Ethical Weddings

[AeryFairy]

I didn't really know where to put this thread, so it can go here.

I recently got engaged, and myself and the soon-to-be husband are trying to make the special day as ethical as possible. My engagement ring is made from recycled materials, as the wedding bands will be, and it'll obviously be vegan food and the like. I knew a few other people here are married, so I was wondering - what did you do to make your special day animal or planet friendly? Or, even if you're not married, what would you do? Any advice, links, anecdotes, ideas, and so forth.

 

[Lord Snot]

That's interesting. I had such a small and simple wedding that I didn't really have to think about these things.

If I were going to have a big reception I would:

- make sure the tablecloths, napkins etc. were ones you wash and use again rather than disposable
- make sure I used a catering company where the wait staff are fairly paid
- arrange that people can take home leftovers so there is little food wastage
- if getting hair and makeup done, make sure they use vegan cosmetics

That's all I can think of, you've probably considered those things already. Congrats on the engagement

 

[Moll Flanders]

I went vegan a few days before my wedding so I didn't really try to be ethical but we didn't have much money so we were quite frugal without trying. Our wedding cost less than £100 as we just had a short ceremony in a registry office and then went to a pub for lunch after. I bought my dress on ebay and then resold it afterwards. My wedding ring was a vintage gold band that I bought from a woman on ebay.

I don't know if you are going to get wedding gifts but I suppose you could ask people to donate money to an environmental or animal charity instead? You might want the gifts though.

ETA - If you are going on honeymoon maybe stay in the UK rather than use air travel or go somewhere by boat?

 

[AeryFairy]

That's interesting. I had such a small and simple wedding that I didn't really have to think about these things.

If I were going to have a big reception I would:

- make sure the tablecloths, napkins etc. were ones you wash and use again rather than disposable
- make sure I used a catering company where the wait staff are fairly paid
- arrange that people can take home leftovers so there is little food wastage
- if getting hair and makeup done, make sure they use vegan cosmetics

That's all I can think of, you've probably considered those things already. Congrats on the engagement

I hadn't thought of the first two! We're thinking buffet, but there would still be staff involved in delivery etc so fair pay is good to think about. Not just for the food either, really. Non-disposable things are also a good idea

I went vegan a few days before my wedding so I didn't really try to be ethical but we didn't have much money so we were quite frugal without trying. Our wedding cost less than £100 as we just had a short ceremony in a registry office and then went to a pub for lunch after. I bought my dress on ebay and then resold it afterwards. My wedding ring was a vintage gold band that I bought from a woman on ebay.

I don't know if you are going to get wedding gifts but I suppose you could ask people to donate money to an environmental or animal charity instead? You might want the gifts though.

ETA - If you are going on honeymoon maybe stay in the UK rather than use air travel or go somewhere by boat?

Less than £100?! That is seriously impressive. I'll be buying my (silk-free) dress from a charity shop, most likely - oxfam actually have bridal boutiques.

Sadly, if we asked people to donate to charity instead of buying us presents, most of them would ignore it - I've tried this approach before. So we're just gonna create a wedding list full of ethical products. We've talked about making a donation to a kitty charity with the leftover budget money, though.

Hadn't thought about the honeymoon thing, either. Good thinking batman.

 

[IamJen]

One of the things I hadn't thought about was getting flowers that weren't GM, grown in hothouses, etc. We ended up with a fantastic florist who made lovely arrangements.

Our rings are made from recycled gold. You can even recycle your own gold to save $ and make the rings more personal if you want.

I bought a dress second-hand (well, two actually, heh), and the flower girl's dress was second hand as well.

We didn't really do a honeymoon for a long time, as my family was still in the country and we wanted to spend some time with them. We spent a few nights though in this little town, Swanage, in Dorset that was wonderful. There was a vegetarian (vegan, maybe even?) B&B there that was perfect.

Ah....it was truly a very fun day.

 

[Spang]

Before I married my toaster, I made sure it was one of those energy saver kind.

 

[Michelle1]

I'm getting married at the end of August and we're having a vegetarian wedding with vegan options. Our venue doesn't have a kitchen to wash dishes so I think we're going to have to get disposables. We're at least going to buy disposable plates made of recycled compostable materials. A friend of ours who lives and works on a farm is going to bring flowers from the farm and we are going to arrange them in recycled mason jars.

Our serving staff are from a small local company and the caterer is a local restaurant that has great food!

 

[AeryFairy]

Does anyone know where I can get a good vegan cake in the uk?

 

[Moll Flanders]

I'm not sure. There is Ms Cupcake and I forget the name of the other cupcake one but I don't know of they make big cakes or if you can buy them online?

ETA Ruby Tuesdays. Ruby Tuesdays of London

 

[IamJen]

There is a place called Heavenly Cake Company that makes nice cakes. Ms. Cupcake and Cat and the Cream = the best though, imo. Do you need it delivered or are you looking for a shop somewhere?

 

[IamJen]

Der. Just realized this was the wedding thread...whereabouts are you getting married?

 

[AeryFairy]

Der. Just realized this was the wedding thread...whereabouts are you getting married?

Portsmouth.

 

[SummerRain]

Hmm this thread is interesting, I'm not engaged but my boyfriend and I have discussed marraige and it's only money stopping us from marrying... so I like to dream about weddings from time to time

Have you thought about asking a non-vegan cake shop to do a vegan cake? Just curious really, I would think a small/independant shop might be willing to, especially if you were helpful with what is vegan and maybe providing a recipe to try/adapt.

To the people who have had weddings/planning weddings, how hard is it to find a vegan wedding dress? I have no idea how common silk is, are most silk? Are some silk? Or is it just a few high end ones?

 

[KLS52]

Such great ideas...this thread makes me wish I was getting married again. I would totally do everything differently.

 

[AeryFairy]

Hmm this thread is interesting, I'm not engaged but my boyfriend and I have discussed marraige and it's only money stopping us from marrying... so I like to dream about weddings from time to time

Have you thought about asking a non-vegan cake shop to do a vegan cake? Just curious really, I would think a small/independant shop might be willing to, especially if you were helpful with what is vegan and maybe providing a recipe to try/adapt.

To the people who have had weddings/planning weddings, how hard is it to find a vegan wedding dress? I have no idea how common silk is, are most silk? Are some silk? Or is it just a few high end ones?

I have thought about that, although I'd prefer somewhere with experience and knowledge when it comes to vegan baking. Hopefully I can find somewhere good - I want a cupcake tower.

From what I've found, there are plenty of silk-free dresses out there. I was worried, but there's enough to choose from.

 

[ElaineV]

Some of the things we did:
- origami flowers rather than cut flowers
- vegan dress
- vegetarian buffet (we weren't vegan then)
- asked people to donate to charity rather than give us gifts

 

[AeryFairy]

Gonna give this a bump, because I'm actually starting to book stuff now and I need more ideas!

 

[Lord Snot]

Ooh ooh, get married at my temple! Then instead of a wedding car you get a bullock cart ride, with grass-powered bulls. Completely vegan.

 

[TreeHugger]

I think you already have the things in this article covered, just just in case it helps: http://www.peta.org/living/animal-friendly-fun/top-10-vegan-wedding-ideas.aspx

Also I was thinking maybe potted plants instead of cut flowers?

 

[AeryFairy]

Ooh ooh, get married at my temple! Then instead of a wedding car you get a bullock cart ride, with grass-powered bulls. Completely vegan.

YAY BULLS My dad would never come though; he's genuinely frightened of cows

I think you already have the things in this article covered, just just in case it helps: http://www.peta.org/living/animal-friendly-fun/top-10-vegan-wedding-ideas.aspx

Also I was thinking maybe potted plants instead of cut flowers?

Thanks for the article! That cake looks fookin' delicious! And the honeymoon suggestions were really good I don't much like the idea of making a veganism-based speech at my wedding, though; my family would probably want to kill me after I'd rather take the subtle approach - have a cruelty-free wedding and show people how easy and awesome it all is.

I was hoping to bypass flowers altogether, if I can. I've been looking at bouquet alternatives, and decorations that don't involve them. My main reason, to be honest, is the expense and hassle - one of the main things that goes wrong is the darn flowers, because they're shipped in and put together at the last possible minute. They're also SO EXPENSIVE. Hundreds of pounds (at least) that could be saved or go towards something more essential, such as food.

This boquet is made of sweets:

I bet I could make a vegan version myself, and then everyone would want to catch it