food

My venue has been very accommodating. It could just be easier for them since there is a very nice Italian restaurant attached to the venue, but they have basically told us if there is anyone with any kind of restriction/request they would be happy and able to accommodate. I know most places offer a vegetarian option (which I know is not necessarily vegan) so I wouldn't imagine a request, specifically for the B&G, would be a big deal.

View Quoted Comment A few places I’m looking into don’t allow outside catering. If I find a place that does I’ll be golden lol

Girl, it’s YOUR wedding. I have a gluten and dairy allergies. Very severe allergies... as in, I get super nervous every time I eat at a restaurant. This was NOT something I wanted to have to worry about at my wedding. We ended up choosing our venue because we knew they could accommodate my allergies. (Venue ended up being pretty awful in other ways lol, but actually the only thing they DIDNT screw up was the food)

Our ENTIRE wedding was gluten and dairy free... including our cake. When we told people this afterwards, people said they couldn’t even tell! The food was modified to fit the allergies... like, the steak was supposed to come with mashed potatoes (but that has dairy) so they made it with fingerling potatoes instead. Who would think twice about that, right? This way everyone still had a great meal and there wasn’t even gluten or dairy in the kitchen during our wedding so I didn’t have to worry at all.

Our cake was the only thing I was a little concerned about, because I thought it’d be pretty obvious that it wasn’t made with wheat flour or butter but no way was I spending $600 on a cake that I couldn’t eat, so we did it anyway, and seriously NO ONE COULD TELL. We got SOOO many compliments on it, including from my brother in law who is the PICKIEST eater in the world. People were in disbelief that it was gluten and dairy free.

I think, when it comes to your wedding, you are fully allowed to be “selfish” and do what it takes to make yourself feel comfortable about the food you’re serving!

I couldn't deal with a vendor that wasn't accommodating. We have TONS of allergens in our family that are very serious, and I didn't want us or our guests harmed at our wedding. We actually had one venue tell us that anyone with food allergies would be required to provide their own food--this is a good portion of our guests, including us, the bride and groom! Needless to say, even if she hadn't been a snob about other stuff, we'd still not have gone with them.

Our venue/caterer that we chose is AMAZING. They're a multi-generation family owned authentic Italian restaurant and they are avoiding all SORTS of allergens for us that are extremely common in Italian food, including both dairy and gluten. We are going to do it buffet style, with the "normal" food on one table and the various allergen-free things on a different table, with each individual item clearly labeled as to what it does and does not contain.

I feel that in 2019, if a venue/caterer won't accommodate your food needs, there is no point in working with them, and that includes medical food restrictions.

Hey there! Have you found a caterer for your wedding yet?

We originally had no restrictions outside of no garlic, at all, but now our future daughter in law is trying to go vegan for health reasons. We are faced with trying to rework the menu to turn some of our vegetarian option into vegan. It is something we plan to discuss with her this weekend so we know what would work best for her. I have always been one to attempt to accommodate vegetarians since I have many veggie friends and feel it is perfectly normal to have options for everyone. One of my FW's closest friends and her husband do not eat pork, we have made sure the caterer is careful to not cross-contaminate. Since our caterer is their son, that shouldn't be difficult. But every request we had has been met with understanding and a "no problem". No dairy does seem like a more difficult ask, but there are enough non-dairy options if you're willing to pay the premium.

I have multiple dietary restrictions due to allergies and a few more on top for ethical reasons. We had vegan, food allergy, and diabetic friendly options for our guests.

If you have time interview multiple catering companies. I easily went through six companies before I found our absolutely amazing company. There were accommodating and patient. The catering coordinator was kind and listened to all of our concerns and sent us multiple menu mock ups and we had a three hour tasting with him.

Fjnding a caterer that would listen to us was of the utmost importance. I’m sure they’re out there. Try using Yelp to search for reviews that say allergy friendly (dairy is often left out because of allergies). Good luck!!