Gluten Free

I mean... potatoes and beef are both gluten free... and so are most vegetables. So I don't see the problem? Most people expect a meat dish accompanied by potatoes and some kind of vegetable. So I think you're okay! Just confirm with the caterer. Our beef dish at our wedding was naturally gluten free.

My aunt has celiac and that was was my main requirement for some dishes to be gluten free. According to my caterer, most freshly prepared food will be gluten free, unless it's pasta. The chicken, salmon, rice, potatoes, salad, and veggies I'm having are gluten free. However she won't be able to eat the bread or pasta. Any reputable caterer can do gluten free without people knowing it's gluten free.

All my meal items were GF naturally (though not a dedicated GF caterer IE sterilized kitchen) to accommodate myself a couple guests as well. No one knew the difference as it's all just normal, whole food, and everyone raved about it. We served:

Arugula salad with citrus dressing

Creamy mashed potatoes

Roasted seasoned veggies

Chimmichurri chicken breast & thighs

Honey dijon salmon

We had a regular 3 tier cake, and GF cupcakes (from the same bakery).

The food industry is so evolved and on top of gluten these days that you will easily be able to find delicious dinners and most people probably won't even realize it's gluten free. Pasta is a very uncommon wedding dinner dish, as far as I know..so just cross that off the list. Do a menu that you can completely and totally enjoy. That's what I'm doing. I get sad enough all the other days of the year when I have to pick and choose and decide what I can eat. I don't want my wedding day to be one of them.

I also have celiac so I can relate 100% to this!! I can't eat anywhere. My venue says they can do an exceptional job of avoiding cross contamination, so we'll see.....but....I do have a bad feeling about it. Lol.

@Karen did they give a reason as to why they just can't make everything gluten free?

@Vanessa I agree with you that you were not rude. Just because vegetarian isn't an allergy doesn't make it not important. I can't eat red meat due to not enough acids to digest it and I can get sick if some gets in my food. I think you were just giving your opinion and it was taken wrong.

That being said I say take friends with you to the taste test but stay with mostly GF foods. Our caterers will be making a special GF plate for a guest of ours and they showed us most the menu is gluten free anyways but they are making his meal first so there is no way of cross contamination

I also have celiac disease and our wedding was completely gluten free. None of the guests would have known. For meats and fish, just choose things that aren't breaded - grilled or roasted steak, chicken, and fish are all good options. Your caterer should similarly be fine with vegetable sides. For starches, go with potatoes (roasted, mashed, etc.), risotto, or polenta - all are naturally gluten free so there will be no texture difference for your guests. For the vegetarian option, ask your caterer to get creative. Ours was able to do a vegan gluten free tart with hummus and roasted veggies, which got a lot of compliments. In my experience, something like a tart crust made with gf flour is much closer in texture to wheat flour than gf pasta is. For hors d'oeuvres, things like shrimp, bacon-wrapped scallops, summer rolls (with a tamari based dipping sauce), and items on potato cakes or polenta cakes instead of crostini are all good options. If you have a good gf bakery, people shouldn't be able to tell the difference in the cake - usually it is just slightly more dense. And if you're doing a dessert table in addition to cake, macarons, macaroons, creme brulee, and meringues are all good naturally gf options.

@Vanessa, as someone who was a vegetarian for nearly 2 decades before being diagnosed with celiac disease, I would say it is not remotely comparable. Yes, as a vegetarian, you can feel ill from eating something containing meat, but that is very different from the risk of permanent or life-threatening damage that can result from someone with celiac disease or a severe food allergy eating something that has come into contact with a trace amount of the allergen.

A good host should absolutely provide proper fully vegetarian and vegan meals for people with those dietary preferences, but the level of concern relating to cross-contamination is completely different from restrictions necessitated by a medical condition. If anyone has guests with celiac disease or severe food allergies, please make sure to ask your caterer the necessary questions about cross-contamination to help avoid a serious medical emergency for those guests.

All of our entrees at work with the exception of a salmon dish are GF. This makes is so much easier for our chefs to make the meals. A guest would never know if you did all GF @GoingToBeGoodin. A good caterer will take your restrictions seriously. I work an event last night and the bread for the crab dip was GF.......it was amazing!!!

Where are you located? We have chosen an entirely GF wedding since many family members have Celiac Disease. We chose Wood Ranch Grill in Southern California for catering and our baker is well known in town for delicious GF pastries. My mother chuckled and said, "thank God wine and liquor is GF!" Hahaha

@Jessica B they never actually said they can't. I got the impression they could do it either way....but maybe I misunderstood.