Our Green Story: The Wellbeing Farm

At the Wellbeing Farm, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. From our events, to our weddings, to the food we serve, and the props we use, we pride ourselves on our environmentalism. We care about sustainability because we believe that celebrating your wedding, coming together, and focusing on our own wellbeing shouldn’t cost the Earth. This specific and determined focus has led to the creation and establishment of many interesting projects, each of which are explored below.

Everything in our Green Wedding Package from the food eaten, to the wedding suppliers, to the tableware has a low environmental impact, and that’s just the way we like it!

Our wedding barn is an icon of the beauty in ecological remodelling. It boasts of luxury, all whilst being established by profoundly sustainable means. Everything in the barn has been upcycled, renovated, and redesigned into something outstandingly inventive; old army parachutes are used to construct the ceiling, giving the barn a serene tepee effect, wooden crates have been constructed together to make cosy lampshades, the seats for the wedding guests are constructed out of hay bales, and an upcycled bar is surrounded by milk pale stools which add to the rustic and chic style.

Everything the Farm makes is created with sustainability at its heart, and the catering options, from canapes to deserts, are no exception! Our ingredients, from canapes to deserts are locally sourced wherever possible. The meat is from the local family butchers, and we offer a choice of fish which is sourced from the environmentally-conscious Neve Fleetwood which prides itself on sustainable practice. We also offer an array of vegetarian and vegan options, such as vegetable kebabs, vegan burgers, spring green risotto, and our very own veggie take on the traditional roast dinner, all of which are as delicious as they sound! The Farm also grows its edible flowers and herbs which are nourished by water butts that are placed around the site and we are also in the process of developing a vegetable garden.

It isn’t just the food that is sustainably sourced! At the Wellbeing Farm, the tableware has all been purchased with its environmental influence in mind. The napkins used are from a company called Ecoecho, and they contain no plastic and are not single-use products. All takeaway cups and containers can be recycled or are biodegradable, and the Farm also uses wooden cutlery (unless it’s a wedding in which case silverware will be provided). The plates we use are created out of palm leaf. Not only do these plates add a rustic look to your dish but they are also completely toxin and chemical-free. The bleaches that were used when sterilising them were natural, safe, and plant-based. As they are made of leaves, no trees were cut down in the process of their creation, and because these plates are also 100% compostable, they can be repurposed once they break to help feed growing trees.

We are immensely proud of our Prop Shed and it is an invaluable resource to many of our couples in ensuring that their day has a unique and entirely creative decorum. The Prop Shed holds many wonders of celebrations gone by and through renovating the item and adding personal touches, each passing memento becomes the centre piece for another couple’s day.

Since 2017, the Farm has been working to eliminate all plastic from its operations. The use of plastic straws and stirrers has been banned and the Farm orders paper straws and wooden stirrers from Stephensons, a company that implores you to sign their pledge to help make Manchester plastic-free. As a token of our efforts and a reminder of our good impact, the straws are imprinted with a cute little Manchester bee.

In addition to this, the Farm does not serve plastic water bottles on site. Instead, there are water urns located around the venue. The only exception to this rule is a necessary one as, due to a nasty accident a llama encountered with a stray glass, the Farm uses polycarbonate plastic glasses which are washed and reused at the bar.

Outside of weddings, we hold events centred around environmental and personal wellbeing as we believe that there is nothing more important to a businesses success than the welfare of their workers; teamwork makes the dreamwork as the old saying goes! We therefore organised the North West Centre for Wellbeing and the WASH (W: wellbeing at our centre, A: amazing nutritious food, S: sustainable and safe, H: happy and fun environment) your business campaign which we have implemented to ensure that these values are achieved and realised by your business and ours.

The Wellbeing Farm is an undeniable beacon to the benefits of sustainable living. Our success and determination to further develop our ideas is a testament to our commitment to ensuring that sustainability fast becomes a fixture in the way we do business and we hope to inspire others in the process. We are building the Wellbeing Farm as a shining example of how wellbeing and sustainability goes hand in hand with both the environment and ourselves.