from a pair of old pearl earrings passed down from my mom. As for the rings, we made rings for each other with pine needles picked from the backyard.

Apart from getting a roasted piglet to celebrate the occasion and arranging the wedding officiant, we didn’t spend on anything else.

Some of you may wonder why we chose not to get diamond rings that can last a lifetime. The answer is simply because, for us, rings are only symbols of a reunion of two souls at that point in time. Regardless of how long the ring lasts, if the relationship is not strong in the first place, the timelessness of the rings loses its meaning.

The transience of these pine needle rings reminds us of how precious each minute and second we spend together are. 

Beyond that level, we both agree that the precious stones industry, famous for its “blood diamond” is not doing the best in terms of sustainability or labor standards. There seems to be little functional value to these gems apart from an implicit demonstration of social status. We don’t believe in judging people by the jewelry that they wear. As such, it would be hypocritical for us to give importance to such material objects. 

The wedding went along smoothly online. We got to share our special moments with our families from afar. We talked to Ar Gong and received blessings from all sides of the family. We saw little nieces and nephews that we haven’t met for years. Furthermore, we talked to our aunties and uncles, who share with us so much joy. And we couldn’t be happier with the way it went.

photo credit: Joan A.

At the end of the day, the wedding ceremony serves as a celebration of the coming together of two souls. While the pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainties to so many weddings and events, for us, COVID has made our zero-waste No-Poo wedding possible.

It is said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

With the outside world already full of chaos, noises, and fear, thanks to our understanding families, we are blessed to have it done exactly the way we had wished for, the most simple online wedding possible.

Zero-Waste No-Poo COVID wedding is definitely the moment to be remembered.

What have your experiences with COVID weddings been like? Have you attended one during this time? Let us know how it went.