Planning any kind wedding is difficult and nerve-wracking, but when you’re planning a vegan wedding make sure to have your calming teas at hand. The future bride will have to worry about the food, the dress and tux, and every other part, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem. It may be hard, but knowing your wedding didn’t cause animal suffering will be worth the effort.
Dare You?
Many think that having a vegan wedding without non-vegan options is selfish and unreasonable but it’s your wedding day and it’s one of the important days of your life, so you are allowed to be a little selfish. You don’t want animals to suffer because of your wedding, so you are in the right here. There is nothing wrong in being conscientious about the suffering of our fellow creatures.
The Hen Party
If you want to be sure your party is vegan make sure that you have a say in the food. You can prepare the recipes yourself and hand them over to your maid of honour. Also, tell them to pay attention that the decorations and drinks are vegan, so best hand them a list. Once you finished pre-gaming and snacking you are ready to hit the town. Grab the supplies for your hens party and do the traditional bar crawl. Your friends will surely have a great night in store for you.
The Guests
Many haven’t experienced a vegan wedding and your parents may push you to have non-vegan options, but stick to your guns. This is a perfect opportunity to show how vegan food can be just as delicious and maybe even better than omnivore food. The only thing you should do is inform the guest, so when you’re sending save-the-date cards or the wedding invitations tell the guests that the wedding is vegan.
Catering
Since more people are becoming aware of animal suffering almost every caterer will have a vegan menu available. Unfortunately, some towns may not have this option but you haven’t hit the wall yet. Preparing food for your wedding on your own is impossible unless you are having an intimate ceremony. Go from cater to cater and ask if they are willing to create a menu based on the recipes you bring.
The Cake
The wedding cake is the embodiment of the couple so it needs to fit your lifestyle and be personal. It’s a good thing that vegan bakeries are becoming more and more common so all you have to do is check Google. Even if the bakeries aren’t strictly vegan, the bakers are skilled professionals capable of creating cakes that no one will believe are vegan.
Your Outfits
Luckily most dresses are made from vegan materials so the only thing you have to watch out for is silk. When you go shopping tell your consultant that you want a silkless dress and veil, and make sure you read the tags. Wedding dresses have the power to make you fall in love with them when you put them on so make sure it’s animal cruelty-free before you trying them on.
It’s very difficult to find a vegan suit for the groom because most are made from wool and have silk and cashmere materials as well. Ask for suits made from rayon, cotton, polyester or linen and make sure the ties aren’t made from silk. And if you still cannot find the right one consider visiting a tailor.
Details
Be careful with flowers since many are decorated with silk ribbons, check the labels for any kind of decor even centrepieces. If you decide on getting a professional to do your makeup talk with them to see if they have vegan animal cruelty-free makeup, if not they can always use your makeup. Provide your hairstylist with cruelty-free products and remember to have a test run to see if they can give you the hairstyle you want. Avoid real pearls since they are a product of animal suffering and if you want real diamonds be sure that no one had to suffer to make them – animal or human. And, since photos are made from gelatine make sure your photographer only takes digital photos.
A Wedding Planner
You should definitely consider hiring a wedding planner to ease the stress. They know all the ins and outs of the business so it will be easier for them to find the appropriate caterer and cruelty-free decorations. They’ve pulled off more weddings than you could count so they are skilled with keeping an eye on everything for you.
Anna says
Really interesting article (I totally recognize my family in “Dare you?”), but so sad you didn’t quote brands (jewels, wedding dress, shoes, …)
I’m actually planning my vegan wedding in France, and it’s really complicated !
Laura says
I don’t think you should limit yourself to brands since options are scarce. But here’s some info I found.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/madnessmultiplied/13-eco-friendly-fashion-brands-for-a-cruelty-free-9ryi#.lsLjbLd6ZY
http://www.peta.org/features/2014-vegan-fashion-awards/
Though since you live in France I don’t think I can help you much. You have a lot of googling and digging to do so I wish you good luck. Also, I hope you have your dream wedding! 🙂