5 Essential Insights for Planning a Fully Vegan Wedding

We planned our entire wedding around a plant-based menu—and I don’t regret it for a second.

From the smoky mushroom tacos to the lavender oat milk cake, our guests left full and surprised (in a good way). People who had never eaten tofu before asked for seconds. Aunts and uncles who were skeptical ended up praising the lentil kofta like it was magic.

But behind the scenes? Let’s just say I learned a lot.

Planning a vegan wedding isn’t just about swapping out cheese and calling it a day. It’s about navigating expectations, sourcing the right vendors, managing food anxiety (yours and theirs), and most importantly, staying grounded in your “why.”

If you’re thinking about planning a fully vegan wedding—or even just want to offer a thoughtful plant-based menu—here are five things I wish someone had told me.

1. You’ll need to manage guest expectations before the menu even drops

Let’s be honest: weddings make people weirdly entitled about food. And once the word “vegan” enters the chat, even the chillest guests might start to spiral.

One friend asked, “But will there be real cake?” Another texted, “Should I eat before?” (Spoiler: no, you shouldn’t.)

Here’s what I learned: how you talk about the food matters just as much as what you serve.

Instead of framing it as a restriction, frame it as an experience. Highlight the dishes you’re most excited about, and tell a story around them.

For us, it was about sharing our values and flavors we genuinely love. We built the menu around familiar comfort foods—crispy fingerling potatoes with chimichurri, creamy cashew mac, heirloom tomato tartlets—so no one felt like they were eating a “substitute.”

Also: menus at the table helped. When guests saw things like “bourbon-glazed seitan bites” and “saffron-infused chickpea rice,” their curiosity kicked in before their defensiveness.

2. Not all caterers “get” vegan—interview with taste, not just words

I lost count of how many caterers said, “We can totally do vegan!” and then pitched grilled vegetables and hummus platters.

You want more than default plant-based. You want deliberate plant-based—food that’s been tested, tasted, and seasoned with actual confidence.

When you’re choosing a caterer, ask to see their previous vegan menus. Better yet, schedule a tasting with a fully plant-based spread, not just one or two add-ons.

Pay attention to flavor, but also texture and balance. Is everything soft and mushy? Are there bright acids, warm spices, satisfying crunches?

We ended up choosing a local chef who grew up cooking Indian food with her grandmother and now runs a pop-up vegan kitchen. Her palate was bold, her plating was gorgeous, and her lentil kofte had more flavor than most meatballs I’ve tried.

Bonus tip: If your caterer isn’t fully vegan, ask if they’ve cooked for weddings where the couple and the crowd were mixed. That’ll give you a better sense of how well they handle skeptical eaters.

3. Some people will still bring their own snacks—and that’s not your job to fix

Someone brought beef jerky in their clutch. Another guest quietly snuck a chicken salad sandwich out of her bag after the ceremony.

Did I love it? No. Did it ruin my day? Also no.

Here’s the thing: you’re not responsible for how people handle change. You can offer a beautiful, nourishing spread, but you can’t force someone to engage with it.

Once I let go of the idea that everyone needed to be fully on board, I could focus on the 90% who were—and who were genuinely surprised by how much they loved the meal.

Veganism is still “different” for a lot of people. If it takes them a few awkward detours to appreciate it, that’s their journey—not yours.

4. Your desserts need to over-deliver

Let’s talk about cake.

Most people expect rich buttercream, creamy fillings, and a fluffy interior. And unfortunately, not all vegan bakeries nail that texture.

We tested five different bakeries before finding one that made a lavender-oat milk cake with lemon curd layers that actually held together and tasted like something you’d crave again. The frosting wasn’t too sweet. The crumb had bounce.

It didn’t feel like a compromise—it felt like a flex.

Vegan desserts can sometimes lean dry or overly dense if the fat ratios aren’t right. Don’t be afraid to push your baker to test multiple versions. And if you’re going the DIY route, practice your recipe well in advance. Baking at scale is a whole different beast.

Pro tip: Offer multiple bite-sized options—like mini chocolate tarts, coconut lime bars, and cardamom shortbread. It makes the dessert table feel abundant and lets guests find what they love.

5. People remember the vibe more than the menu

I spent a lot of time worrying about specific dishes, but what people still talk about is how the meal felt.

They remember the candlelit tables. The music we curated from our favorite travel playlists. The way dinner was served family-style so people passed dishes and made eye contact. The toast where my cousin joked, “I can’t believe I’m eating mushroom ‘steak’ and loving it.”

That’s what lingers.

Food matters, yes. But the vibe you build around the food? That’s what creates memory.

So if you’re stressing over whether to do a sweet potato curry or a stuffed squash, zoom out. Think about the colors, the scents, the flow of the evening. Think about how you want people to feel.

Because when you lead with warmth, care, and story, the menu becomes more than plant-based—it becomes deeply personal.

Final words

Having a fully vegan wedding doesn’t mean asking your guests to sacrifice—it means inviting them to experience something intentional, joyful, and rooted in your values.

Yes, it takes more planning. Yes, you’ll have to explain yourself (a few times). But you also get to model what celebration can look like without compromise—on taste, or ethics, or connection.

And trust me: when someone who swore they’d miss the cheese texts you two weeks later asking for your caterer’s info?

That’s the kind of full-circle that makes it all worth it.