My Big Fat-ish Vegan Wedding
So, after a well deserved blog-break due to all the wedding shenanigans, I am now officially Mrs. King and I am so excited to share my big day with you!
We originally decided to do something very small, which grew into something bigger (as they do). But we still managed to keep it quite intimate, with 50 of our closest family and friends
There is so much to talk about and I still haven’t come down from cloud 9. Not sure I ever will to be honest. Don't know if any other brides feel the same, but the day after the wedding I actually suffered from bridal withdrawal symptoms - if that’s even a real thing. It was such a great feeling and I felt like a princess, but I wanted that feeling to continue forever ha!
From beginning to end, our day was simply magical. Stressful, but still magical all the same. From being pampered by the lovely Kadeem doing my make-up to putting on my wedding dress with my sister, who was my MOH, to walking down the aisle and exchanging vows with the love of my life, to our first dance, I just want to relive the day.
Growing up with very frugal parents, I learnt how you could cut on spending without compromising on quality. With this in mind, although I wanted to have the perfect day, I also knew I had to work out where to cut costs to be within our budget. So I decided that I would have to be my own wedding planner (this also has to do with my inability to relinquish control to someone else) Therefore, I had to create a list for myself so that I knew I wouldn’t miss any of the finer details. People always used to say “oh there is so much planning that goes into a wedding” and I always though it was such nonsense, until I had to organise it myself. Here are the different aspects to consider when arranging a wedding.
The Dress
When looking for dresses I was blown by the range of shapes and styles. But for years I had known just what dress was the one for me. And that was a mermaid gown with a long train teamed up with a cathedral veil. I wanted to find an eco friendly vegan wedding dress and veil. But for my budget and time scale, that proved to be difficult. So I had to look for what I could afford without compromising on my style and values. Both of these (to alot of people's shock) were from Amazon. Yes, Amazon. They have such a wide range of dresses and they were actually my saviour with this wedding as most things came from them.
2. The Cake
I was actually lucky enough that a friend of mine from school has her own cake business so I contacted her and she was more than happy to make our cake. What's better is that we got mates rates. She made this delicious coconut sponge with jam and buttercream filling covered in coconut buttercream - all vegan of course.
3. The Rings
The rings symbolise the eternal love and the beautiful bond that will never be broken. I wanted rings that were ethical and I found these recycled silver rings on Etsy. I love how they tie in perfectly with the effortlessly chic theme of our wedding
4. Bridesmaids Dresses
These dresses for my sister and Lori's sister were also from Amazon and I was lucky enough that both of them were happy to pay for the dresses, cutting costs further for me. These were perfect for the wedding but they are also able to re-wear these dresses should they wish, so it won't be a waste of money.
5. Accessories
I wanted to buy items that I could use again so I bought these gorgeous shoes from ASOS and these cute opal earrings from Etsy. Both of which added that extra sparkle to my wedding ensemble without breaking the bank. And if I choose, I can wear them again
6. Hair & Make-Up
Because I didn't have the time or money to waste trying to find a vegan friendly makeup artist that could work on my skin tone, I was actually planning on doing my makeup myself. But one of my good friends said that she wouldn't have it and as her nephew, Kadeem, is a makeup artist, she insisted on him doing it for me. He did such a great job and really brought to life the look I had imagined in my head. You need to check out his YouTube, he's so damn fabulous! Take a look here if you don't believe me. For my hair I just chose a simple understated sleek bun with sweeping waves. I wanted a simple chic look that wouldn't take away from the dress
I then placed this delicate hair pin in my hair to finish off the look nicely.
I also found this amazing 100% vegan salon Vegan Earth Makeover Bar. They not only do nails but hair, make-up and spa treatments. Daniela from The Kind Bride pointed me their way and I am so grateful she did as they did such a smashing job. Wouldn't you agree. I love finding these amazing vegan companies. Daniela works hard to find vegan brands so that in the midst of all the chaos of arranging a wedding, we don't have to add that to our list of things to do.
7. Venue
Me and my partner already knew where we were to get married. As we met in Ealing college, we decided that we would have our wedding ceremony at the Town Hall there. But were then stuck as to where we were to hold our reception. Now originally, when we had in mind for this to be a very small wedding, we were going to have the reception in my parents garden. But then because English weather is unpredictable, I was blessed enough for my parents to decide a venue would be better and that they would pay for it. We stressed and struggled to find somewhere nice enough but also within our budget and available on the date we had chosen. So we eventually found this lovely venue not too far from the Town Hall within budget. Goran from Vuk was such a gracious host and could not do enough for us.
8. Décor / Theme
For me, this is probably the most important thing to consider when arranging your wedding, as it determines the style of everything else. So the theme we had was rustic and blush. We collected jars over time and used these to create our centerpieces. Full details of how all the decor was put together coming in a separate post soon.
9. Food & Drink
Now some of you may know how much I love my food. And because of this I wanted to be sure our guests would enjoy the food as much as I do. We decided that because of my passion for veganism that all of the food would be vegan. At first my family members weren't too happy about it, but once they tried it they realised that you don't need meat to create delicious food. The in-house caterer from the venue compiled a gorgeous Caribbean menu which everyone devoured and quite a few actually went back for seconds. A few of our family and friends were also a bit upset by the fact we chose to serve no alcohol, but as Lori is Muslim it was just a no go for him. And once everyone got into the swing of the party they realised that alcohol isn't needed to have a good time. All the lovely non alcholic lager was provided by Dry Drinker and for our welcome drinks we used Botonique, which is a non alcoholic alternative to wine, topped up with lemonade. They were delicious and most people couldn’t tell they were non alcoholic. Plus I'm sure alot of them were grateful the next morning when they were hangover free.
10. Photographer
Pictures help you to remember your special day so I was so elated when my good friend, Majean, offered to take the pictures of our special day. She is a fellow blogger and has a great eye for detail, so I practically bit off her hand. You can check out her amazing blog here
11. Music
In my eyes you can't have a party without music. I compiled a playlist of some of our favourite songs and everyone was up on their feet most of the night. I walked down the aisle to Leela James' Fall For You. I heard it a few months ago and absolutely fell in love with the words and knew then that this was the song. It's one that not many people had heard of which I liked because I like to be unique. Another song that isn't really that well-known is This Is Why I Love You by Major, which we had our first dance to. It's such a beautiful song and I struggled not to cry when staring at my husband while we danced. Isn't it crazy how music can really change your mood and feelings. I also love how it can convey just how you really feel better than words can.
12. Wedding Favours
Last but not least is the wedding favours. I feel that these little delicate touches help to finish off the table display. As a little girl I always remember that every wedding we went to had sugared almonds and I just couldn't resist. I had to have sugared almonds as my wedding favours in these cute little boxes that I got from Etsy.
What wedding favours do you remember as a kid? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to subscribe to keep up to date
