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I wanted to come back to this blog I wrote some time ago having gone vegan myself during covid. This was mainly stemmed from doing an Intermnittant fasting lifestyle and watching a video that showed how healthy a vegan diet was, so I thought why not try it.
ABOUT ME
I am a multi-award-winning wedding planner with over 25 years’ experience in working within Events and specialising in weddings for the last 8 years.
I am an industry expert who has run/managed and planned over 50 weddings who specialises in Asian, dry hire and marquee/outdoor weddings. I am now also now a vegan.
The vegan lifestyle is one that is being embraced by a growing number of people, including many of your friends, and possibly even yourselves. But even if you do like a bit of meat and cheese, the sheer volume of vegans makes considering a vegan wedding a going concern.
A vegan wedding can be a refreshing alternative and when you mix in other cultural diversities such as including ethnic elements into your ceremony you can make your big day something to truly remember. What’s more, a vegan wedding is likely to receive a big thumbs-up from your guests, appreciative of your forward and progressive thinking.
I recently helped one of my couples organise a small wedding pending their larger affair next year and I read my Bride say to the caterers "oh and we have one vegan, there is always one awkward one hey". I do feel what they say having to cater for one person, but having gone vegan myself I can honestly say I have never eaten so much delicious food that I have never experienced before and because of that deliciousness I actually wouldn't want to go back to eating boring ham egg and chips or lasagne anyway. Vegan food makes regular food seem bland to me now so why not treat all your guests to some amazing culinary delights.
Having an orthodox vegan wedding means going way beyond having a vegan-certified meal and extends into almost every aspect of your big day. Sure, the food is very important, but if you really want to establish your vegan credentials to your friends and family, you are going to have to travel an extra mile or two.
Wedding Elements
Going vegan isn’t just a matter of serving nut cutlets at the reception– you did know that, didn’t you?
Veganism is a commitment that embraces nearly every area of your big day, from dresses to flowers to favours, and shows a commitment not just to animals but also treats the Earth with deference too.
This means that you are going to have to really analyse your wedding plans and determine which parts will need extra scrutiny for its vegan credentials and which parts are unlikely to run without review. You’ll probably be surprised by how small the latter can be.
Should you, for instance, ensure that the person conducting the ceremony is also a vegan? Of course you should, and here are some other surprising areas that you need to look at.
The Dress
The ethos of veganism is sustainability and the gathering of crops from non-intrusive crops and sources. Many wedding dresses are either silk or may have silk trimmings and since this is a by-product from the silkworm – and one that vegans believe is farmed in an exploitative way, it is way off the menu when it comes to attire.
Cotton is a really good alternative and you can also use a host of other materials such as linen, polyester, spandex, Lycra, ramie, bamboo, hemp, nylon, rayon, PVC, microfiber, cork, and acrylic.
Find a vegan dressmaker who knows their materials and you will find dresses to suit you and that looks great too!
Make up
Looking great for your big day in a vegan way shouldn’t be a problem, as most large and chain stores have a growing range of cosmetics that have caring credentials. In choosing these, you need to select products that don’t contain beeswax, lanolin, collagen, carmine, keratin, guanine, and squalene as a minimum, and are certified to be ‘cruelty-free’
Favours
It’s easy to put a vegan chocolate bar and personalised soy candles, but you can go a step further too by making a small donation to an appropriate charity – such as the RSPCA – on your guests’ behalf. There are a growing number of outlets specialising in vegan wedding favours, so go a bit nuts and give your guests something that they will talk about with deference for years to come.
Venues
A growing list of venues are advertising as being vegan, which means that they run a vegan lifestyle, and all of their supplied parts follow that. The most fundamental of these are ceremonial trappings sourced from responsible suppliers, such as flowers and paper decorations.
Food
