We love sustainable weddings here at Magpie Wedding, so when we received this fully vegan wedding in our inboxes we couldn’t wait to share it with you. From the dress to the suit, the cake to the food; Arabella and Luiz considered every detail to ensure it didn’t impact the planet and importantly to them, animal welfare. Plus it was captured by Eco Wedding Collective member, GinFizz Photography. We catch up with the bride Arabella to hear all about it.
How did you and your partner meet?
“We are both animal rights advocates. We met when Luiz came to one my demonstrations/outreach events in my hometown. Luiz is from Brazil and was in the UK for a sabbatical at the local university. We started going to various animal rights advocacy events together.”
Planning the wedding
“The main focus of our wedding was to share our ethics and to bring our cultures and families together. Veganism was central to this. We had an entirely vegan wedding down to the catering and dress code. The ceremony itself was personal to us – being a humanist ceremony with a vegan celebrant. We held a moment’s pause at the beginning to give thought to the animals currently suffering and for those working to end the suffering of all living, sentient beings.”
The Venue
“The history of what is now Wilton’s Music Hall, dates back to the 1600s and has been a working music hall since the 1800s. It is a beautiful venue with deep character, charm and history. It was an important place to both of us, with many happy memories. It seemed like the perfect choice to have a fun and interactive celebration, which is exactly what we planned.”
The Dress
“The number one thing for me was for my dress to be 100% vegan friendly. Fashion is only as beautiful as it is ethical. I didn’t know how easy this would be to achieve, but there are so many options today that it wasn’t a struggle at all. I stumbled across my dress before my actual appointments at bridal boutiques! So you never know when you’re going to find the perfect thing – just be open to trying everything.”
The Suit
“Luiz’s priority was finding a fully vegan suit that would complement the colours and feel of our wedding venue and colour schemes! We found a beautiful green suit easily during our first shopping trip. When you know, you know!”
The Bridesmaids and Groomsmen Outfits
”We didn’t have many rules for the wedding party, besides the vegan friendly dress code. We wanted people to express themselves and be comfortable! So Luiz’s best man wore a bright blue suit, and my bridesmaid and maid of honour decided to match our colours with beautiful green dresses that they chose themselves.”
GET OUR GUIDE TO EGAN WEDDINGS HERE
The Details
“Our cake was made by a fully vegan bakery and incorporated our flower choices. We opted for dark and dramatic flowers like deep red calla lilies, with pops of colours such as light pink roses and sunflowers. We had a dedicated games room for all our guests to enjoy during the reception as well as a fully stocked completely vegan sweets room! As our guests entered the lobby of Wilton’s Music Hall, we had vegan leaflets and kits for anyone interested.”
“We’d like to mention our wonderful vegan celebrant, Emily Shaw. Who worked with us closely in the lead up to our ceremony to understand us and what was important to us. She helped us personalise our ceremony with ring warmings, tying of the knot and readings. Working with someone who shared our ethics on animal rights was so important to us and we appreciated Emily for helping to make our ceremony reflect our values so well, while also making the whole thing a lot of fun! Our DJ, Paul, (Dance Culture Events) stepped in last minute when another DJ let us down. He was a pleasure to work with and created a brilliant atmosphere! We’d also like to thank our florist, Trish (KJ Events) and photographer, Helen.”
SEE OUR FAVOURITE VEGAN MAKEUP ADVICE HERE
