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This Is What A Vegan Wedding Looks Like
It's been one month and one day since we said 'I do'! Here's a sneak peek into our special day...
It's been one month and one day since we said 'I do'! Here's a sneak peek into our special day...
Before we get into it I want to take a moment to thank our incredible photographers, Mark Shannon and Melanie Geroche from Karmel Kreative!
You spend so much of your wedding day with your photographers, and rely on them to capture all of the beautiful moments you never want to forget. Not only is the quality of Mark and Melanie's photography incredible, but they are just so fun to be around! I couldn't imagine having had anyone else document our special day. If you live in the Toronto area I wholeheartedly recommend them to you for engagement or wedding photography!
Check Karmel Kreative out on their website, on facebook, and on twitter!
Without further ado, here is an sneak peek into our vegan and eco-friendly wedding, as shot by Karmel Kreative...
My soon-to be husband gets ready with his best man, Kevin.
My man has the best smile, doesn't he?
Here's my (now) husband Jason, all ready to go for the ceremony wearing a custom vegan bow-tie!
Here I am, all dolled up and ready to go in my Hayley Paige wedding gown, which is 100% vegan!
Click here to learn why silk isn't vegan and why you should avoid it!
Here's a close up of my vegan and cruelty-free makeup look, which I did myself.
I wanted to keep it very natural and pretty, almost like I wasn't wearing makeup at all. Let me know if you're interested in a tutorial for my bridal look using 100% vegan and cruelty-free products!
I also did my own hair - in gentle curls with the top pinned back to keep it out of my face.
Here we are, finally husband and wife!
This forest was the most beautiful setting imaginable for our vegan and eco-friendly wedding!
We had both invisioned a forest as the backdrop to our big day, and couldn't have picked a more gorgeous place. Here we are taking a moment just the two of us after the ceremony...
...and walking hand in hand as husband and wife!
We did a really fun mini photoshoot in our Rolls Royce along with our wedding party! Here's one of just Jason and I (with myself at the wheel, of course!)
I absolutely ADORE this shot! It is such a magical moment, captured forever...
I love how this shot features my 'something old' and 'something borrowed' - my veil! It was my mother's, worn for her wedding in 1975. Not only that, but it was hand made by my grandmother! I simply removed the headband it has initially been attached to and sewed it onto a comb. A super easy DIY which brought life back to a 40 year old piece.
Here we are just hanging out in the forest as husband and wife...
It was so fun frolicking through the forest with Mark and Melanie getting lots of cute shots!
Jason and I are both musicians and knew music would be an important part of our day. What better way to incorporate our love of performing than by being our own wedding band?
My husband was on guitar and I was on bass, with Jason's best man Kevin on second guitar and our friend Joash on drums. Jason was so thoughtful and made sure to order matching bowties for himself, Kevin, and Joash as well as getting me a custom bass strap from the same fabric so we could all go together as a band!
My husband and I shared the vocals, but I love this shot with Jason singing to me as I rock it out on bass.
I'm starting to get a bit dishevelled at this point, but I didn't mind. Anyway, performing in a wedding dress is no easy task!
I hope you enjoyed this look into our special day as much as I did!
I will be sure to share more shots when we get them. (I can't wait to see them!!)
If you are planning your own wedding, check out last week's post chock full of tips for pulling off a vegan and eco-friendly day!
Don't forget to let me know if you have any questions or requests for videos or blog posts on any aspect of our wedding day. I'm happy to oblige!
Until next time,
Finding My Wedding Dress: No Silk, Please.
If you follow me on instagram you will already know that I have chosen my wedding dress! (cue the squeals) You will also know that the number one biggest struggle in finding my dream dress was the lack of vegan options. Or in other words, the abundance of silk. Not sure why you should care about silkworms and the fabric they make? Neither was I. That was, of course, until I looked into the industry and really thought about what it's doing. And I want to share with you why you may want to rethink that silk blouse or snazzy silk bowtie you've been eyeing.
If you follow me on instagram you will already know that I have chosen my wedding dress! (cue the squeals) You will also know that the number one biggest struggle in finding my dream dress was the lack of vegan options. Or in other words, the abundance of silk. Not sure why you should care about silkworms? Neither was I. That was, of course, until I looked into the industry and really thought about what it's doing. And I want to share with you why you may want to rethink that silk blouse or snazzy silk bowtie you've been eyeing.
WHAT ARE SILKWORMS?
Silkworms are the larva or caterpillar of silk moths, or as they are scientifically classified, Bombyx mori. They are, therefore, young insects. They are also now extinct in the wild, existing only in captivity. They originally lived peacefully in northern China eating mulberry leaves and dreaming of unicorn moths and rainbows (presumably).
HOW IS SILK MADE?
Silk worms are raised on silk farms. The eggs are incubated for 8-10 days until tiny brown larva emerge. The larva are fed exclusively mulberry leaves for approximately a month as they grow from 3mm to 8 cm long and lighten in colour.
The silk worms are then ready to begin their transition from caterpillar to moth, and turn their efforts to weaving a cocoon. They do so using the "silk gland" below their lower lip to produce a sticky substance that hardens into silk thread when in contact with the air. They use this mechanism to form the skeleton of their cocoon, climb in, and finish it around themselves - using as much as 1 km of silk thread in the process. The cocoon goes from start to finish in about 4 days.
The sleeping caterpillar will become a pupa, and in the wild would finish its transition to moth, emerging from its cocoon to live another life. In the current silk industry, however, they are never given this chance. Once the cocoon is completed the pupae will be killed by extreme heat as their cocoons emerged in boiling water. The thread will then be reeled off, treated, and woven into silk fabric.
WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING
Wedding dresses have been made with silk for a very long time. It is viewed as a luxury fabric, and most brides want to feel luxurious on their wedding day. Silk is a beautiful fabric, in look and feel, and it is completely understandable that designers would wish to work with such a fabric to make their designs come to life.
But what can we do if we don't feel comfortable supporting the silk industry and yet want a beautiful gown?
My top tips for any vegan brides out there are as follows:
ONE Do your research.
This is an essential first step...
- Join a local vegan group online or off and ask any recently married women where they found their gown;
- Search online for vegan or eco-friendly designers with shops in your area, and;
- Find bridal boutiques that have a vast array of silk-free options by exploring their website and getting in contact with them to inquire.
The more research you do at the outset, the easier the entire process will go!
TWO Set your budget ahead of time and stick to it.
This isn't vegan specific, but it is VERY important. Just do it! Oh, and set your budget a couple hundred dollars below your max. You WILL need alterations, and they don't come cheap!
THREE Tell them upfront that you won't consider silk.
Once you've found a couple of shops with promising options you'll want to book your appointments. Be sure to tell them in that first communication that you are looking for silk-free gowns ONLY and will not consider buying a dress made with silk. Ask them (nicely!) if they can pull a selection of silk-free gowns or at least be able to point out during your appointment which options are available to you.
I didn't do this myself and very much regretted it, as I spent much of my short appointment time trying to figure out which dresses were and weren't vegan. Do yourself (and your associate) a favour and let them prepare ahead of time!
FOUR Don't be afraid to look into custom or vintage gown options.
If your perfect dress just isn't materializing, perhaps it's time to repurpose or get creative! A custom dress means you can get exactly what your heart desires, including the fabric choice. I seriously considered a custom gown before deciding on my dress, as many of my favourite pieces were just shy of perfect or were (unfortunately) not vegan friendly. A custom dress means every aspect is completely up to you!
Another great option is a vintage dress or a dress passed down in your family! In my opinion, buying a secondhand dress or repurposing one containing silk doesn't make you a "bad vegan". It doesn't contribute to the exploitation of silk worms and is reusing materials which is more eco-friendly, to boot!
If you are shopping in or around Toronto, I would whole-heartedly recommend Sash & Bustle! This is where I found my vegan gown, and they were very accommodating - sending me pictures of the material tags so that I could be triple sure that my top 2 were vegan, helping me find only the silk-free options, and being all-around awesome people.
A WORD ABOUT PEACE OR AHIMSA SILK
Some vegans see peace (or Ahimsa) silk as the perfect option to fulfill all their silk desires. While I will leave you to make up your own decision on this one (and I would love to hear what you think in the comments) I personally do not feel this is a compassionate option. Yes, the pupae are spared and allowed to hatch. But no, it is not a process free of killing. While the moths who emerge from their silk cocoons will be allowed to live and bread millions of their offspring will die, only they will die of starvation and dehydration approximately one day into their lives rather than of heat exposure within their cocoons.
This is the most comprehensive article I have read that expresses my opinion on this topic, I urge you to give it a read!
I know this is a tough one for many people to grasp, and I understand, truly. We don't know if insects can feel pain, and may never be able to determine the truth one way or the other. But what we DO know is that silk worms have just as much right to live out their lives as we do. If their deaths were a necessary sacrifice for our survival, I would likely come down on a different side of this argument. But as I have never heard anyone make a convincing argument for why silk is required for survival, that hypothetical has no bearing on real life.
While I sympathize with those who make a living in the silk trade, I would urge them to support their families through work that doesn't exploit innocent beings, and for those of us who are lucky enough to have been born into a more privileged life to help create those opportunities.
If we all work together, this amazing planet we call home could be a place of solidarity, compassion, peace, and acceptance - for every creature, whether they be big or small.
Until next time,
I REALLY want to know what your thoughts are on this topic. Let me know in the comments below!
