Is anyone here having a vegan wedding??

@Melissa IMO it is different because vegetarians do not eat meat however meat eaters DO eat vegetables. So you are still offering them something that they can eat.

ETA: Okay PK's point is valid. But that is a more rare case.

These are not all vegan but should be adaptable and they all look really good. What about a rice and beans with veggie toppings dish as well?

http://cookieandkate.com/2014/top-10-vegetarian-mexican-recipes/

Elizabeth, the main problem I see here is that your only protein/hearty item in the whole menu is beans. And for people who eat larger meals, if the only protein they get is beans, it's going to mess with their stomachs to eat a large amount of beans.

I think there's way more understanding of a specific diet on a wedding menu when it's from a religious background, i.e. Muslim or Jewish. But the reality is that when people go to a wedding, they expect to have SOMETHING on the menu that's close to their normal diet, unless they themselves have an usual diet. The point of having options with either a plated dinner or a buffet is so that everyone who attends is likely to find something they want. Unless the majority of your guests are vegan, it seems unlikely that the majority will enjoy your menu. I think you should know this upfront, because the reality is that people will complain, even if it's not to you. Whether that's fair or not is up for debate, but that's what's very likely going to happen. But probably the top complaint at wedding receptions is when people feel like they've been underfed.

^^ Yummm....chalupas

The other thing to consider, as Macy posted, is allergies.

I know that some vegan recipes call for avocado (one vegan cake option that i know of, for example), and while I'd be all about everything on your menu (especially the black bean salad, that sounds great), I am HIGHLY allergic to avocado, and will vomit profusely for 24 hours.

So...just be cautious.

Everything sounds delicious though.

For those who are offended by the vegan menu and/or have dietary issues, you can always decline to attend an "offensive" vegan wedding. That's a solution, too. If you feel that strongly about meat and think a vegan wedding is "rude" you probably don't know many vegans and/or wouldn't get invited to a wedding like this anyway. So not a problem, vegan-wedding-haters! Win/Win.

I'm also really surprised at the hostility on this thread. Who knew that not serving meat would be so threatening to some people!

I'm a vegetarian and struggled with this issue for my own wedding. Many (but not all) of our guests are vegetarians or vegans. Others are gluten free. I wanted to honor my beliefs at my wedding, but I also wanted to host my guests properly. While my FH is 90% vegetarian at this point, his family and guests are most decidedly not, so we decided to compromise. Our cocktail hour, first course, and dessert are all completely vegetarian. We are serving a steak entree and a fish entree in addition to a vegetarian entree so that people would have that choice. But it was difficult for me to come to that decision, so I completely understand OP wanting to have her wedding be vegan.

Your menu sounds great. Vegans and non-vegans alike love Mexican food and I don't think they'll really even notice that it is vegan. They will probably notice the lack of meat, but I doubt they'll realize that it is actually vegan. The only thing I would suggest maybe is separating out the vegan sour cream and cheese because often non-vegans don't eat them. It should be their choice whether or not to try them.

Good luck to you! I'm sure your wedding will be beautiful and people will be very hapy with the food.

@Lively that doesn't even make sense. So because I prefer meat and find it rude not to have that option I need to decline the wedding? I just find it rude to not cater to EVERYONE at the wedding, not just your food choices. I love meat but I know there was about 10 people on my guest list who are vegan. So when picking a venue/ caterer I made sure they had that option because I wanted my friends/ family to be happy and comfortable and full.

I think OP has a lot of choices for a vegan menu. I just think its polite to cater to everyone, just like most people do when they have a vegan option at their meat loving wedding...

ETA: Like I said above I would happily try Vegan options and don't care but some people do. And some people need to have meat for their diet too like @pk said above.

Let your guests know ahead of time! I eat vegetarian, so personally, I'd be perfectly fine with no meat. I tried for a long time to eat vegan, but realized I couldn't because of other food sensitivities I had. I have IBS (bad IBS) and can't eat most vegan forms of protein.

As a guest, I'd just want to know ahead of time, so I could eat before I got there. Otherwise, I'd wind up having to leave because I likely wouldn't be able to eat, or would have to leave if I did eat and got sick. So that leads me to just giving the advice of letting your guests know ahead of time if you do in fact choose to offer a vegan only menu.

What you are not understanding Melissa, is that a vegan wedding WOULD cater to everyone because vegan food is still food.

Some people are vegans for religious reasons. Not rude. By far not a mainstream choice, but NOT RUDE. It's just not.

You know what guys, I think something we have all learned in wedding planning is that no matter what we choose, on any point, somebody will complain. All we can do is try to be the best hosts possible within our own ethical/moral bounds. If we all do that, we can be at peace with ourselves for doing our best to try and throw a great wedding, host our guests properly, and celebrate a wonderful occasion. For this OP, being a great host and thanking her guests while still adhering to her ethical principles means serving an awesome and thoughtful vegan menu. I'm a little shocked at the lack of openness to diverse worldviews on this forum. OP can be a good host and offer a vegan menu, she can also be a bad host and offer a vegan menu if she does something else that is rude to her guests or doesn't accommodate people who have allergies for example, but not serving meat is not in and of itself rude and it's no better or worse than the million decisions we all have to make for our weddings which we all know somebody out there may complain about.

This isn't just about "catering to everyone".

If someone serves meat at their wedding with no vegetarian/vegan options, that's rude, because the vegetarians and vegans will have nothing to eat.

OP will be serving vegan options, and the people who prefer meat can still eat it! It's not like she's only serving food to the vegans and everyone else has to starve.

This is beyond ridiculous.

OP, your menu sounds delicious. I would eat the hell out of all it. And I love meat.

I agree with melissa.

why not serve one meat option? most weddings that i have been to have had two meat proteins and one vegetarian/vegan option.

if you flip that ratio being on the side of vegan/ vegetarian i dont see an issue, i think that it is just nice as a guest to see that the host was thinking about what i would want rather than just of themselves. (my SILs wedding only had two options and both were meat, if a vegetarian/ vegan had wanted more food than just the starter salad i am sure they could have gotten another salad but that would have been a boring meal). my FH is actually the most excited about our veggie ravioli meal option.

i wouldn't have an issue with vegan/ vegetarian, but i think that it would be considerate to offer a meat option.

eta: i realize that being vegan can because of ethical/ religous issues but when you host a party where there could be a wide range of people present you should take that into consideration when planning. i realize that it might be against your personal beliefs but sometimes you need to realize that not everyone holds the same beliefs as you.

and if you cant come to terms with that then maybe reconsider your guest list, i suspect that more than a handful of your guests would be disappointed that there wasn't a meat

what if Fish was the meat protein offered?

The only reason I bring up the allergy is that if a guest doesn't know that there's something in the food that they'd be allergic to, it can be super unpleasant, and I for one don't want to cause any of my guests to be sick.

Its usually pretty easy for the entrees, but for a dessert, where its not clear what went into it, it doesn't hurt to just be a little cautious.

Telling people to decline attending due to a dietary issue is kind of mean, to be honest. Just check with your guests to see if they have any dietary issues/ allergies...

(for example: one of my BMs is allergic to jalepenos, so there will be no jalepeno seasoning on the tacos, but will be available to other guests. Its really not that hard to have an option for people that you love so that they don't get sick.)

Once again, this is NOT vegan hate at all. I've said before that I've loved everything i've ever been fed at my vegan friends house. This is about being a good host and making sure that your guests are able to eat something/eat something without getting sick.

I get what you all are saying. But @purplekitten just said that she wouldn't be able to eat the Vegan options. So yes it isn't catering to everyone and its the same as not offering vegan/ vegetarian at a "regular" wedding.

I'm just in the boat to have every option: meat, vegan, gluten free, etc so you don't leave anyone out. Just in case, you never know someones diet but if you were to offer everything than there isn't an issue.

Nobody is arguing that dietary issues shouldn't be respected, but accommodating one guest or even a handful of guests is not the same thing as changing the whole menu. I have a dear friend with a ton of allergies, I made sure with the venue that they can accommodate her completely and provide her with a special meal just for her, I am not offering a complete buffet station of corn-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, etc. etc. dishes just because those are her specific allergies. There's a lot of room for flexibility here depending on OP's specific guests' needs without offering a complete "meat" menu.

Botty said it well.

*Puts this down, backs out slowly*

ETA: In all seriousness, if you 're going to do vegan, fine, but uh, gourmet cheeses aren't vegan. And if it's vegan, it ain't cheese. And most cheese has rennet.

@botty I agree. I never said for OP to change her menu completely at all. I just said to offer the meat option. For all we know people might not want the meat option. OPs menu sounds really good to me. I was just making the argument that I don't understand why its rude for me not to offer vegan but its ok for vegan not to offer meat. I just think you need to take into consideration everyones diet, meat or vegan and just have an option for it. OP doesn't need to revamp her entire menu.

I agree with @Botty that you may want to add another dish or two to the menu. Polenta would be a versatile option-- cubed, mini cakes, fried or in regular, porridge style form. Also, enchiladas, tamales, chili rellenos, etc.

As a slight compromise, I would make regular cheeses and sour cream available in addition to the vegan options. Personally, I am not a fan of the soy-based cheese substitutes (cashew cheese is good, but can be expensive). I seek out (dairy) cheeses that use plant-based rennets, and they are quite tasty!