How to Plan for a Vegan Wedding

I recently got engaged in the most romantic way (on a theater stage after the play I was in). I never really thought of my dream wedding before, but when Chris proposed, I became obsessed with all the possibilities of a beautiful wedding – the dress, the venue, and of course the food. I also dreamt of making everything vegan. But where do I find vegan vendors? And how do I make sure my omnivore guests will enjoy my vegan wedding? Good thing I have a few vegan friends -two already got married and one is getting married soon, to give me advice on how to plan a vegan wedding. In case a future vegan bride is reading this post, I’m sharing their invaluable advice with you too.

To start off, I interviewed my good friend, Angel Thoi, who is getting married this August. Below are her responses to what she has done so far to make the vegan wedding of her dreams come true.

TOP 5 TIPS: How to Plan for a Vegan Wedding, by Angel Thoi

Jason and I met in Boston, MA and moved to California together in summer of 2013. We were both vegan when we met but I would say that we bonded over things that we didn’t necessarily have in common. He’s a dog person and I am a cat person; he likes burritos, I like cold tofu but now he loves cats and I love burritos. We got engaged in 2015 and our wedding is set for August of 2016.

photo by Asif Haque

1.How do you find vegan vendors?
Angel: I found most of my vendors by word-of-mouth, mainly through the Bay Area vegan community. When I moved to the bay two years ago, I found a lot of vegan meetups and events through Facebook groups. I went to a bunch of meetups, met a lot of people, ate a lot of food. I met chefs, bakers, foodies etc. So when I got engaged, I thought of the vegan community instantly. It was easy for me to find the vendors because I already knew a lot of talented people. But I know my experience is rare and not everyone is as lucky to have so many vegan options as I do in the Bay.

photo by Asif Haque

2. Did you get any resistance from loved ones about holding a vegan wedding? How did you handle it?
Angel: Honestly, I didn’t give anyone an opportunity to resist. There was no doubt in my mind that our wedding would be vegan. It’s the norm for us. Everyone who knows me, including my family knows how important veganism is to me and my fiance. So they all sort of assumed our wedding would be vegan, and they were right.

photo by Asif Haque

3. How did you choose a vegan menu that will please both your vegan and omnivore guests?
Angel: Choosing a vegan menu was probably the hardest part for us. The concern was not just about pleasing the omnivore guests, but choosing a cuisine that everyone can enjoy that showcases and proves vegan food can be tasty too. Once we narrowed down the list to a few types of cuisines we liked, we decided on soul food. I think soul food is a crowd-pleaser, I mean how can you go wrong with BBQ and mac & cheese? We talked to our caterers about this and they created an elaborate menu for us. It’s going to be so good!

photo by Asif Haque

4. What’s the one thing you wished you knew when you were planning your vegan wedding?
Angel: Look for a venue that allows outside catering. Most wedding venues want you to use their own catering services or an approved partner. It’s really challenging to find a venue that allows outside catering. Some venues make you pay a fee if you choose to hire your own caterer. Some venues don’t let your caterer use their onsite kitchen, etc. There will be hurdles. But as a self-proclaimed foodie, the food for my wedding was very important to me. So finding a venue that allowed me to bring in my own caterer was an absolutely requirement.

photo by Asif Haque

5. How do you stay within your budget while still planning the wedding of your dreams?
Angel: Ha, budget? What budget? jk. Weddings are obviously expensive and it’s easy to get carried away. The way I like to think of it is, “How much is this going to cost per person?” And that puts it into perspective for me. But everyone is different and you need to prioritize what’s important to you. For me, I don’t care about flowers, so I’m not hiring a florist. I’ll most likely buy some fresh flowers the day before the wedding and make my own bouquet.

Thanks Angel for sharing your perspective on how to plan for a vegan wedding. Gosh the wedding sounds so exciting! Vegan BBQ plus vegan mac and cheese? I’m sure your guests will be thrilled! Congratulations and I wish you all the best at your wedding and all the years ahead as husband and wife.

Two more vegan friends will be sharing their vegan wedding tips. Please stay tuned for the next Top 5 Tips.

See Part 2: How to Plan for a Vegan Wedding