It used to be that there was one option for wedding cakes: those multi-tiered numbers covered in too-sweet white fondant. But the times they are a-changing, and so are the cakes. Following a wave of naked wedding cakes, trends for 2017 include vegan wedding cake, colorful or metallic icing, and even some receptions where there’s no cake at all.

While weddings in 2016 were all about naked cakes and metallic accents, according to Toni Roberts, Pastry Chef for top Chicago hotel theWit, this year’s cakes are going in a bit of a different direction. She’s seeing a lot of influences from natural geological elements like geodes and marble, as well as mixed metals like copper, bronze, and rose gold.

But the industry is also seeing an influx in a demand for vegan wedding cakes, something that Jenny Schmohe, baker and wedding coordinator for vegan bakery Sweetpea Baking Company in Portland, Oregon, is all too happy to fulfill.

“It definitely seems like more people are open to the idea of ordering a vegan wedding cake, in part because of the growing prevalence of high-quality vegan baked goods,” she says. (It can’t hurt that celebs like EllenDeGeneres and Portia De Rossi or Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell served up vegan cakes at their nuptials.)

But even though awareness of the vegan diet is growing, there is still a learning curve, according to Schmohe, at least when it comes to vegan wedding cakes.

“Every once in awhile a ‘skeptic’ of vegan baking will come in to do a tasting and make comments along the lines of ‘I can’t believe this is vegan!’ or ‘This is good… for vegan cake,’” she says. “I think these kinds of comments still speak to an overarching misunderstanding of what vegan food really is all about – being as delicious and satisfying as any counterpart while substituting animal products with plant-based alternatives.”

But for the most part, folks in big cities like Portland are all too happy to try out vegan wedding cakes, especially when they come in unique and interesting flavors. Roberts says she’s noticing more and more demands for fruit fillings in wedding cakes, and Schmohe notes that the most popular flavors at Sweetpea are toasted coconut, lemon chiffon, and berries & cream.

“My personal favorites are always when clients get creative and mix and match different components that they enjoyed from their tasting (toasted coconut cake with lemon curd filling, for example),” she says.

While Schmohe notes that she cannot recall any clients ever opting to have both a non-vegan and a vegan wedding cake their reception, omnivorous folks who want to make sure that their vegan friends can still partake in wedding sweets might want to opt for another growing wedding trend: an alternative dessert.

Roberts says that many people are opting for interactive desserts like doughnut towers, s’mores stations, and mini dessert displays either alongside or instead of a more traditional wedding cake.

“I think people are more comfortable expressing themselves as opposed to staying tied to tradition,” says Roberts. “This also stems from more couples footing the bill themselves instead of succumbing to the wants of paying parents.”

We’re all for people expressing themselves through their wedding desserts, through colors, designs, and dietary choices – but what about you? Share your favorite wedding cake ideas with us on Facebook or Twitter.

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Make planning your special day a little easier with our eco-friendly wedding checklist. From flowers to favors, and everything in between, we’ve got the big stuff covered.

Your wedding day is all about you, and if that means you’ll be sharing your love of all things sustainable, then say “I do” to what (and who) you love!

Kristen Maxwell Cooper, executive editor of The Knot, shared invaluable tips with us on how to make your wedding day a little (okay, a lot) greener. Between the nuptial guru’s expert take on eco-friendly planning, our in-the-know deets on conscious ceremonies, and a bit of help from Martha Stewart, you’ll have a well-rounded guide to marrying your love for one other with your mutual love of the environment. The best part? You don’t have to sacrifice style for sustainability.

The Venue

When it comes to the location, Cooper recommends outdoor venues as the ideal choice. Not only will they provide plenty of natural light, but vineyards, botanical gardens, and hilltops will offer plenty of ambiance, too. Farms and refurbished barns are also options for your wedding day and usually come with conveniences like indoor plumbing, so you don’t have to forgo the usual comforts.

Cooper also understands that outdoor ceremonies and receptions don’t work for everyone, but does believe “there are several ways you can make it green.” Holding both reception and ceremony in one place means no extra travel, which translates to fewer vehicle emissions. Plus, you can always “look for hotels that recycle and use energy-efficient appliances and biodegradable products,” and have your wedding entirely indoors. Tip: bring in some candles for less energy consumption and more ambiance.

The Invites

Invitations are often the first impression that your guests will have of what’s to come on your wedding day. And if your love for the environment runs as deep as your love for your future spouse, then going the seeded paper route is one really cool (and green) option. The actual product is really beautiful, plus they send a great message — in more ways than one.

While Cooper does suggest “old school snail mail” for the wedding invites, The Knot says paperless save-the-dates are gaining in popularity. It also suggests directing guests to your wedding website for more details, reducing the need for excess inserts. And when in doubt, recommends choosing recycled paper invites that are printed with soy-based inks.

The Dress

Whether it’s your “something old” in vintage form, or you prefer your dress to be off-the-rack new, there are several designers catering to your eco-friendly wedding dress needs. From fabulous collections of hand-selected pre-loved gowns, to designers who consciously construct their creations from sustainable fabrics, recycled remnants, and use admirable manufacturing and zero waste production principles, there’s a dream dress out there for you yet.

For a vintage dress, check out Sparrow Bridal Shop. For couture-style gowns, look to designer Sanyukta Shrestha. And for affordable bridal collections under $600, visit the ever-sustainable, ever-chic Reformation.

The Rings

Don’t drop the ball when it comes to choosing rings. Ethical, sustainably sourced jewelry is also an important part of coming full-circle when planning an eco-friendly wedding. The destruction from gold mining, and the chaos caused by conflict diamonds in Africa should be enough to have you reconsidering popping down to your big box engagement ring superstore.

After lots of research, and an in-depth article, our four favorite conflict-free (and oftentimes charitable) engagement ring retailers are: Brilliant Earth, Fair Trade Jewellery Co., Do Amore, and Catbird Jewelry. And if none of these fit the bill, then vintage rings are the way to go!

The Food

Farm-to-table is the best way to cater your wedding, and making the menu completely vegan is even better! Don’t believe us? Then take it from the “good things” expert herself, Martha Stewart, who recently released an article on how to successfully throw a vegan wedding, even when guests are expecting meat.

First and foremost, it’s your day, so it should be your way! She also suggested choosing experienced caterers that know how to dress up veggies and bring out their flavors. Adding that familiar foods are always a good idea, the article suggested items similar to what  PETA staffer and World of Vegan founder Michelle Cehn had at her vegan wedding. A buffet of “bruschetta,  stuffed mushrooms, dairy-free pesto rotini, vegetable tian, roasted petite red potatoes, vegan quiche, and artisan bread and olive oil” kept her guests very happy.

Aside from veganizing your wedding cake, think about taking it down a tier or two. Towering cakes are often for show and most wedding parties don’t put more than a small dent in them. Choose an option that fits your headcount, or go with something that offers small bites and lots of variety, like a dessert bar. Plus, you can give out any leftovers or take them home with you.  

The Favors

Ditch the plastic thingamabobs and doodads for something your guests can either eat or cultivate. Cooper really likes the idea of giving “plantable favors like potted saplings, herbs or succulents,” but cautions, “if a lot of wedding guests are traveling, keep in mind that they probably won’t want to pack a pot of soil into their suitcase, so consider biodegradable seed packets if you’re committed to the plant route.”

For couples who love food, visit local small businesses to fulfill your favor needs. From gourmet coffee beans to gluten-free cupcakes, you can get as creative, or traditional, as you’d like. A more unique spin would be to make charitable donations in honor of your guests. Cooper recommends displaying “a sign letting guests know you’ve made a donation to a meaningful cause in lieu of favors, or pick a few favorites and let guests choose their favorite option.”

The Flowers

Your wedding checklist isn’t complete without flowers, but just because they come from the earth doesn’t mean they’re good for it. Pesticides and toxic chemicals are used on non-organic flowers, which is bad news for the environment and the people exposed to them. Not to mention, many of these flowers are actually shipped from other countries entirely. Buy organic whenever possible, and try this link to search chemical-free botanicals in your area.

Cooper’s team suggests talking to your local florist about in-season flowers, or choosing VeriFlora-certified flowers for those that aren’t in season. Aside from using potted blooms that can be taken home afterwards, it’s also been suggested that the couple use the same flowers at both the ceremony and the reception, then schedule to have a company like Rebloom or Repeat Roses pick them up and repurpose them. You can also call ahead and ask to donate the flowers to a hospital or nursing home.

The Registry

When it comes to wedding checklists, most events aren’t complete without a gift registry. With the power to choose sustainably and ethically made products, you can craft a registry that reflects your tastes. Whether that means you opt for tea towels made from organic cotton, or you direct guests to donate to the charity of your choosing, there are plenty of options to please everyone. Looking for an exclusive green registry? Try Are Naturals.

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ColumnHe’s smart and strong, beautiful and brave, kind-hearted and…carnivorous.

At the dawn of a relationship, any faux pas is sufficient grounds for termination – far better to wield a blunt axe than be blinded by short-lived charms. Certain obvious criteria warrant immediate demotion from maybe-boyfriend to totally-not-lustable such as: ignorant homophobic, racist, or sexist slip-ups; failure to exhibit kindness and humanity to baristas, waiters, and people otherwise employed in the service industry; too-liberal use of ‘emoticons’ in emails, gratuitous text messages, or other similar demands on your time and patience all come to mind. Not to be too specific.

But what if the fellow is smart and strong, beautiful and brave, and an all-around incredible, kind-hearted individual? It’s this juncture of clear, mutual attraction where questions of ethics and their long-term implications make dating a stickier, less cut-and-dried issue altogether. Namely, can a principled vegan woman find it within herself to fall for a meat-eating man? Marinate on that a minute.

Let’s say you unequivocally believe that meat is murder. Now, imagine somehow reconciling that firm, clear conviction with a well-mannered, scintillating conversationalist with whom you’re on a date with at a new French restaurant who, along with a tastefully-selected bottle of Bordeaux, just ordered the foie gras starter and veal main.

As a no-turning-back vegetarian since my teenage years, I’ve never taken a long-term lover whose moral and philosophical compass regarding animal rights and welfare didn’t approximate my own. Were any of these shy and smiling boys so inclined from the outset of our relationship? No, absolutely not. But they were uniformly intelligent, curious creatures with the good sense to reexamine their ethical presuppositions and accordingly recalibrate their practical, day-to-day affairs to reflect an evolving value system.

My mission to change the hearts and minds of carnivores one-guy-at-a-time? Accomplished. Well, perhaps not quite. After breaking up, all but one, lone ex-boyfriend shortly, summarily abandoned his conscientious ways in favor of fried chicken. Gross. Hey, what better way to work out some breakup angst than to stick a fork in it? Revenge, for some, may be a dish best served medium-rare.

Older-and-wiser is perhaps the surest and truest of clichés. Age endows us (or should endow us) with the willingness to hold a magnifying glass to our  own shortcomings, frankly examining how we all can be selfish and small, prideful and petty.

This is easier said than done. In the lofty words of essayist Brillat Savarin: “There can be no warm, rich home-life anywhere else if it does not exist at the table; and in the same way there can be no enduring family happiness, no real marriage, if  a man and woman cannot open themselves generously and without suspicion one to the other over a shared bowl of soup as well as a shared caress.”

Food, from an arugula plant photosynthesizing the sun’s energy, to the farm worker who harvests the leaves, to the intimacy of a couple collaborating in the kitchen to prepare a lavish green salad, is greater than a preference for taste. Its preparation and consumption is a radical, sensual act encompassing everything from environmental sustainability to immigrant labor rights. This is to say nothing of animal welfare.

As much as a man’s virtues and joie de vivre might make my heart sing, I simply cannot conceive of spending my life – much less creating a family – with someone who chooses to overlook the implications of his morning bacon and eggs.

Love isn’t the exclusive domain of romantic partnership. Love is a choice about how you will show up in the world. Love drives my opposition to the death-penalty in America; it governs my decision to ride a bicycle rather than drive a car; and it motivates me to extend equal consideration of interest to animals. I am an animal. I am also an animal who doesn’t eat other animals.

Female animal seeks male animal who doesn’t eat animals. (Must also possess athletic build, international sensibility, and fulfilling career that makes him happy.)

Worst personal ad of all time? Maybe. Or it’s honest and realistic: the foundation of a sustainable relationship based on a commitment to common values.

A man and woman who can companionably, conscientiously dine together – not to mention cook, host festive dinner parties for friends, and indulge in regular postprandial love-making – stay together. As Brillat Savarin said, “Happiness at the table leads to happiness in bed.” And, with that, Guten appetit.

Sex By Numbers is an ongoing look into the emotional and sexual lives of the modern day woman. Follow Abigail Wick weekly here for insight and inspiration as she explores the “sex” of women and the terrain they must travel.

Image: Bolshakov

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