Our Vegan Wedding

Back in July, I married my true love at an all-vegan wedding in San Francisco. It came out better than we had hoped for, much to my relief. Everyone raved about the food, enjoyed the live music, even cried tears of joy.

When Chris and I got engaged we talked about having an all-vegan wedding. I asked if his family will be okay with it and he confirmed – “of course!”. My family had no objections too. In fact, they wouldn’t expect otherwise from me. And that was one of the easiest parts of the planning. The rest took a bit of work.

In the beginning, all these creative ideas swirled in my head. I pictured rustic outdoors, gold sparkly sequins, handwritten chalkboard calligraphy, bright yellow string lights, and free-form wild flowers. At first I thought all these ideas came out naturally. They were “so me” and were my personal taste. But I realized they were the newest trend plastered all over Pinterest. The website had convinced me, subliminally, that I came up with these ideas on my own. But they couldn’t be what I had wanted all along because I never dreamed of getting married in the first place, until I met Chris. One thing was “so me” is vegan Filipino food.

Part of what I love about Chris is that he knows how to put things into perspective. When I asked him what he wanted, he said he wanted the wedding to be in San Francisco because he was born and raised there. He also wanted the venue filled with as many loved ones as possible. He said families rarely come together under one roof and only on two occasions – weddings and funerals, and he prefers weddings for obvious reasons. Another on his list was live music because he loves to sing and I love to dance. His list made more sense than mine. He was not going after looks, which is probably why he chose me (thanks?).

With our lists combined, we decided to have a vegan Filipino wedding in San Francisco with live music and with as many loved ones as possible, and with gold sparkly sequins (that one slipped in there).

At first, Chris and I were not sure who to hire for vegan Filipino food. I did bring up that perhaps I can cook some of the dishes, but everyone quashed that idea faster than I can say Lumpia. I did have a friend who can make vegan Filipino dishes but he didn’t have a caterer’s insurance that the wedding venue requires. With little hope, Chris and I were almost ready to settle with another cuisine and cross out vegan Filipino from our list.

Then one day we found out a Filipino restaurant nearby is changing its entire menu to a vegan menu. Almost all of my vegan friends hurried to “Nick’s Kitchen” in Daly City to try their food. I was just as excited too if not more. I even organized and held my birthday party there. Later on I wondered if Nick’s Kitchen will be able to cater my wedding too.

The chef, Reina, is a Filipina from Dumaguete, Philippines who moved to the US and eventually pursued her passion for cooking. When she and her partner, Kenny, turned vegan, they felt compelled to give up meat and animal products at their restaurant.

Reina, who is funny and engaging, quickly became my friend. She’s always on her feet and always planning her next business move. In fact she was already planning to open a second location. Despite her hectic schedule, she agreed to cater my wedding and always made time to talk about it. After some discussions, we agreed to serve vegan Pancit Palabok, Tapa, Kaldereta, Sisig, garlic fried rice, Lumpia, and Leche flan. And serve them family style.≈

As for the cake, I hired chef Alicia Smiley at “Bread and Butter” in Oakland. Not only she bakes beautiful cakes, she makes them taste delicious too. There’s the “good enough” vegan pastries then there’s chef Alicia’s phenomenal vegan pastries. Her prices can be up there, but they are worth every penny. Plus, she was willing to work with my budget, offering options that made it cost effective. For example, I can provide my own flowers for the cake decor which shaved off a few dollars. I also opted out from the tasting only because I had already tried her chocolate cake and remembered being blown away. In the end, Chris and I decided to go with a three-tier chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and vanilla frosting with edible golden foil. The cake topper says “Pag-ibig” which means “love” in Tagalog. I bought it from the online store, Etsy, and my mom put glitters all over it.

 

Aside from the cake, we also got vegan cupcakes from “The Sweet Art of Cake” in Hayward and vegan candies ordered online from “Surf Sweets”, to complete the dessert buffet.

As for the food during cocktail hour, we went with fruits, bread, vegan cheese from “Miyoko’s”, and vegan Lumpia from “Nick’s Kitchen”. My friend and bridesmaid, Jen, got the fruits and crackers and handed them to Reina who nicely arranged them on the balcony. The nice thing about the venue was that they allowed us to choose our vendors and customize everything to our liking.

Chris and I went to Rome in August, when most European countries go on a holiday break. During this time, locals and businesses close down to take a vacation (ironically, some of them were probably strolling down the streets of San Francisco where Chris and I live). We didn’t mind that some places in Rome closed down, but we were particularly sad that the vegan restaurant, “So What!?!” was one of these places. I heard great things about this place and was looking forward to spending my birthday there.

But I’m not losing hope. Superstition says that when you throw a coin at the Trevi Fountain, you will come back to Rome. Chris and I took turns doing it just for fun. Lo and behold, Chris’ side of the family will be going to Rome next year, and they would like for us to join them. Well, that wish came true quick! I am thrilled to revisit this city filled with stunning artworks, intriguing history, and friendly people. Now I know why Chris liked Rome so much. I bet the magic that I felt was ten times fold for him.

But because we can bring everything, we had to make sure we don’t forget anything. And of course for a complicated party like a wedding, we’re bound to forget something. In this case, we had forgotten to bring the napkins for the cocktail hour (but dinner was covered). Good thing it was only a big deal to those who knew about it. Other guests shrugged it off. Sometimes it’s okay to not sweat the small stuff.

And while we didn’t have to, we also did our own floral arrangements. My aunt volunteered herself in charge of the flowers. She was a florist at one point and she has very crafty hands.  And she said we didn’t have to pay her, just cover the materials. This was great news especially for a costly occasion. But we had two drawbacks – she was the Ninang (godmother) at the wedding which means she can’t be running around especially during ceremony. Second, she lives in Long Beach and planning can be tough when you’re hundreds of miles away.

As much as I would like to go with someone else more local and who can get messy during the wedding, I didn’t have the heart to turn down my aunt. She was so happy to do it, and her happiness is more important to me. Good thing my family rallied and signed up to help too. We marched to the local floral market and arranged the flowers until 2am the wedding day (midnight for me. My family booted me out so I can rest).

Because we did use quite an amount of flowers, the wedding was not zero-waste. But, I compensated and tried to go more eco-friendly (aside from the food being vegan) by wearing second hand dress and shoes. I found my dress at a nearby thrift store that fit me perfectly; no alterations needed. I borrowed my veil from my cousin who recently got married. My shoes were also from a thrift store.

 

The wedding started with a very personal and emotional ceremony with lots of tears flowing from both sides of the family especially from me and Chris. The pastor gave us a very lively sermon. We wrote our own vows and we performed the traditional Filipino customs of candles, veils, and cords. The ceremony ended with Chris picking me up and whisking me away down the aisle while the crowd cheered and roared.

Chris and I went to Rome in August, when most European countries go on a holiday break. During this time, locals and businesses close down to take a vacation (ironically, some of them were probably strolling down the streets of San Francisco where Chris and I live). We didn’t mind that some places in Rome closed down, but we were particularly sad that the vegan restaurant, “So What!?!” was one of these places. I heard great things about this place and was looking forward to spending my birthday there.

But I’m not losing hope. Superstition says that when you throw a coin at the Trevi Fountain, you will come back to Rome. Chris and I took turns doing it just for fun. Lo and behold, Chris’ side of the family will be going to Rome next year, and they would like for us to join them. Well, that wish came true quick! I am thrilled to revisit this city filled with stunning artworks, intriguing history, and friendly people. Now I know why Chris liked Rome so much. I bet the magic that I felt was ten times fold for him.

Our guests were a mix of family, friends, omnivores, and vegans. I didn’t hear (or overhear) anyone complaining about the food. Perhaps because they already knew what to expect. Or perhaps because they did enjoy the vegan food and they really have no complaints about it.

 

After dinner and program, we spent the rest of the night singing and dancing with a live band. The band, Get Lucky, played cover songs from Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind and Fire, Bruno Mars, and more. One of the highlights if not the highlight of the night was when Chris got up on stage and sang “Lights” by Journey, while my 14-year-old nephew played the electric guitar. The song, “Lights” was written about San Francisco and Chris sang it with the perfect background, the iconic San Francisco city hall and its dazzling lights.

Looking back, our wedding was not just about me and Chris, but also about our family and friends who shaped us and made us fit for each other. We wanted to celebrate our parents who gave us life and raised us to who we are today. To our relatives and friends who shared memories with us and who have been with us through thick and thin. We wanted to celebrate them, over good food, live music, emotional speeches, and the cliché but oh so fun photobooth.

I’m glad and relieved we had no major hiccups. I wouldn’t have our wedding any other way. It may not have been pristine and not everything happened according to plan, but it was perfect for me and Chris with our family and friends there. And to us, that’s more than we could ever ask for.

Our vendors:

Catering: Nick’s Kitchen

Cake: Bread and Butter

Cupcakes: The Sweet Art of Cake

Candies: Surf Sweets Peach Rings

Drinks: handcrafted Kombucha and hard cider by KingDenniz and other drinks by Costco

Makeup: Roczane Enriquez

Day-of coordination: Jessica Boado

Ceremony Venue: Chapel of Our Lady, Presidio

Reception Venue: San Francisco War Memorial, The Green Room

Videographer: Willis Lai

Photographer: Lorenz Angelo

Band: Get Lucky

Venue Design: NEAT Events

Photobooth: Peek-A-Booth