Looking to have an eco-friendly wedding? One of the biggest decisions you’ll make while planning your wedding will be choosing the venue. This decision can be quite daunting as it is, and it can be especially challenging to know where to begin if you plan to have an eco-friendly wedding.

As a Certified Green Wedding Planner, I’m here to walk you through how to identify eco-friendly wedding venues, and I’ll show you a list of eco-friendly wedding venues in Pittsburgh to check out. But first, let’s look at why you should consider booking an eco-friendly wedding venue in the first place.

Why You Should Book an Eco-Friendly Wedding Venue

If you’re thinking about having an eco-friendly wedding, it’s best to start by “greening” your biggest wedding expenses. And one of your largest expenses for your wedding will be the venue.

The venue often has the most touchpoints throughout the process of the wedding, as you’ll frequently be in contact with the venue staff before, during, and after the event. Plus, your venue will likely refer you to other preferred vendors to work with. So it would be a good idea to choose a venue that can help you cut down on waste throughout the entire wedding planning process and refer you to other sustainable vendors.

Furthermore, supporting sustainable venues helps with supporting green business and showing the wedding industry that couples are demanding more sustainable practices.

What Makes a Wedding Venue Eco-Friendly?

Wedding venues can do so many things to make themselves more sustainable, from the lighting and technology they use, to their waste management processes, to their cleaning and maintenance practices, and much more.

Many venues strive to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for their buildings, which is a globally recognized green building rating system. There are 4 levels of LEED certification that companies can strive toward in terms of achievement and leadership in sustainability: certification, silver, gold, or platinum.

Finding a centrally located wedding venue that will allow you to hold both the ceremony and reception on site can cut down on travel for you and your guests, thus reducing the carbon footprint of your wedding.

Additionally, eco-friendly wedding venues that offer their own catering, which is another huge wedding expense, are striving for more sustainable catering practices. While sustainable catering is a whole other topic, it should be noted that what makes the catering sustainable is not merely the food itself, but also the way it is prepared, served, and disposed of.

While researching eco-friendly wedding venues in Pittsburgh, check to see if they mention any commitments to sustainability on their websites. As the demand for earth-friendly weddings increases, we’ll likely see an increase in eco-friendly wedding venues in Pittsburgh. But here are a few stunning eco-friendly Pittsburgh wedding venues to get you started on the right foot.

10 Eco-friendly Pittsburgh Wedding Venues

Phipps Conservatory

Phipps Conservatory is a beautiful garden venue in Pittsburgh. It is made up of LEED certified, energy efficient buildings and participates in various sustainable practices. Phipps provides sustainable catering services by offering local and organic food options, recycling, and composting. While a Phipps Conservatory wedding may be one of the most expensive venue options on this list, it is also one of the venues that is making the most strides when it comes to environmental stewardship.

Couples can hold both their ceremony and reception at Phipps. The venue has various indoor and outdoor options in terms of spaces to hold the ceremony and reception, and it can accommodate a rather large wedding guest list.

Frick Environmental Center

Frick Environmental Center, located in Frick Park, has achieved platinum LEED certified status. It is also considered a “Living Building,” which is another prestigious green building designation. The center provides environmental education to community members.

Frick Environmental Center is an eco-industrial style building surrounded by woodlands and streams. Because it is part of Frick Park, couples need to obtain a permit to host an event there. The venue has an amphitheater-style ceremony space outside and can hold up to 56 guests for a seated indoor reception.

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLCC) is another venue that has achieved platinum LEED certification. The venue contains a “green roof,” and the landscaping is composed of plants that are native to southwestern Pennsylvania. The venue offers sustainable catering by growing produce onsite, purchasing local and seasonal food, donating leftovers, composting, and using biodegradable, organic paper products when disposable items are used.

The DLCC can hold thousands of people and offers plenty of event space options for hosting a wedding. The terraces offer space for outdoor wedding ceremonies, while the large windows that look out onto the Allegheny River make a great backdrop for an indoor reception.

Eden Hall Campus

(Update (11/11/21): Eden Hall Campus is currently booked through 2022 and is no longer taking reservations beyond that.)

Eden Hall Campus, which is part of Chatham University, features a sustainable catering menu consisting of local and organic food. The venue runs a low-impact kitchen with its use of composting and energy-efficient technology. It also considers itself a “green campus” with its use of low-impact temperature control, 400 solar panels, onsite wastewater treatment, and other sustainable operations.

Located in Gibsonia, Eden Hall Campus lies on rolling fields and meadows amidst woods and streams. Couples can have both their ceremony and reception on site. The Barazzone Center has a modern “eco” vibe and can fit 100 guests for an indoor seated reception. There is also a barn for couples who are looking to have a more rustic wedding.

Tree Pittsburgh

Tree Pittsburgh is a non-profit environmental program dedicated to restoring the urban forest through tree planting, land conservation, and community education. It is striving for LEED & Net-Zero certifications. The property is powered by solar panels and collects rainwater to irrigate the landscaping. They have a plastic-free, zero-waste policy for events and the entire campus.

Tree Pittsburgh’s Riverfront Room is an event space located in Lawrenceville with views of the Allegheny River. There is an outdoor courtyard with lush trees that’s perfect for a wedding ceremony, and the venue can hold up to 150 guests for an indoor/outdoor wedding.

The National Aviary

The National Aviary, located on the North Side of Pittsburgh, is currently striving for LEED certification for its event space, called the Garden Room. The National Aviary takes on conservation projects and works to save birds and protect biodiversity and habitats around the world.

The Garden Room features two large stone fireplaces, wood ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows for guests to view the adjacent Rose Garden. The Rose Garden makes for a gorgeous ceremony space, while the Garden Room can accommodate approximately 200 guests for a reception.

Pittsburgh Botanic Garden

Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, located in Oakdale, is doing several things to have a positive impact on the environment, including the restoration and reforestation of land that was once actively mined for coal and the conservation of natural resources.

The gardens, woodlands, and Lotus Pond are some of the features that make this venue a beautiful and memorable experience for guests. Couples can hold both their ceremony and reception at this venue. The Event Center can hold up to 100 seated with a dance floor, or a tent may be rented to seat up to 220 guests.

Pittsburgh Public Parks

Choosing a natural location like a park for your event can cut down on the need for decorations because the landscape itself can act as the décor.

There are plenty of public parks around the Pittsburgh area that could provide a beautiful backdrop to your big day. Schenley Plaza, Mellon Park, and Point State Park are just a few examples.

The sustainability of a wedding held at a park will depend on the vendors you hire and the resources you use, as you may need to rent items like tents, flooring, heaters, etc.

If you decide to hold your event at a public park or scenic location, just be sure to keep in mind that you ideally don’t want to disrupt the land and its natural elements. So consider using an easily accessible location to host your event, rather than one that could be destroyed by foot traffic.

Also, keep in mind that in order to host an event at a Pittsburgh Public Park, couples need to obtain a Special Parks Permit.

Sustainable Restaurants

Another option is to hold your wedding at a sustainable restaurant. Even if the building itself is not eco-friendly, a restaurant that is deemed sustainable will adhere to certain standards for food sourcing, nutrition, water conservation, waste reduction, and energy efficiency. Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant is a valuable resource for finding eco-friendly restaurants, as it awards restaurants with a designation upon meeting certain criteria for sustainability.

In addition to Phipps Conservatory and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, The Porch at Schenley and Bar Marco are two other restaurants with event spaces that have achieved platinum designation from Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant. The Porch at Schenley can accommodate up to 160 guests inside its restaurant, as well as additional guests on the outdoor patio. Bar Marco, located in the Strip District, has an upstairs event space called Union Hall, which can hold an intimate wedding ceremony and up to 65 guests for a seated reception.

Schenley Park Visitor Center

If you are thinking about holding a small wedding ceremony near Schenley Park, then Schenley Park Visitor Center could be a great option for holding the reception. Schenley Park Café and Visitor Center is a restored historic building in Schenley Park. Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has been restoring Pittsburgh’s historic city parks like this one since 1996 and strives to do so with environmental stewardship in mind.

The Porch, mentioned above, provides sustainable catering for Schenley Park Visitor Center. The Visitor Center can accommodate 50 guests for a seated indoor reception, or a tented patio is available to accommodate up to 120 guests.

More on Finding Eco-Friendly Wedding Venues

When looking for an eco-friendly wedding venue, it may be difficult to find one that is “perfectly” sustainable. After all, when going green, the goal is not perfection, but rather to do our best to make sustainable choices to reduce our environmental impact.

Nonetheless, if you see simple ways in which a venue could be doing things more sustainably, ask or make suggestions! Wedding venues that are already striving to go green will likely be open-minded to considering more sustainable operations. And even if a venue doesn’t take your suggestion at that moment, you’re still showing them that more and more people are demanding more earthy-friendly practices.

Ready to start planning your eco-friendly wedding or event? Check out my eco-friendly event planning and design services here!

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