Bride goes to great length to ensure a menu free of animal cruelty; uses reusable flower decorations, too

Nowadays, more and more brides and grooms are adopting the nomeat diet, and their reception menus are reflecting this popular trend. Following suit, earlier this month, a city-based couple decided to serve only vegan dishes during their wedding function.

Mudra Shirvaikar, a graphic designer, who turned into a vegan five years ago, wanted the satyashodhak wedding to be free of animal cruelty. She shared, Growing up in a Goan family, meat and fish were regular fixtures. Even as a child, I had thoughts about the cruelty while eating nonvegetarian dishes, but was too young to take a stand. At 18, I turned vegan, and I wanted this belief to be reflected during the wedding function that we were hosting.

However, family members were initially apprehensive about serving vegan dishes, as they didnt want the guests to complain about the food. Family members were sceptical, but wanted us to do whatever made us happy. It was easy to please vegan diners, but even relatives with conventional ideas, who arent very accepting to changes, appreciated the dishes served, Mudra added.

Ameya Jagtap, an advertising professional, is on the verge of turning vegetarian and subsequently vegan is following the footsteps of his wife. He said, We wanted to do away with any of the rituals based on gender discrimination associated with weddings. But, the biggest task was preparing the vegan menu on a large scale as we had up to 350 guests. Mudra has sacrificed her favourite strawberry cream for the cause of animal cruelty, and we wanted to maintain the ideals that she follows.

Ameya continued, A maternal uncle exclaimed he enjoyed the paneer starter a lot; we had to tell him that it was made of tofu. Even the aamras made without milk was appreciated by the guests.

The challenge primarily lay in the dessert, as the family members were of the opinion that ice cream be kept as an option, while Mudra suggested shrikhand. However, the idea was shot down as it would clash with aamras. After much research online, we decided to use hung curd instead of custard and cream that is used to make fresh fruit trifle, she said.

Ameyas sister Rucha, who is a travel consultant, said the family was confident about the couples plans, after overcoming the initial hesitation. Both of them work for the cause of animals and the environment, and bringing their beliefs into the wedding was wonderful. The number of wedding cards was limited and the flower decorations were of plastic so that they could be reused, Rucha added.

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Couple gives Indian wedding a vegan twist, wins hearts - Pune Mirror