[Ophelia]

ok, so my fiance and i are both veggie people- he's vegan due to allergies and i'm vegitarian because i was raised that way. we are doing the legally binding 'marriage' (which should be really just a civil union, because of the fact that marraige is a religious sacrament...but i digress) before our wedding. our wedding is going to be a blend of cultures, etc and all tailored to us.<br><br><br><br>
but here's the part that i thought you all would definatey enjoy:<br><br><br><br>
we are doing an entirely vegan-friendly reception. the event is going to be styled after a victorian high tea with scones and all sorts of fun things like that- we will, of course, have dairy products for those friends of ours who <i>have</i> to have butter for their scones and milk with their tea, but other than that, everything is going to be vegan- from the frosting on the cookies, to the big chocolate cake (no, i am NOT wearing white! i would stain it in a heartbeat!), to the sugar on the tables.<br><br><br><br>
i wanted to share that with you all- i also wanted to create a place to do wedding chatter and advice because we are planning all this ourselves with our familes and it is a bit insane!<br><br><br><br>
any recipies you would specifically recommend for tea time treats? anyone out there actually been to a tea? i was at one while in stratford, england, at a very nice restaurant with a very uneaven floor (the building was elizabethan).<br><br><br><br>
love!<br><br><br><br>
~<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/dancingbanana.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":nana:">

 

[bstutzma]

I don't know much about tea weddings, but I just wanted to congratulate you!! My husband and I had a totally vegetarian wedding (it had just a few dairy items, like yours.... but vegan cake!!) Veggie weddings are the best!! <br><br><br><br>
As far as a british tea - yep, gotta have milk. My mother's side of the family is from Bermuda and my mother cannot even drink tea without milk. I have offered her soymilk at my home to no avail!! I suppose you can at least make the milk be organic!<br><br><br><br>
Other things I would appreciate at this type of wedding: Crumpets, jam (preferably, many different interesting flavors), and also to go with the jam, english tea cookies.... usually a tea has some small, fresh tasting sandwiches (maybe some cucumber sandwiches?) and I would also personally enjoy greatly some type of fresh fruit to put on the plate. <br><br><br><br>
Congrats again!!

 

[Thalia]

Not that I've ever been engaged or anything, but a cool forum for wedding advice outside of vb is <a href="http://kvetch.indiebride.com/" target="_blank">http://kvetch.indiebride.com/</a><br><br><br><br>
Congratulations, I'm glad you are doing things the way you want.

 

[bstutzma]

p.s. - My husband and I.... (ok, mostly me!) planned our wedding completely ourselves (and of course, paid for it ourselves!) Its normal to feel stressed, PM me if you need to talk about it!

 

[Alli]

Congratulations! It's great that you're going to have a veggie wedding. Are you buying the cake or making it?

 

[zoebird]

my Dh and I had a vegan wedding. i did a lot with fersh fruit and chocolate (dark) and caramel dips. so yummy. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><br><br><br><br>
the wedding i wanted was this:<br><br><br><br>
morning wedding (quaker service) outside in a spring garden with a brunch/morning tea. i wanted petit fours instead of cake, fresh fruit and baked goods. tables, chairs, table clothes, etc--everything white.<br><br><br><br>
what i got was:<br><br><br><br>
an afternoon/evening wedding in autumn (sadly, chartreuse due to indian summer rather than the brilliant colors that i'd hoped for), indoors (due to rain), with a formal dinner.<br><br><br><br>
it was still a quaker service though.<br><br><br><br>
bah. i should get married again. LOL

 

[Ophelia]

thank you all so much!<br><br><br><br>
bstutzma- i really appreciate all your suggestions! i will have to write them all down and go on a recipe hunt (yay!). i plan on trying to buy organics for as much of the ingredients as possible and for the milk and butter, if i can afford it- organic milk is nearly $3.00 for a half-galon here and sometimes that gets tough! i am hoping to do a fruit platter- the wedding is in august and lighter fare is what will most likely keep my guests going! thank you for the offer of keeping in touch and all with planning stresses- i will definately have to do that!<br><br><br><br>
Thalia- i will check out the link as soon as i get the chance- right now i am only replying to a few things because my fiance and i are going to look at some property that is up for auction in october- it is in the reposessed tax auction, so some of it goes for fairly cheap!<br><br><br><br>
Alli- we are making our cake ourselves- there is a vegan chocolate cake recipe in 'the hippie handbook' that is to die for and we have decided to do a large sheetcake with our vegan frosting decorating it. if you want, i can post some of the recipies in this thread (or links to them!) as i find and modify them!<br><br><br><br>
zoebird- hey! the quaker wedding thing is something that joshua and i have been considering- we would love to do a quaker wedding for the legal bits and then our celebration with our friends after- we still have to figure out exactly how things are going to work out with that! you know, you can always re-affirm your vows at a significant anniversary and do it like you wanted your wedding originally- i've known a few people who did this since things didn't quite work out on their wedding day!<br><br><br><br>
i love you folks- i will update this thread as i figure more out what is going on with the wedding- finding people to share my enthusiasm with is great.<br><br><br><br>
blessed be-<br><br>
~<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/dancingbanana.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":nana:">

 

[MorningCalm]

Ophelia, would you be willing to share that cake recipe? My fiance and I are getting married Dec. 30th and trying to create a reception that appeals to omnis, veggies, and our Korean friends (who have some unique perspectives on how things "ought" to taste), plus utilizes easy-to-find (read "available on the local economy") ingredients.

 

[Ophelia]

of course! i will have to find where i last placed the book, but i have absolutely no problem recipe-swapping!<br><br><br><br>
i also have a to-die-for recipe for a vanilla frosting....

 

[Laura_I]

My husband and I had a vegan wedding. We were like you, we actually were legally married (via court house) 6 months before the wedding! Our families wanted some sort of ceremony so we obliged. We did exactly what we wanted, and nothing less. It was a celtic style wedding and I wore a red dress. My mother, who is also a vegetarian cooked all the food. The whole wedding, including the rings, cost us $1500. Nothing could have been more perfect for us!

 

[zoebird]

that was my initial budget. i priced everything out and was able to get the whole 'breakfast wedding' for that price.<br><br><br><br>
then everyone stepped in with their wants. my parents paid $7000 total.

 

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>zoebird</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
.<br><br>
...bah. i should get married again. LOL</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
Yeah... my first wedding, while quite showy and proper and formal and spectacular and "the talk of the town" but was NOT exactly as I would have wished...<br><br><br><br>
I'd definitely be a bit more 'selfish' if/when/should the whole wedding thing happen again...<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smitten.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":smitten:">

 

[Silver]

You can have a beautiful <span style="text-decoration:underline;">vegan wedding cake</span> as a centerpiece. Use the traditional "Wacky Cake" recipe - a delicious, moist chocolate cake, and frost it any way you like. If you need the recipe, just let me know.

 

[Silver]

<b>VEGAN Chocolate Cake</b><br><br><br><br>
This makes a delicious, moist cake.<br><br><br><br>
3 cups flour<br><br>
1+3/4 cups sugar<br><br>
1 tsp salt<br><br>
2 tsp baking soda<br><br>
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder<br><br><br><br>
Sift the above ingredients together. Then combine the following:<br><br><br><br>
7/8 cup oil (scant 1 cup)<br><br>
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar (don't omit!)<br><br>
2 tsp vanilla<br><br>
2 cups water.<br><br><br><br>
Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into 9”x13” pan. Or two round cake pans. Bake about 30 min. at 350 degrees

 

[GhostUser]

<a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/EnglishTeaParty.html" target="_blank">http://www.joyofbaking.com/EnglishTeaParty.html</a><br><br><br><br>
tea party info. I think it's great that you are doing something so different.

 

[Ophelia]

hey!<br><br><br><br>
thanks, folks, for the recipies and tips- this is really great! i *heart* y'all!<br><br><br><br>
~<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/dancingbanana.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":nana:">

 

[gas4]

I wish I could do my wedding veg. My fiance, family and friends are a bunch of carnivores.

 

[IamJen]

Ophelia..this is a small thing, but I was going to suggest that, if you're getting married in MI, you check out Eden soyamilk. I used to buy that brand all the time when I lived there, because it's made right in Ann Arbor. It was often a bit cheaper than some other (organic) brands.<br><br><br><br>
Also, for those who got married whilest veg*n..what did you wear? It seems that finding a cruelty free wedding dress is a bit of a challenge. I looked at a couple of hemp-dress websites with a friend, but the ones we found were pretty fugly.

 

[zoebird]

my fiance (now DH), family, and friends are all omnivores too. my Dh is supportive of my vegetarianism and supportive of having a veg wedding. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=""><br><br><br><br>
and i bought my wedding dress at cache (a store in the mall). it's basicly various polyester/rayon/cotton blends and beaded. it only cost $250 too.<br><br><br><br>
best bet, avoid wedding stores.

 

[Ophelia]

doing a tea time helps with keeping with the vegan wedding theme- baked goods are easy to turn vegan and not lose taste (sometimes greatly improve it!) and as long as you have options for people who want cream, butter, etc.- basically, no one can complain if they aren't given a window to- i have had a few people ask, when it comes to other aspects of the wedding, about our decisions. my answer? "it's my wedding and i'm doing it my way- deal with it." if they don't like it, i really don't care...i am only doing this once.<br><br><br><br><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/penguin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":nigel:"><br><br><br><br>
i did not know that eden soy milk was from michigan- i will definitely check that out. i will probably be going to ann arbor at least once before the wedding, due to the amazing amount of veggie friendly stores there.<br><br><br><br>
when it comes to vegan friendly fabrics, i am looking at linen and cotton and i am, with the help of my family, making my own dress. my mother will be embroidering it for me after we get it stitched and fitted to my body. it is going to take a lot of looking to find about ten to fifteen yards of linen in the right colour, but i am determined and that means nothing is going to stop me from having the exact dress i want. making or having a dress made by an individual seamstress, it is a really good way to make sure you get what you want and control your fabrics too.<br><br><br><br>
cache is a great store- unfortunately, most things there are well beyond my price range. they have some absolutely beautiful gowns there and i am always on the look-out when i go to second-hand stores for dresses that came from there!