If you’re committed to a healthy, eco and animal-friendly lifestyle, your wedding day is a chance to support local ethical businesses and get them involved in the celebrations. Some people choose to plan a vegan wedding ‘quietly’ i.e. in line with their values, but to avoid any pre-conceived ideas from guests.
And remember… vegan weddings aren’t just about the food!
Outfits
Vegan couples know to avoid clothing that contains silk, wool and leather. Real Green Dress sell authentic vintage wedding dresses and is so-called because of the ethical nature of buying second hand. They get a lot of vegan brides and are very careful about fabric choices.
Bridal shoe company, Charlotte Mills, have sourced the finest faux leather for their vegan collection.
Make sure your guests are aware if you’d prefer them to be mindful when planning their outfits. For further information about festival fashion for glamping weddings, please check out our recent blog post.
Rings & Jewellery
Avoid real pearls and, when looking for your wedding rings, find a company who use ethically sourced diamonds and Fairtrade gold or silver. Little Joy Jewellery has a strong ethos on responsibly sourced materials, from Fairtrade gold that travels from Peru & Australia, Eco silver that’s 100% recycled, to conflict-free diamonds that are GIA certified.
Bell tents
We love being part of ethical glamping wedding celebrations. When providing bell tent hire for vegan weddings (in Hampshire and West Sussex), we’re careful not to include wool, leather, feathers or animal skins.
Stationery
The marvellous Wedition produce incredible personalised wedding magazines. They print everything at chemical-free printers and they use vegetable-based ink. If you wanted to go paper-free you could think about having a dedicated website for all the essential information, withjoy.com is a great tool and you can create a dedicated wedding app too. Maybe think about paper invites for the older, less tech-savvy relatives though! Instead of thank you cards you could email out the link to your photo gallery.
Food
Horsham-based Fauna & Fox specialise in ‘bespoke vegan grub and event styling’. The environment and organic, cruelty-free produce is very important to them and their kitchen is fully vegan. They offer cakes, grazing tables, street food, amazing pudding bars and more. They’ve worked with big corporate names such as Topshop, Pukka Tea UK and Liberty of London. We absolutely love their kitsch props and styling ideas, they’re perfect for a fun vegan glamping wedding.
East Sussex-based Cashew Catering also specialise in Vegetarian, vegan and raw food catering.
Drink
Most Champagne and wine aren’t vegan and that’s because of the clarifying and ‘fining’ process. Traditionally fining agents include egg whites, gelatin, fish bladder and milk protein. Lots of retailers now stock a good range of vegan wines.
Cake
Reading-based Sarah from Tiny Sarah’s Cakes (pictured) is a vegan baker who not only produces vegan cakes, but also amazing vegan dessert tables and handmade cookies for favours.
Dorset-based Lucie Loves to Bake is a vegan, eco-conscious baker who does what she can for a kinder planet. She uses eco-friendly cleaning products, fully-compostable plant cellulose to wrap her cake samples and recycled cardboard boxes.
Makeup
Animal testing in cosmetics is unnecessary and cruel. Brighton-based makeup artist Emma Olliff only uses products that are 100% cruelty free, and free of animal by-products. “At a time when many cosmetic companies are putting profit over ethics, I believe it’s down to the consumers and professionals to demand cruelty-free cosmetics” says Emma.
Gifts
You could create a wish-list of only vegan, sustainable and cruelty-free items, or you could ask guests to donate to a local animal shelter or animal rights organisation. At your festival-style glamping wedding you could have different charity buckets dotted around so guests can donate to the charity of their choice.
Favours
You could consider soy candles, handmade soaps… or how about packets of seeds? Wedding in a Teacup stock a good range. Booja-Booja produce incredible chocolate truffles using simple, organic ingredients. All their products are vegan and kindness is at the heart of their business.
Flowers
If you opt for real flowers, make sure they’re Fairtrade. If you go for artificial flowers, make sure they don’t contain silk. You could consider pot plants, or potted herbs, as table centrepieces that your guests can take home at the end of the day. A great eco idea for a laid back glamping wedding.
Photography
Camera film is usually coated in gelatin. Obviously if you’re having a photographer who shoots purely digital, it’s not an issue. Photographers Szandra and Gabor of Kiss in Light are based in the New Forest. They’re both vegan and they absolutely love being part of green weddings and getting back to nature at glamping weddings.
Venue
A lovely venue to consider for a vegan, eco-wedding is Tuppenny Barn in Emsworth, West Sussex. They’re a working organic small holding, and promoting sustainable living underpins everything they do. They grow their own fruit, vegetables and flowers. It’s a beautiful venue with a wildlife pond, orchard and circular Barn.
If you’re looking for a wedding venue, hen party location or UK mini-moon check out The Green House Hotel in Bournemouth. Sustainability is at the heart of their business and they’ve been recognised as one of the world’s top eco-hotels. They don’t make a big deal about their environmental credentials, but you can be safe in the knowledge your stay is doing no harm while it’s doing you good.
Finally… www.greenunion.co.uk is a fantastic resource to find eco/ethical wedding suppliers in your area. All vegan suppliers in their directory are marked with a little leaf symbol.
We provide bell tent hire in Hampshire and West Sussex and we love working with clients who are mindful of their impact on our environment. We are only too happy to work with bespoke requests. Please check out our weddings page for further information on our bell tent villages for fabulous vegan glamping weddings!
by WillWEB