Meet The Desi Couple From Gwalior Who Hosted A Flawless Vegan Wedding In India

It is said that marriages are made in heaven, but a union becomes even more special when the bride and groom share kindness and humanity values. Such is the case of Hina, a Business Consultant who is also an avid traveler, and her groom Shivam a Management Consultant and portrait photographer who works in Bangalore.

Both Hina and Shivam are animal rights activists who passionately care for all creatures and advocate against their exploitation. So, it seemed like fate when the two who followed a vegan lifestyle decided to wed.Shivam who has been following a plant-based diet since 2018 and his beautiful bride Hina wanted an end-to-end vegan wedding in Gwalior. This was a tough task as Shivam is Bengali and on the other hand, Hina’s parents are vegetarian.

The two resorted to extreme tactics to convince their families to agree to a vegan wedding and the families agreed after they threatened that it would be a “Vegan wedding Or No wedding”. Take a look at how they executed this beautiful ceremony.

Choice of cruelty-free attire for the bride and groom 

Shivam, being the groom opted not to buy any silk-based clothes. He also wished to steer clear of leather, so, Ethik and Monkstory were brands that had him covered with cruelty-free leather alternatives. It was easier said than done for the bride. While it was easy for Hina to select a cruelty-free dress, it took a lot of effort and time for her to convince her family to not buy her any silk clothing.

She also made sure that none of her close relatives or friends wore silk on the day of her wedding, which is a tall order! The blushing bride wore a georgette-based chikan work lehenga on her wedding day. All of her other outfits were georgette, chiffon, velvet, or cotton-based, which ensured there was ample variety!

The complex matter of sourcing vegan wedding food

The next part of the challenge was to set up the logistics for a vegan wedding. The problem was that this was never done before in the city. As it was the first Vegan wedding in Gwalior, there weren't any catering services that provided a complete solution. Also, their customs demanded that the general food-management be taken care of by relatives, however, the couple decided to bear that burden themselves.

It was the only way they could assure a lavish vegan spread at the wedding. So, the determined couple explored various options and eventually set up a complex supply chain with the help of some amazing plant-based startups. Vegan Ghee was sourced from Ahmedabad with Emkay Foods, they found Vegan milk from Bangalore with Goodmylk. 

The tofu was brought in from Bhopal by Bionutrient and ice cream and butter came from Delhi’s Whitecub. There was more to the mix, for Curd Premix and Mayonnaise came from Goodmylk and Vegandukaan. To simplify the sourcing process, the bride prepared curd and cream (made from cashews) at home. The resulting dishes like ice cream, gajar halwa, shahi tukda, and tofu-based alternatives like Paneer Rizala were adored by the guests.

Shopping for vegan cosmetics for bridal makeup

Shopping for vegan cosmetic and personal hygiene products was quite easy as the couple was already familiar with those. The important part was to align with the makeup artist on finding the suitable shades and textures in vegan products.

Before the makeup started the bride made sure that there was NO non-vegan product on the palette. The duo was so focused on the NO CRUELTY part of their wedding that they bore all the backlash from families and guests willingly. 

In fact, they also received support from some family members and close friends, who themselves are not vegan. Yet, they respected the couple’s stance on being Vegan. That was when the couple decided they wanted more people to adopt their plant-based lifestyle. To further this goal they gave out thank you cards at their wedding advocating a pro-vegan lifestyle!

A SNEAK PEEK AT THE SPECIAL ‘THANK YOU NOTE’ THEY SHARED WITH GUESTS 

The entire process took some effort and time, but the duo was thrilled to invest their time in having a plant-based wedding!

LIKE THIS? READ: A FATHER-DAUGHTER STORY: HOW TO HOST AN ECO-FRIENDLY, VEGAN WEDDING

READ MORE: A SATYASHODHAK VEGAN WEDDING LIKE NO OTHER