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Jennifer McKenna
& Colin Richey
Seattle, Washington
July 12, 2003
350 Guests
Colin and I met in high school and started dating
the summer after graduation. We were together
for 10 years before finally deciding to get married.
When it came time to plan our wedding, it was
a whirlwind of excitement mixed with roadblocks.
We wanted the dream vegan wedding… for 350
people.
The first step was finding the perfect venue.
After much searching we decided on the Experience
Music Project (EMP), an interactive music museum,
for our ceremony and the adjoining Fisher Pavilion
for our reception, both located in Seattle’s
famed Seattle Center. We opted to have the in-house
catering company handle our food, and the chef
developed a wonderful vegan menu for our special
day. He even asked our advice on what brands of
food to buy and where to shop.
One of our biggest obstacles was finding a pastry
chef who would bake a vegan wedding cake. Thankfully,
my mother had come across an article about a vegan
wedding mentioning Catering by Phyllis. We immediately
arranged an appointment, and when we arrived,
Phyllis had prepared an assortment of sample wedding
cakes for us to taste. They were all so delicious
that we ended up having a different flavor for
each tier of our cake in addition to ordering
a separate cake for our rehearsal dinner.
The theme of our wedding was a “Celtic Starry
Garden Night.” We used a Celtic font and
the trinity knot on all of our print material.
The EMP created a starlit background, and Jordan’s
Greenery provided live plants, a white wooden
arbor decorated with flowers for our ceremony,
and trees covered with white lights for our reception.
Our florist carried this theme through our bridal
bouquets of curly willow, lisianthus, sweet peas,
and roses as well as in our arch decorated with
pompadours. For centerpieces, we decided on dried
lavender and native Australian flowers. We then
found 40 different containers to ensure that no
one centerpiece would be the same and asked our
guests to take them home at the end of the reception.
Our favors, reflecting my husband’s passion
for music, were personalized drumsticks tied with
ribbon and a thank you note.
Supplying our own wine not only saved us money
but offered us an opportunity to add another personal
touch. On each table, we placed a bottle of organic
red wine, white wine and the non-alcoholic sparkling
beverage, Amé. Locating vegan wine presented
one of our biggest challenges, but our problem
was solved when we read about Frey Vineyards in
the VegNews “Veggie Awards” issue.
I soaked the bottles in hot water to replace the
labels with a personalized version, which included
our names, the date of our wedding, the trinity
knot and one of our favorite quotes.
Finding a wedding dress made from cruelty-free
fabric was much easier than I anticipated, as
most shops carry extensive selections of dresses
in a variety of fabrics. Unfortunately, finding
wed-ding shoes in the style I envisioned and without
leather soles and silk uppers proved impossible.
I ended up having a pair custom made. Not only
did they fit perfectly, but I was able to provide
the fabric of my choice. For the tuxedos, I searched
online and found a microfiber tux package at such
a reasonable price that we ended up buying all
of the tuxedos and shoes instead of renting them.
The tools we could not have done without in our
quest to plan the perfect vegan wedding were VegNews
(we had all three wedding editions to assist us)
and the internet. We found such a wealth of advice
and knowledge in these sources that I don’t
know how we could have accomplished creating such
a beautiful and unforgettable wedding without
them.
Jen & Colin's
Menu
Antipasto Display
Grilled Asparagus, Artichoke Hearts, Mushrooms,
Squash, Eggplant and Olives
Buffet Dinner
Organic Field Greens with Shaved Fennel, Red Onions,
Kalamata Olives, Green and Red Peppers, English
Cucumbers, and Cubed Focaccia tossed in a Fig-Infused
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Tofu Noodle Salad
Bok Choy, Ginger, Celery, Carrots, Garlic and
Tofu with Mixed Seasonings
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Skewers with Balsamic
Vinaigrette
Curried Coconut Vegetable Stew with Rice
Jamaican Rice & Peas
Roasted Caraway Potatoes
Cinnamon-Laced Squash
Wedding Cake
Six-Tiered White Cake with Lavender Filling, White
Cake with Chocolate-Tofu Filling, White Cake with
Coconut Filling, Chocolate Tofu Cake with Orange
Filling, Dark Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling,
and White Cake with Vegan Buttercream Filling
covered in a Vegan Fondant and frosted with Vegan
Buttercream Icing
Beverages
Deluxe Cocktails
Organic Red & White Wine
Beer
Assorted Sodas
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