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Celeste Stover & Brian Hill
Long Lake, Minnesota
August 30, 2003
150 Guests

Celeste and I met five years ago while attending Student Organization for Animal Rights meetings at the University of Minnesota. We got along well because we had so much in common, from the type of music we liked, and our vegan lifestyle, to our shared major (Ecology and Conservation Biology). Every-one assumed we were dating because we spent so much time together, but we were both just looking for friendship at the time.

A year later we went on a month-long road trip to the West Coast and came back an official couple. Towards the end of the trip we stopped at Yellowstone National Park, and after a few days there, we finally saw what everyone else did and realized we were a great match. I always like to say, “If we could spend every waking moment together for an entire month and not drive each other crazy, there has got to be something there.” After living together for two years and being called the “married couple,” we decided to make it official. There was no romantic proposal—we discussed the idea of getting married, and decided on a fall wedding after graduation.

From the beginning we wanted to make our wedding unique and personal. Our wedding planner assisted us in locating venues and vendors that could accommodate our vegan requests. At first we tried to do this on our own, but we had a hard time because we were busy finishing up school. It was never even a consideration to have anything but a vegan wedding, although many people advised against it. We both felt that finding a partner who shared the same beliefs was an important element of our relationship, so it would not make sense to compromise those beliefs on our special day.

Since we are both nature lovers, we decided to have our wedding outside. The search for the ceremony site was especially challenging because we wanted a location with an onsite indoor backup that was adequate in case of rain (luckily we ended up with a beautiful day). When we first visited the Outdoor Chapel with its beautiful pond, flowers, and trees with migrating birds singing all around us, we knew that it was the perfect place for our ceremony.

We knew we wanted to do something different, so we decided to have a civil ceremony with a Celtic handfasting. Handfasting is a ceremonial ritual of binding, wrapping, or tying the betrothed hands together, symbolizing their union. The expression “tying the knot” comes from this type of ceremony ritual. Celeste chose to wear a blue wedding dress because she just never saw herself wearing white on her wedding day. Blue was once a popular color for wedding dresses during medieval times because it is the color of water, thus signifying purity.

At first, we considered hiring traditional ceremony musicians, but that didn’t seem to fit with the rest of our plans. Instead, we asked a friend to play acoustic guitar and sing before and during the ceremony. We mostly chose songs that were less traditional and had meaning to us like “Lovesong” by The Cure, “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley, and “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles. We wanted to end the ceremony on an up note, so we recessed to “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out” by Cat Stevens.

Our reception site was a beautiful turn of the century mansion that looked like a castle, and as guests arrived they were greeted by a bagpiper. The hors d’oeuvres were a big hit, and most people did not even realize that they were eating vegan food. Dinner was delicious and many guests told us how much they liked the food. One person told us that her husband did not even realize that the loaf he ate for dinner was vegetarian! The cake was likewise delicious, and we think a lot of people’s perception of vegan food changed that night. Instead of traditional favors, we chose to make a charitable donation to a local museum where Celeste worked and displayed place cards informing our guests of the donation.

A few days after our wedding we went on our honeymoon to Soulshine Resort & Spa in Placencia, Belize. It was very beautiful, and the meals were terrific. The chefs were more than willing to try new things with the food, and we rarely ate the same dish twice during our ten-day stay. There were many great activities like snorkeling, tubing in caves, river boat tours, visiting wildlife preserves or Mayan ruins, and relaxing; it was the perfect ending to our perfect wedding.

Celeste & Brian’s Menu

Hors d’oeuvres (Butlered)
Fire Roasted Vegetables
Vegetable Potstickers
Spring Rolls
Fresh Fruit Platter

Buffet
Mixed Green Salad
Bruschetta
Mushroom Stroganoff
Tofu Mushroom Walnut Loaf
Roasted Garlic Rosemary Potatoes
Asparagus with Toasted Almonds
Glazed Baby Carrots
Mixed Breads

Wedding Cakes
Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Praline Frosting
Apple Spice Cake with Vanilla Frosting

Beverages
Wine
Beer
Sodas
Coffee