Two sweet vegans tied the knot in a Portland soiree that was sustainable and chic, locally grown and absolutely stunning and a new wedding style was born: Vegan Fab. Every gorg detail was green, local, and heartfelt (including the jewelry which the bride made herself!) and we have put Vegan Fab at the top of our “Favorites” list. Jenny Moloney Photography + David Newkirk teamed up to capture the entire wedding, and we’ve put it all in one spot for your viewing pleasure. Click here for more!
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Alex and I have been joyful vegan/vegetarians since 2010. Since we are so passionate about our lifestyle of compassion and feel strongly about supporting local, we wanted our wedding day to reflect how simple, fun and delicious this way of living can be! We wanted to show our guests that you don’t have to sacrifice anything to live your values and have a great time doing it.
We carefully hand-selected each item that was to be used leading up to or on our special day, keeping in mind that we would rather be on the side of simple rather than trendy or flashy.
When selecting our food, we wanted simple and something that would send the message to our guests that eating vegan is amazing! Our upscale-picnic theme went off so well that even the meat-and-potatoes-loving guests came up to us and told us that they never knew mushrooms could be cooked that way, and that this was the best wedding food they had ever tasted. Our food was sourced from local, organic farms, and our alcohol, with the exception of one wine from California, came from Oregon breweries and wineries. Our unbelievably beautiful and delicious dairy-free cakes came in 3 different flavors for variety (one was gluten-free), and came from one of the best bakeries in Portland – and they happen to be vegan.
My dress was made out from Peace Silk, a cruelty-free method of harvesting silk where worms have already emerged out of their cocoon, allowing them to live out their full life-cycle and avoid being boiled alive. My sparkly sandals were made of synthetic leather, proving that it can be done in style. My hair was “did” at a local Portland salon carrying beauty products that hadn’t been tested on or made from animal products, and the beautiful flowers were in large part from Oregon. Last but hopefully not least, I am fortunate to have my own jewelry business where I was able to create jewelry for the entire wedding party, including our mothers! That is pretty local!
While the DIY projects lasted up until the morning of the wedding, I wouldn’t change a thing. Having each item thoughtfully arranged on site by family members, our fathers officiating and designing the ceremony, a friend being in charge of the iPod, my husband’s band mates surprising him during our first dance with a Beatles song, and having our very special guest — Bigfoot — show up during our group picture; all of these separate pieces came together to make our wedding day the very best day of our lives… so far!
Thank you to our photographer, Jenny Moloney and her assistant, Blake, leading up to and on the day of our wedding. We were so fortunate to have won her MLK Day contest – enabling us to fly Jenny, Blake, and Jenny’s amazing colleague, Dave Newkirk to shoot our big day! We couldn’t have done it without them all, and the memories they captured on our day will forever be cherished.
Photography: Jenny Moloney Photography and David Newkirk / Venue: Hoyt Arboretum / Catering: Food in Bloom / Dress: Lena Medoyeff / Flowers: R Blooms / Cake: Sweet Pea Bakery / Band: Eksi Ekso / Jewelry: Sara Danielle Designs (the bride)