When Heather and her wife recently tied the knot, Olio played a special role in their wedding. Over the years, they had bonded over rescuing and upcycling items through Olio for their home and garden. So, when they got engaged, they knew they wanted their special day to reflect their shared values of creativity, sustainability, and community.
For us, Olio inspired a mindset of reducing waste in all areas of our life, giving a new life to the unwanted items of others, and letting go of things we no longer needed so other people could enjoy them in turn. So it made sense that this would also apply to the wedding day. It became an ongoing conversation with each other around what we had seen listed on Olio that day and what that could be turned into.
The wedding was brimming with personality, charm, and resourcefulness—all thanks to rescued treasures. Little Gu jars often found on Olio became tealight holders, filled with rainbow gems and glowing candles, while colourful paper lanterns decorated the ceiling.
The one which surprised me the most was when my fiancé said she was thinking of making favour decorations from someone’s curtain rings.
One of the couple’s favourite upcycled pieces was a children’s easel, painted as a welcome sign with stencils also sourced from Olio—proof that sustainability can be both stylish and meaningful. They even rescued a pallet from the side of the road and turned it into rustic decor.
We had collected a set of wedding stencils from another Olio-er who told us she had used them for her wedding a few years ago. When we were finished with these, we passed them onto someone who was getting married later that year. It was nice to know these had been passed on several times now.
What do you love the most about using Olio?
I love the fact that something you have no use for might be exactly what someone else is looking for and vice versa. I like the way it adds to the lifespan of items and means they can be reused over and over again. I also love it when we collect doughnuts and ingredients for dinner from our local Food Waste Hero!