Our Vegan Wedding By The Beach
This year has been a wild ride for all of us. One of the best things that happened for us, was our last minute mini beach wedding here in San Diego! I was so bummed when we initially cancelled our wedding in Mexico set for October of 2020. One day in June, Steve looked at me and he says “let’s get married anyway.” It had been such a rough few months that even the idea of something so happy as us getting married this year seemed impossible. Nonetheless, Steve was up for the challenge and he planned most of it! We had a small list of 25 with only 6 weeks notice. All of our guests were safe and socially distant 2 weeks prior and although so many of our loved ones couldn’t be there because of the pandemic, it was the perfect small wedding we both craved. We got married on a full moon next to the water, ate delicious plant based food, drank mezcal margaritas and danced the night away! This is the breakdown of every detail to show you how we managed to plan a totally safe and gorgeous eco friendly wedding in the middle of a pandemic for under $5k! With a little flexibility and imagination, joy is still possible this year and this wedding is proof!
The Invitations:
It’s always our goal to be as eco friendly as possible, and with the last minute timing and uncertainty of the times we’re living in, an email invitation seemed like the perfect solution. Cost effective, easy to make, easy to change last minute details about the day of the wedding and we found some that perfectly fit the vibe as well! We used Paperless Post for our invites and spent about $40 total. So much more cost effective and environmentally friendly than physical invites! Since we had our wedding in 2020, it was also very important to us that everyone was safe, responsible, and knew our expectations for attending the event. The e-invites helped us clearly state what to expect as a guest and helped everyone feel more comfortable with being at a social gathering during that time. I loved these invites and the ability to update everyone on the list VIA email whenever we needed to!
The Setting and location:
Originally, we had planned our wedding to be in Mexico just south of the border but when we cancelled that idea once the lockdown hit, we had a brand new appreciation for the beautiful spot that we get to call home! We live blocks away from Bird Rock in San Diego and it is the perfect setting for a small beach wedding. Since we had it planned for a Monday, we knew that we could get away with a low key, no permit needed ceremony on the beach. Mexican blankets lined the bluff rocks for our guests and on the day of the wedding, thanks to some overcast, there was no one at the location - it also made for perfect lighting for photos! There was no swell and it was low tide which is something important to think about when having a ceremony by the water. Looking back, I’m so happy we got married in the town we fell in love and nearby where we live so that we can visit our spot often!
We rented an airbnb steps from our house and had a very cozy backyard reception! We spray painted old wine bottles copper for candles, made our own little vases and hung string lights. Both locations were perfectly us and so convenient!
The Bride:
That’s me! Still kind of wild to think that I was a bride as it’s not something I ever really thought about much growing up. I wanted to stay true to our low-key beach boho wedding tropical vibes and everything really organically fell into place for how last minute we planned everything . From the flowers, to the dress, to the makeup, I felt like a goddess on my wedding day and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Not even the 10 pounds I gained during lockdown. 😜
The Dress:
I found the perfect two piece dress for me… completely by accident! I had been eyeing Grace Loves Lace since we got engaged as they have dresses that perfectly matched my vibe and style. When we were first planning our wedding for Mexico, I had my eye on this strapless, formfitting gorgeous rose pattern lace dress from GLL for $2800. The day I was about to order this made to order dress, we cancelled the wedding and went into lockdown. When we had decided to last minute get married this summer, I put my dress dreams aside and started online shopping. I looked at revolve, BDLHN and others but nothing felt right for me. I ended up calling GLL to see if they had anything “off the rack” and thank god I did as she let me know that they were having a sample sale. Talk about divine timing! I found my dream dress, from my ideal designer that sustainably and ethically makes all of their dresses for only $500! My advice: look for sample sales from your favorite boutiques and designers. I needed to get only $75 worth of alterations from my neighborhood tailor and ended up saving over $2k getting the dress of my dreams. Cheaper than any GLL dress sold second hand as well!
I also want to add that Steve and I were both barefoot the entire day! Blissed out!
Hair & Makeup:
Natural and beach beauty vibes were what we were going for for this look. Ashley Chicago is an amazing makeup artist and hair stylist who is all about natural haircare + makeup. Her and I had a really easy time planning the look! Click here to listen to our podcast episode we recorded together all about natural beauty. I am a huge believer in non-toxic, cruelty free makeup and our wedding was no exception. We used Ilia beauty for foundation, concealer and eye shadow. PYT for highlighter, lipstick, bronzer and brow. Lily Lolo for mascara and Juice Beauty Primer. I moisturize with Almond oil and use no product in my hair!
The Flowers and the men:
We kept it simple, tropical with colors of orange, pink and coral. I’m so thankful for the women at Petals By The Beach here in Pacific Beach, CA as I was so vague in what I wanted when I had initially called her. She truly captured the essence of what I was looking for! The flower crown was white orchids and the bouquet had birds of paradise, orchids, and anthurium. Since we had no wedding party, Steve and George (our friend who ordained us) wore tea leaf lei’s which completed the look with their white linen fits.
The Transportation:
Nothing says eco-friendly and fun like golf carts! We live only 10 minutes from the ceremony spot and since we live in a destination vacation town, it only made sense to rent golf carts for us and our guests to travel to and from the ceremony in. We only had about 20 guests so we were easily able to transfer everyone and it was super affordable! Honestly, one of the best parts of the entire day was riding back from the ceremony to our airbnb (which was steps from our apartment!). My parents were in the front, Steve and I were in the back and all of our friends were driving behind us honking the whole way! My dad had decorated our cart with cans and flowers. It was one of the most amazing moments of my entire life!
The CEREMONY:
Steve, George and I all met on the same day in October 2016. Over the course of a few weeks, we all had become close friends and over the course of 6 months, the three of us had become family. George got ordained to marry us and we are so lucky to have such an amazing friend to marry us. After all, he saw our entire romance happen from day 1! Our ceremony was short, and so sweet. I walked down to the beach with my dad while my GF was singing and playing the guitar. George said a few words, Steve and I said a few words to each other we both repeated the vows we had written together and after the best kiss ever, we were married! We had given everyone little red buckets with rose pedals and tequila shots. Once we kissed, everyone threw pedals and then we had a tequila toast right there on the beach! So us, and so perfect!
The Rings:
Sustainable rings were so so important to us! I wanted something unique and beautiful, but above everything, I wanted our rings to be sustainable. Steve and I picked out and designed my engagement ring together. A morganite stone surrounded by diamonds on a 14k rose gold setting. He then picked out the wedding band to match to surprise me the day of! Both of my rings are from Brilliant Earth. They source all of their gemstones and diamonds responsibly and sustainably and they use recycled metals. For Steve’s ring, this one was hard for us to find. He's super active and has a very swollen knuckle from breaking it years ago so a typical metal ring wouldn’t work for him. We found him a silicone ring from Enso Rings that had meteorite actually made into it giving it this metal finish. The best part about this is that if he loses it or it comes off while surfing, I can get another one without breaking the bank!
The Photographer:
Alex, our photographer (Alex Marie Photography) is one of our favorite photographers ever. We have worked with her on food shoots, product shoots and our engagement shoot! She has this effortless way about her that is so comfortable as she fills the room with ease. Her vibe basically says “Don’t worry, do you. I’ve got this.” She travels for weddings and gigs, and although we’re lucky to have her here in San Diego, I highly recommend you give her a call when you’re in need for a photographer - no matter where you live!
The PHOTO BOOTH:
One of my best friends, Cynnamon owns the company Memorable Events Entertainment and she was able to bring down her Photo Booth from Bloomington, CA to the wedding! It was so unexpected and such a perfect and ridiculous addition to the evening. There was a lot of craziness happening in that photo booth all night long!
The Food:
Ok, I am very aware that this could be the reason for you popping into this blog post so obvi I had to save the best for last! We had a BLAST planning the food for our big day! The chef is a friend of ours and cooked out of Second Nature - our local neighborhood eatery. The menu was all of our favorite things with an array of small bites spread out throughout the evening. There was something for every eater out there and every single person loved the food! Vegan or not. It goes to show that you can have a vegan wedding and totally satisfy your guests!
The Menu:
Quinoa Nachos
Japanese Elote
Garlic Mushroom Sausage Crostini’s
Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
Tempura Asparagus and Avocado Miso Tacos
Caesar Salad
Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes
Thanks so much for checking out our vegan wedding by the beach!
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