How a 400-Guest Bhubaneswar Wedding Cut Plastic Without Cutting Tradition

On the morning of her wedding, Suchita Pati stood in the centre of a decorated hall in Bhubaneswar and took a slow look around.

White rajnigandha (tuberose) garlands hung from bamboo frames. Marigolds added soft bursts of yellow. Earthen vases rested beside woven baskets. Banana trees framed the entrance.

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For a moment, she felt at ease.

She had always imagined getting married under an open sky, surrounded by greenery. Winter chill and unpredictable weather, along with rituals that began at 5 or 6 am, made it impractical. So she chose a different route. She brought the outdoors inside.

“My husband and I are both nature lovers. We’re happiest in green spaces, visiting parks or simply spending time outdoors, and that shaped how I imagined our wedding. Also, my sister had an outdoor wedding, and I remember how calm it felt, with flowers blending into the greenery. Since weather and timing made that impractical for us, we tried to recreate that same natural, cohesive feeling indoors through the décor,” she says.

That intention shaped everything that followed.

A celebration rooted in culture and care

The Tamil–Odia wedding took place on 30 November and 1 December 2025. Across two days, nearly 400 guests attended the haldi (turmeric ceremony), mehendi (henna ceremony), homam puja (sacred fire ritual), the wedding, and the reception. Around 100 guests were present for the wedding ceremonies, and about 300 attended the reception.

Months earlier, the family had begun discussing what those two days should look like. The goal was clear: a celebration grounded in culture while keeping waste to a minimum.

The first step came from Suchita’s sister, Ruchita Pati.

When one conversation changed the direction

Ruchita reached out to Neelima Mishra, founder of Bhubaneswar-based waste management startup Ceiba Green Solutions. “It happened through Instagram. The bride’s sister followed our work and reached out. We met for breakfast and discussed their vision,” Neelima recalls.

She continues, “The family already had certain ideas, seed paper invitations, strict waste segregation, and designs that avoided environmentally harmful materials. We worked together to implement their ideas on the ground.”

Planning began in June and July. Instead of dramatic shifts, the discussions centred on details. What materials would be used? How would waste be sorted? What could be reused?

Ruchita, who works in HR in the CSR space and has long been drawn to community initiatives, had organised her own wedding five years ago around sustainability. COVID-19 restrictions had kept it small. This time, the guest list was larger. But the principles stayed the same.

As those plans took shape, Neelima carried her own memories into the process.

The Arctic trip that followed her home

After studying engineering and completing an MPhil in environmental policy at the University of Cambridge, Neelima returned to Odisha with a deepened awareness of environmental issues. 

In June 2019, she was selected for the Climate Force Arctic Expedition organised by the 2041 Foundation, founded by polar explorer Robert Swan, the first person to walk to both the South and North Pole.

In the Svalbard archipelago, she saw plastic lodged in remote ice. Bottle caps. Toothbrushes. Cigarette lighters. These had been carried across oceans and had now frozen into the landscapes. “The Arctic experience triggered something in me, and when I returned to Odisha, I began noticing waste everywhere,” she says.

Within six months, she founded Ceiba Green Solutions. The organisation is registered under Startup India and incubated at the Atal Incubation Centre. It works on dry and wet waste management, reducing single-use plastics, and organising low-waste events. Its newer initiative, ‘Recycle Pay’, incentivises dry waste collection from homes, institutions, and businesses.

When the Pati family approached her, she quickly understood that they wanted warmth and responsibility to exist in the same space.

The venue became the first test of that alignment. The family selected an eco-resort that practised waste segregation and composting, and avoided plastic cutlery. “We didn’t provide plastic bottles at all because we knew people would use them if they were available,” says Neelima. “Glassware was available at all times, and the hotel staff was very cooperative with making sure they were always filled.”

The systems were in place. And the celebration built on them.

From there, every decorative choice followed that same thread.

Bamboo, banana trees, and thoughtful details

Bamboo baskets, banana trees decorated with seasonal flowers, and earthen pots replaced synthetic backdrops. Artificial foam used in table bouquets was removed from the plan and decorative materials containing plastic were excluded from the beginning.

Ruchita remembers examining even the smallest elements. “We zoomed in on the smallest things where we could cut out waste, without compromising on aesthetics. We ensured that the garlands did not have any plastic in them. Many people don’t realise how much plastic goes into wedding garlands. The decorative beads and finishing materials are often synthetic.”

Food required equal care.

Fewer dishes, fuller plates

India hosts nearly 10 million weddings each year. Food waste from large celebrations continues to grow, with estimates suggesting that 30 to 50 kilograms of food can be discarded at an average wedding, and significantly more at larger gatherings.

Keeping this in mind, the family chose seven or eight traditional dishes rather than an expansive buffet. “Almost everyone complimented the food,” says Suchita. “Because each item was well received, it naturally helped limit food wastage.”

The menu reflected both Tamil and Odia traditions. The Odia spread included dalma (lentils cooked with mixed vegetables), besara (a tangy mustard-based curry), puri (deep-fried bread), kakharu phula bhaja (stir-fried pumpkin flower fritters), manda pitha (steamed rice dumplings with a sweet coconut filling), pantua (deep-fried chhena sweets soaked in sugar syrup), and rasbara (soft chhena balls in sugar syrup).

The Tamil dishes featured avarakkai poriyal (stir-fried broad beans with coconut), avial (mixed vegetables cooked in coconut and yoghurt), chickpea sundal (tempered chickpeas with coconut), and temple-style sakkarai pongal (sweet rice and lentils) with its distinct karpura (edible camphor) aroma.

“Since the guests included many elderly family members, we kept the food lighter in spice and oil, focusing on familiar, traditional flavours,” Suchita adds.

As guests ate, another layer of planning unfolded in the background.

Gifts that carried stories

In many Indian weddings, gifts travel between families wrapped in layers of plastic and paper. The Pati family chose a different route.

They sourced products through the non-profit Nirmaan, which runs a commission-free e-commerce platform called Swasha for underprivileged artisans. The gifts included jute bags made by children with disabilities, Kalamkari coasters, earthenware, and travel pouches.

They also travelled to Pipli village near Puri, known for its handicrafts, to purchase handmade wooden magnets shaped like animals. “The best thing we could do was support self-help groups while organising the wedding,” Ruchita says.

Even the traditional bhara (ceremonial exchange of gifts between families) was reconsidered. Blouse pieces replaced plastic packaging and could later be reused. Guests from outside Odisha received locally made crafts. Those from Odisha were given gifts produced in Hyderabad through Nirmaan. The exchange became a conversation between regions.

At the reception, the family requested no bouquets and no physical gifts. Lo and behold, among nearly 300 guests, only two bouquets and four physical gifts arrived.

The invitations followed the same philosophy.

Invitations that could be planted

Instead of ornate, layered cards that are admired briefly and then set aside, the family chose seed paper. When guests held the invite in their hands, they were also holding something that could be planted after the ceremony. The card could return to the soil and grow into a living being, extending the meaning of the celebration beyond the two days.

From the haldi to the reception, reusable tableware was used and waste was carefully segregated. Ceiba Green worked closely with the venue staff to ensure the approach did not shift from one ceremony to the next.

Over those two days, Tamil and Odia rituals were woven together through conversations the families had long before the wedding. Each tradition found its place, and the ceremonies moved forward with both cultures present and recognised. “Both cultures were integrated smoothly,” says Neelima. “The families were in sync, and the rituals blended naturally.”

Of course, conversations during planning brought their own moments of adjustment.

Negotiating habits and expectations

Some relatives expressed hygiene concerns when plastic water bottles were removed from the plan.

Pre-packaged haldi (turmeric) and kumkum (vermilion), stored in reusable glass bottles, led to another moment of coordination. The groom’s family had prepared their own homemade haldi and had a preferred source for kumkum.

“These were minor issues and more about coordination than disagreement,” Neelima explains.

Ruchita recalls how perception shifted once people saw alternatives in action. “When we first suggested seed paper wedding invitations, people couldn’t visualise them because they were used to ornate cards. But after seeing ours, one of the family members is now adopting seed paper invites for her wedding.”

Some constraints remained. The family explored arranging electric vehicle transport for guests. But Bhubaneswar did not have sufficient EV cab availability, particularly for guests travelling with heavy luggage. So, private vehicles became the practical option.

Materials such as cello tape, cling wrap, and traditional mehendi cones were necessary due to hotel hygiene policies and vendor requirements. “We aimed to make the event as low-waste as possible, but there are certain factors that you cannot control,” says Neelima.

What stayed after the guests left

For Suchita and her husband, the wedding strengthened habits they had already begun practising. “The wedding made us much more conscious,” she says.

Ruchita reflects on the months of preparation. “Knowing what is necessary and doing it well instead of adding wasteful extras made everything manageable.”

Neelima sees communication as the core of it all. “The biggest obstacle, and also the biggest support, is communication between planners and family. If everyone is on the same page, logistics will fall into place somehow.”

Over two days, nearly 400 guests gathered under bamboo frames and banana leaves. They ate food that felt familiar. They carried home gifts made by artisans. They used glass bottles instead of plastic ones.

Many spoke about trying similar practices in their own celebrations.

Inside that hall in Bhubaneswar, tradition and environmental responsibility stood together without competing for space. The wedding did not announce itself as sustainable. It simply practised it.

And for Suchita, that felt right.