Sharing your first meal together at your wedding reception will be a special moment. But in between organising a menu you love and picking out the perfect champagne, catering to vegetarians at your wedding (and those with other dietary requirements) can sometimes be overlooked. Here are some tips to ensure nobody goes hungry on your big day.
Do a head count in advance
By learning of the dietary requirements of your guests in advance, it will be much easier to cater to their needs on the day. Simply add a note on your invitation instructing them to let you know of any dietary needs when they RSVP. This way you will have exact numbers of guests that are vegetarian, vegan, etc and plan for them accordingly. It also words you up on any allergies that your guests might have. Peanut allergies for instance can be so severe that even trace amounts in a dish can cause a reaction. The last thing you want on your wedding day is to need to administer an Epipen on one of your guests!
Head here for a closer look at the various different types of wedding menus.
Pick a caterer that offers dietary options
Choose a caterer that not only offers delicious food, but is flexible enough to also cater for anyone with special dietary needs is important. By doing this you can either serve food that all guests can enjoy or make specific meals for guests with dietary needs. You can begin your research now by asking the local caterers in your area.
Opt for the buffet option
An alternative options for catering to vegetarians at your wedding is to put on a buffet that offers a variety of dishes that suit various dietary requirements. This also allows your wedding guests to specifically choose what they want to eat, and how much they want. This set up also gives your guests a chance to mingle as they get up from their tables to serve their food..
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Have various dietary options on your set menu
Given that you’ve chosen a wedding caterer that works with various dietary requirements, you can add a vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free option to your wedding’s set menu. So, if chicken or beef is on the menu for your meat-eating guests, ensure there’s a tasty pasta, curry or tofu dish for your vego friends. Another idea is to serve fish as an option, which will cater to pescetarians (people who eat fish but not red meat). This is a common solution for guests with dietary requirements so you should expect most (if not all) caterers to provide these options.
Remember, salad bars don’t count as a meal
If salads don’t fill meat eaters, how are they meant to fill guests that are vegetarian or vegan? Don’t leave your veggie friends picking at a couple of bits of lettuce and tomato, but rather make sure they are catered to with something substantial. There is no shortage of vege-friendly dishes possible and vegetarian and vegan cuisine has come a long way from the days when a vegetarian dish simply required removing any meat from a standard dish.
Catering to friends and family with dietary requirements is common courtesy and shouldn’t be overlooked. It includes them in the special moment of sharing your first meal as a married couple and allows them to fully enjoy themselves without a grumbling stomach and hunger pains – or a quick stop at Maccas after the wedding.
Ready to start planning your wedding day food? You can find a great selection of local caterers here.
