Vegan Weddings

More and more vegan couples are insisting that their weddings are catered to their lifestyle rather than their guests. Everything from the recycled paper invitations to the wedding cake are both eco-friendly and cruelty free.

History-making Wedding Obeys the Vows of Vegans
The first "ethical vegan" wedding in the State of Massachusetts.
by Marie Szaniszlo
Sunday, July 8, 2001

The bride was wearing white, but her dress wasn't made of silk. And the groom's shoes definitely weren't made of leather.
To their 50 guests at Shipyard Park in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, though, Frank De Giacomo and Sabina Wenner looked every bit as fashionable as a Bride magazine spread as the two exchanged vows yesterday at the first "ethical vegan'' wedding reported in state history.
"My mother always said, if you don't like something, don't complain about it; do something about it,'' said De Giacomo, a recent New England School of Law graduate, who looked dapper in a vinyl belt and shoes and Tencel suit made of wood fibers.
So he, and they, did as Mom said, right down to ordering a chocolate wedding cake free of eggs, milk and bone char, a byproduct of certain commercial sugars that are ground up with animal bones.
"As long as there are alternatives, there really is no reason to use them anymore,'' said Wenner, 35, a veterinarian who has been a vegetarian since a college nutrition class 19 years ago that included a field trip to a slaughterhouse.
The couple met two years ago working on a successful campaign to stop a proposed feral-cat feeding ban in Hawaii.
Today, they have 10 "little furry felines,'' De Giacomo said.
Any canines on the way? "No,'' he said. "But we'd like to have some, someday.''


For the wedding cake many vegan cake recipes can be adapted to suit the occasion but here are two interesting ones I found.

Vegan Wedding Carrot Cake from Jess's Healthy Vegan Recipes
Photos of the cake available on the site.

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
Cake:
Mix together dry ingredients:
13 1/2 cups spelt flour
1/4 cup baking powder
4 1/2 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 1/2 tsp salt
Mix wet ingredients well in separate bowl:
4 1/2 lbs tofu (blend until smooth)
8 lbs grated carrots
3 3/4 cups canola oil
9 cups sucanut
4 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups orange juice concentrate
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
Fold into mixture:
3 3/4 cups chopped walnuts
3 3/4 cups raisins
Smear oil and flour in around 4 pans of varying sizes.
Bake for 30 minutes - 15 hours, depending on pan size.
Let cool completely.
Creamy Glaze Topping:
Blend the following:
2 1/4 lbs silken tofu
1 1/4 tsp salt
4 1/2 Tbsp oil
4 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
13 1/2 Tbsp honey
(may need to adjust or add agar flakes and arrow root for thickness)
When cakes are cool, invert the largest cake and frost.
Put the second largest cake (upside down) on top and frost.
Smooth the frosting so that it's even and beautiful!
Follow same stacking and frosting process with the 2 smaller cakes, now using a pillar stand as a base. Set the pillar stand on top of the bottom two layers. Decorate seams with pastry bag. Garnish with flowers or fruit.

Ginohn's Vegan Chocolate Wedding Cake from Wunderland
Cake
Sift together:
2 1/2 plus 1 tablespoon unbleached flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 cups Sucanat (evaporated cane juice. Use whatever kind of sugar you prefer.)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
Mix separately:
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add the wet to the dry and stir until smooth.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center.
When the toothpick comes out clean, it's done. Cool and frost.
Easy Fudge Frosting from The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook
Combine in a saucepan:
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup soymilk or water
Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, and add
1 tablespoon margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cool a little, then quickly stir in
2 cups powdered sugar
Spread on cake while frosting is warm. If it begins to harden, add a little water.
Cake recipes is copyright 1997 by M. L. Grant. Free redistribution and use permitted with this copyright notice intact!

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the wedding cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.

Ogden Nash

Whether you have a meal or finger food to serve to your guests will probably depend on budget, the weather and how many guests you have.

Meals.com has the useful feature of entering the number of servings and the quantities required will be shown for each recipe. They have lots of ideas, for instance, 72 pages of vegan entertaining recipes, so you should be able find something interesting to make.

About.com Your Wedding Checklist: Essential wedding tasks month by month.

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