Planning for a vegan wedding may seem daunting because of all the details to tackle like the food, venue, decor, etc. But wedding planning could also be fun and exciting. After all, the celebration starts not on the day of the event, but on the moment you first start planning for it. Nowadays we could find so much information around us that it’s easy to get ambitious and eventually feel overwhelmed. Good thing I have vegan friends who could share their experience from their vegan wedding and the lessons they learned from it.
As part 2 of my “Top 5 Tips: How to Plan for a Vegan Wedding”, my friend, Kimberly Brown shares her story on how she threw the vegan wedding of her dreams.
Part 2: HOW TO PLAN FOR A VEGAN WEDDING by Kimberly Brown
We met 10 years ago at a coffee shop in LA. We met through mutual friends. We became good friends and our relationship blossomed from there. We moved up north and bought a home in the East Bay 8 years ago. I became vegan on Jan 1, 2010 and Varouge and my son Connor did as well, a couple of months later.
1. How do you find vegan vendors?
Since the wedding was down south, in Malibu, I did most of my research online.
2. Did you get any resistance from loved ones about a vegan wedding? How did you handle it?
Yes, there was a little from Varouge’s side when our entrée choices were revealed. We are in our forties, so just us explaining that everyone will enjoy an incredible vegan meal was enough.
3. How did you choose a vegan menu that will please both your vegan and omni guests?
We were fortunate that Calamigos Ranch offered a variety of vegan hors d’oeuvres and entrée choices. They had a beautiful presentation and the chef really put a lot of thought into a vegan menu. We had a tasting of all their offerings and we were really pleased.
The appetizer’s we selected were:
- Vegetable crudités with baba ganoush
- Chilled sweet corn and black truffle soup with cucumber, chives and vegan cream fraiche
- Vegetable summer rolls with a mint and peanut ponzu sauce
Guests entree selections were:
- Roasted acorn squash stuffed with wild mushrooms, quinoa, spinach and a side of lemon broccolini and potatoes
Or
- Roasted organic vegetables, Red curry coconut broth, baby herbs and jasmine rice
Or
- Pasta with Romesco sauce, vegetable timbale and grilled broccolini
**In addition a salad of apples, pears, figs, grapes, pomegranates, chicories, baby lettuces was served
Varouge, Connor and I were the only vegans, but everyone was very surprised and happy with what a vegan meal could be!
We chose Jamaica’s Cakes in LA because of the exceptional vegan options. They were actually known for their vegan red velvet cake, omni’s order this all the time from her. So we had a wonderful tasting and decided on a Vegan red velvet cake with vegan pastry cream and cream cheese. She also provided vegan chocolate chip cookies and vegan oatmeal cookies for our Popcorn snack bar!
Many guests said they never had vegan baked goods before and they were impressed and will no longer assume vegan means gross or unappealing. I believe from the start Varouge and I really wanted to be vegan ambassadors and show how truly wonderful compassionate meals can be!
4. What’s the one thing you wished you knew when you were planning your vegan wedding?
Actually that options were abundant and that vegan was not limiting!
5. How did you stay within your budget while still planning the wedding of your dreams?
Honestly, this was the hardest part. We had a joke by the end of our wedding “plus, plus”. Meaning that everything we estimated at our venue had the additional + 20% service fee and then + tax. So roughly 30% more to our venue budget. So we went over, but it was worth it!
Thank you Kimberly for sharing your vegan wedding story. The venue looked magical and the cake looked gorgeous! I’m sure it was delicious too! You and Varouge make a lovely couple.
Hopefully Kimberly’s story will help all the vegan brides and grooms -and wedding planners out there get more idea on how to plan a vegan wedding without feeling overwhelmed or stumped. Her story sure did help me clarify what kind of vegan food options to explore as well as giving an extra financial cushion for budgeting. Please stay tuned for Part 3 with yet another vegan wedding story!