Dietary Restrictions

I wouldn't worry about it for one person. Usually people who choose an alt. lifestyle know that they are the odd man out. They aren't going to expect you to make special arrangements for them. People who have allergies are aware of what they can and cannot eat. You can't create a menu for everyone. You will drive yourself insane. If I did that, my choices would be

beef

chicken

fish

vegetarian

vegan

vegetarian prepared dish that wasn't prepared on a surface with peanuts/shellfish

beef but only free range and organic fed

homemade alcohol for those who don't like consuming mass produced alcohol.

We will be putting something on our RSVPs to ask people to inform us of any dietary restrictions. We know already that we have 2 vegetarians and some others with gluten, lactose and diabetic needs.

We'll then let the caterer know since we are having a plated dinner.

Our caterer is making several vegan meals and the wait staff knows there will be vegans attending...and since we are doing family style service, there is a vegetarian choice with enough to feed every single guest if they wanted. We are also having some vegan cupcakes made and I will mark label them as "vegan".

My FH suggested that we could tell our vegan friends that instead of a wedding gift, they could bring some vegan desserts....which I thought was a good idea. BUT with only two or four vegans attending, it was easier to just have a dozen vegan cupcakes made.

Having been vegan and vegetarian for years, I know that its MY responsibility to tell hosts well in advance how and what I can eat. I am sure your guests will let you know if they have food allergies or choose to eat a certain way. If they dont, they wont last very long as vegan/vegetarian...because their food choices wont be very fun.

I put it on my RSVPs Im also having a plated dinner so my caterer needs to know

We had one guest who has celiacs (?) and followed a gluten free diet. I let our caterer know and they adjusted the meal for her w/no issues.

The only person we are concerning dietary restrictions is my fiance's dad... he is allergic to soy. Other than that... we're not worrying about it.

I have Celiac's as well. I always contact the host/hostess and speak with her about the menu. I have often called and spoken with caterers. @Miss Tattoo- I respectfully disagree with you. Many people do have allergies, but we don't know what ingredients were used in making the dish. Some people's allergies are so severe that dust in the kitchen getting into their food can make them sick.

Personally, I like to speak to the caterer. I can understand their level of knowledge and concern by the conversation. If I'm skeptical, I eat beforehand of slip in some gluten free snacks in my purse.

We asked guests to let us know if there were any dietary restrictions. One had some issues, but his needs were easy to accommodate.

Meghan, I know that. What I'm saying is when you go out, you can't expect the staff to make everyone else's meals like the normally do and then shut down the kitchen to bleach it down, close vents, put HAZMAT suits on just to make a meal for you. And when I say you I mean a general you.

I was saying that I wouldn't list every single option on the menu. Sure, call and see if something can be done, but I wouldn't stress about mentioning it on the menu. People who know they have problems usually are smart enough to let it be known. LIke I'm allergic to citrus. I'm not going to go out and order something tossed in citrus. Even if it's not listed, I still ask.

My cousin is the only one from our fam who is vegie but she said shes ok with chicken. Just for my day she will completely be OK with it.

We have one person that does not eat meat that will be coming to our wedding so we are going to have a meatless pasta dish for her or anyone else that would like it. Plus we are having a few other meatless things as well.

For the luncheon after the ceremony, it was easy. We had that at Legal Sea Foods, which prides itself on being able to handle any special food restrictions. We just told people to let us know if they had any, so Legal Sea Foods could deal with it.

For our at-home reception, we just tried to have enough of a variety of foods that everyone would be able to find at least some things they could eat.

Speaking as a diabetic, you don't really need to do anything special for us. Unless you aren't offering protein. Most diabetics have to watch sugar and carbs. When faced with a wedding, I either adjust my insulin for the meal set before me, or skip the bread and potato. Simple! The only issue might be timing, we usually try to keep meals on some type of a schedule, however, being a wedding guest, I wouldn't expect my host to do anything special...I would just have a snack with me to tide me over until dinner. =)

We have some guests with special menu requirements a couple of Koshers & I think 2 Vegan - our RSVP cards will have a meal selection & a spot for "other". We will have the meal selections on the website.

After reading this post I may make some changes on the website as I really do not know if there is anyone with Allergies. I know we have 3 Diabetics.

Thanks for all of the info! You've given me lots to go on.

Our DJ who is also a close friend is allergic to onions. So we are having no onions placed on any dishes. BUT having a seperate container filled with onions and peppers so people can place that on their own.

Call me crazy (many have) but I would rather die a lonely cold death than to actually call a caterer to discuss what I might eat at a hosted party at which I was a guest. (But I also hate menu choices in invites....I don't want to decide what to eat a month out and make a decision for my partner who will not have a clue that day and ask for something else......)

If you have a vegan alternative, you should be able to cover most of your guests who don't eat meat or chicken or yeast or honey. If you have kosher guests, your caterer will need to know to order special Kosher meals that will probably be delivered sealed in a bag with yellow tape (no, I am not kidding) and their own utensils. If you have other allergies...well.....ya can't please everyone. It's not a restaurant; it's your wedding.

Lol my sister is gluten intolerant and we served pasta!

Seriously though, she knew ahead of time and ate beforehand.

We knew our guests pretty well and I personally contacted the 5 or 6 vegetarians to let them know we would provide a vegetarian dish. Ours was a plated meal. It worked out perfectly. Otherwise, I would suggest adding it to your meal selection card (if you are having a plated meal) so they can select it since the vegetarian meal tends to be cheaper than a meat plate. I wish I would have considered this because I think more people might have selected it (just because it was delicious) and it would have saved us money

We are not doing a special menu. There are countless food consumption variables out there, and he and I decided to go with the good of the many vs the few.