How to Have an Entirely Vegan Wedding

Photo by Abbie Tyler, Ben Petchel, and Ricky Lesser

Ashley wore a beautiful wedding dress from Anthropologie's bridal line, BHLDN, and lavender vegan-leather shoes from SUSI Studio, while the groom wore a burgundy three-piece, wool-free suit from ASOS, a belt from Brave GentleMan, and dark brown oxfords from vegan shoe store Moo Shoes. To include their beloved pups, the couple's two rescued dogs served as the "best men" for the California ceremony.

Photo by Abbie Tyler, Ben Petchel, and Ricky Lesser

Photo by Abbie Tyler, Ben Petchel, and Ricky Lesser

The Los Angeles reception took place at The Mountain Mermaid and a menu featuring jackfruit tacos with a cashew crema, oyster mushrooms en mole, semilla salad with fresh strawberries, guacamole and chips, and coctél de oyster mushrooms was catered by Todo Verde. A cupcake assortment and pink velvet cake adorned with icing succulents supplied by Baby Love Sweetery provided sweet vegan treats.

Photo by Abbie Tyler, Ben Petchel, and Ricky Lesser

Photo by Abbie Tyler, Ben Petchel, and Ricky Lesser

For the Pittsburgh reception at the historic Braddock Carnegie Library, an all-vegan spread of mac 'n' cheese, tacos, and fresh vegetables was catered by Ladyfingers Catering. Another succulent-designed cake featuring crème de violette was provided by Butterwood Bake Consortium. Guests enjoyed beer from local Pennsylvania breweries Iron City Brewing Company and Yuengling, which make exclusively vegan beer (rather than filtering it with isinglass – a substance derived from fish bladders that is used to refine some beers). Both receptions featured an all-vegan cookie table with dozens of various homemade egg- and dairy-free cookies for guests to take home as favors.

Photo by Abbie Tyler, Ben Petchel, and Ricky Lesser

Photo by Abbie Tyler, Ben Petchel, and Ricky Lesser

Since the couple's two vegan weddings went over beautifully with their guests, Ashley is sharing her tips with us on how to have a vegan wedding of your own! "It was really important to my husband and me that our big day reflected our values, and we were excited to show our guests just how easy it is to celebrate the occasion in an animal-friendly way," she shares. 

Here are some useful tips from Ashley for throwing your own vegan wedding:

The Dress
After looking online at a few vintage options, I headed to BHLDN by Anthropologie. I highly recommend this line for bridal or bridal-party dresses. Not only do they have dozens of affordable and beautiful dresses for under $1,000, most of them are also made without silk. If you want your look to be completely vegan, look for synthetic materials, such as polyester and nylon, as well as cotton, satin, and lace, and stay away from feathers, fur, wool, and silk.

The Shoes
I paired my dress with sustainably made vegan leather sandals from woman-owned Los Angeles company SUSI Studio. Lulus.com and ASOS also offer a selection of vegan shoes online, or you can always visit your favorite stores and read the labels. Just make sure to avoid leather and suede. Plus, more all-vegan companies such as Matt & Nat, Beyond Skin, Novacas, and Cult of Coquette are popping up every day, and there's even an all-vegan online store MooShoes, with brick-and-mortar locations in New York City and Los Angeles.

Hair & Makeup
I already had a stylist in Los Angeles, Naked Eye Beauty, but I searched vegan Facebook groups for recommendations near our venue in Pittsburgh and found a great artist who came to my hotel room to do my hair and makeup. You can also book an appointment at Aveda, Paul Mitchell, or Sephora with a request that they use only their vegan products or search for vegan, cruelty-free makeup artists and stylists via Yelp or Google. Plus, most salons will allow you to bring your own vegan, cruelty-free products and brushes if they aren't equipped with them already. Just remember, if you're getting false eyelashes or extensions, be sure that your stylist isn't using mink or silk.

The Groom
My husband knew that he didn't want anything basic like black, grey, or navy, so we looked at wool-free suits and silk-free shirts ranging from bright yellow to deep purple – Topman, Target, and H&M all have several vegan options – and landed on a great one from ASOS. If you want to splurge, celebrity favorite Brave GentleMan by Joshua Katcher is an all-vegan, sustainable brand with wool-free suits. For his shoes and accessories, we headed to MooShoes in LA and decided on a "future leather" belt by Brave GentleMan and vegan leather oxford shoes by Novacas. Companies such as ASOS and even Target also offer several synthetic, animal-friendly dress shoes – just look for words like "man-made," "polyurethane," or "synthetic leather."

The Food
If you plan to have many guests at your wedding who aren't vegan, this is your big chance to show them how delicious vegan food can be! On our wedding website, we made it clear that we were having a vegan wedding and explained why – noting that 10 billion animals are killed for food each year and subjected to cruelty that you'd never wish upon your cat or dog – so that no one would be surprised when they arrived. We chose vegan versions of traditional foods that everyone would enjoy so that guests could discover that the vegan versions are just as good (if not better) as the ones made from animal-derived ingredients, since they are kinder, healthier, and better for the environment. Same with the cake – we wanted to give our guests the chance to experience many different vegan flavors, so we ended up having a small cake to cut as well as a variety of cupcakes so they could try more than just one vegan option. A very small percentage of our guests were vegan, but dozens of folks noted that they thought the food was amazing!

The Alcohol
Because isinglass (a substance obtained from fish bladders) is sometimes used during the alcohol-filtration process, we offered our Pittsburgh guests locally owned favorites Yuengling Lager and Pittsburgh Brewing Company I.C. Light, both of which are completely animal-free. Barnivore.com is a great resource that provides information about vegan breweries and wineries, but you can always ask your distributor or bartender for more information about the refining process of your favorite brands to confirm that they're vegan.

The Registry
Another great way to help friends and family see how easy vegan living can be is through the gifts on your registry. I selected stunning down-alternative pillows, wool-free rugs, and animal-friendly bedding, as well as requesting donations to some of our favorite charities, including PETA! For our honeymoon fund, we chose delicious vegan dinners and wine tours and only activities that don't exploit wild animals – instead of zoos, elephant rides, or "swim with dolphins" programs.

Other Details
Just a couple of final notes: Make sure that your candles are made with soy (not beeswax), your decorations and flowers are free of feathers and silk, your end-of-night refreshments (such as coffee and tea) are served with dairy-free milks, and your wedding favors are vegan as well.

For more ideas, discover how to create the perfect wedding menu, learn what to avoid when planning your reception dinner, and learn how to organize a gluten-free wedding.