Vegetarian...but not Vegan. We are Vegetarian and proud of it (we don't eat anything with a stomach.) My FH and myself are both Ovo-Lacto Vegetarians. We are having a Harvest dinner, family style to promote more taste testing. I picked my venue based on their ability to accomodate our lifestyle and taste. They change their menu nightly and include a vegetarian and often a vegan option every night. I hope it goes well because only 2 other people coming are vegetarians. I couldn't see us serving meat though. Being Vegetarian is part of our identity. It's not a fad or a phase, it's a lifestyle that we are both proud of.
We had a vegetarian (not vegan) wedding even though only about 5 or so of our guests (other than me!) are vegetarian. It went over really well and the only person who complained was the one significant other who everyone was hoping wouldn't come because he's such an ass (I mean literally 20 people asked "X is not coming is he???") So you expect people like THAT to complain, but all our other friends (aka ACTUAL friends) and everyone in my family just kept talking about how wonderful the food was, and my husband's fairly traditional Chinese family (from the city in China known for where they will eat ANYTHING) seemed to enjoy it too! Overall, we both (my non-veg husband included) thought it was a huge success, and people still talk about how wonderful the food was, and I just would NOT have been comfortable serving meat. And then my in-laws hosted a ten-courses-of-meat Chinese banquet later, that we invited everyone to also, so we figure anyone who didn't get enough meat at our wedding more than made up for it then.
It is so good to hear stories of veg weddings that people loved! Hopefully ours will be one too. I also would NOT be comfortable serving meat. Mr.ShyViolet and I have been vegan and/or vegetarian for almost ten years now. There was no question that we would incorporate it into our wedding, it is just a matter of how to do it so that all of our guests are happy. Not that I expect them to complain, but I just really want to share with them a little glimpse of the things we love and are passionate about, like yummy vegan food.
NYamber, I am glad you mentioned family style. I have been debating about this. One caterer we met with advised against it because the tables might get crowded with dishes, but I am in favor of it for exactly the reason you mentioned. We might have food people aren't used to, and with family style they could feel more comfortable sampling new things and going back for more.
Which brings us to aiee's question, what are we serving? I don't know(!), but here are some thoughts: for the cocktail hour ~ fresh fruit, hummus with veggies, bruschetta on crostini, grilled polenta with pesto, and for dinner ~ mixed green salad with dried cranberries and carmelized walnuts in a balsamic vinaigrette, avocado-cucumber soup, chilled gazpacho, fresh bread with olive oil, herb mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, white beans and spinach, penne with tomatoe and garlic sauce, veggies over pasta with a cashew cream sauce, ratatouille over rice... and of course a tower of vegan cupcakes!
So what do you think bees? Which ones sound good? And can I get away with pasta dishes as a "main course"?
we are doing mostly vegetarian and some vegan buffet and using a sustainable slow-food caterer. we did our tasting last week (booked them before doing a tasting because I'd had the food before at an event) and it was fanastic. I was concerned over how my dad would like the food and he loved it.
I debated between an organic caterer that I know and one that is more into the sustainable slow food movement and ultimately it came down to price and quality of food and flavor, and for that the local sustainable caterer won. Though FI and I eat organic whenever possible, we felt it better to use the local farms and food the the region to celebrate Northern California Cuisine and share it with our guests.
Our cake is organic dairy. But I'll be making a homeade cookie dessert bar and doing a couple different Vegan/Gluten free desserts for our guests that can't have cake.
It's exciting to hear how others are going about the veg process! GoVEG!
shyviolet--i think you can definitely "get away" with serving pasta as your main course (if your families/friends are big meat eaters, they may appreciate the familiarity), though it might be nice to do a fancier presentation than penne. a lasagnette or manicotti made up of layers of the delicious cashew cream, pesto and asparagus would probably be really tasty and appealing as fancy food the non-veg. the white beans and spinach side dish sounds like a good idea too as it'll shut up some of the protein questions (ooh, am i a little oversensitive about that?). and your cocktail hour and soups all sound very tasty! and yay cupcakes! are you using vctotw cupcakes?
glittergrl--what are you having? it's so awesome you're providing vegan/gluten free dessert! you reminded me that i need to figure out my gluten free options.
we're doing our wedding about 75% vegan (everything but 1/2 the cocktail hour will be vegan). it feels a little icky to be having meat in the beginning, but my boyfriend does eat meat and i wanted him to have some special treats too (he doesn't really eat meat at home). i also have to be able to feed my super-picky grandma, and that pretty much has to involve meat unless i just give her cookies (she's always so sweet about feeding me with my incomprehensible--to her--diet that i feel like i need to do the same for her). at the moment the plan is to do a sit down dinner serving a salad with a raw cashew/basil cream "ravioli" on top, a mushroom tart with the smoked apple field roast, caramelized onions and a wine sauce with green beans and truffled roasted potatoes alongside (that feels like a lot of starch to me, but the caterer insists that it's better with a starchy side dish--anyone care to comment?). then some passed desserts (mini pies! banana fritters! sorbet cones!) and a giant, vegan wedding cake! cocktail hour's going to have borscht shots, summer rolls, and two other things i'm forgetting right now as well as a handful of meaty things like shrimp skewers, tuna tartare, and little cuban sandwiches.
any advice? sound tasty? should we switch anything around? we're still in the preliminary phase of picking food.
aiee, that sounds delicious! I'm hungry and you made my mouth water in jealousy! If omnivores don't like that, they don't like good food.
We're planning on having an entirely local, organic, vegetarian meal as both me and the FI are vegetarian. We figure that omnis eat vegetarian food already, so it really shouldn't be a problem for them to go without meat for one meal. We are having an afternoon, casual affair so we don't expect anyone to really notice the lack of meat anyway. It might be more acute of an issue at a formal, sit down dinner.
thanks MegK! I think you're totally right about people not missing meat in the afternoon, especially when it's warm out. Of course genius that i am decided a vegan, winter, sit down dinner wedding was the way to go...
I worried about the mass of dishes for Family style too. I was going to opt for a Stir Fry station with veggies and tofu, but my FH thought we'd end up with too much food! I'm trying to be contiencious of waste and of making sure there are too many dishes that are too ethnic. It's so hard! At some point I'm just going to say F it and tell them to cook what I want! I mean, come on, Polenta isn't Ethinic! Anyone else getting too much advice about their Veggie Wedding Meal?
yeah, a lot of our more "ethnic" ideas got shot down too because they might not be popular. what dishes are you deciding between, maybe folks on here can help?
maybe a crepe station? that's not as "scary" as tofu and stir fry but can still incorporate lots of vegetables as well as tofu in the fillings for the crepes.
Even though we did meat, our Antipasti Station (had almost no meat, but you could delete all, and vegans could remove the cheese aspect: i.e. do marinated olives, roasted veggies with pesto minus the cheese, pickled veggies) and our Salad Station (we did Beet with Goat Cheese, Potato with Vinaigrette, and Grain and Roasted Veggie) were devoured by everyone. Even minus the dairy on these and they would've been very "normal" choices for most people.
We also did a Shrimp and Grits station but had a BBQ'd Tofu option for veggies.
I concur too--buffet, station, or warm-weather affairs, people tend to not miss meat as much at all.
Oh wow, it's nice to hear that others are throwing successful vegan/vegetarian receptions as well! The FI and I are both strict vegetarians, and we are excited (and a little scared) to show off how truly delicious being a vegetarian can be.
We're in the early planning stages, but we are talking about having a mostly appetizer reception, with a pasta station to honor my Italian heritage and a latke and toppings station to honor his Jewish family. I figure that our families will be so excited to see some familiar (carb-tastic!) comfort food that they won't be missing their artery-clogging bacon-wrapped filet mignons for very long.
Anyone ever been to a wedding where there was absolutely nothing to eat for a vegetarian? Or the vegetarian choice is yet another overcooked, soggy giant portobello mushroom (or am I the only vegetarian that hates mushrooms?)
We had a mostly vegan reception. It was a buffet and we had one polenta dish that had some kind of dairy in it and we had some kind of beef tips or something.
We were going to go completely meatless, but I didn't want to hear it from our families. They would've complained endlessly and I just didn't want to deal with that.
thriftsiren--yeah, i shot down the caterer on the grilled portobellos so fast he was kind of offended. i actually like mushrooms, but i _hate_ grilled portobello as the vegetarian option (so boring, so badly done, no protein!). all the weddings i've been to have been pretty decent (even as a vegan, which was shocking). i've been to subject to some really, dramatically bad banquet food at other events (an entire plate of defrosted frozen veggie mix, totally plain comes to mind).
thriftsiren, I love mushrooms, but I do hear you on the often lack-luster way they are presented when they are the "veg option." Kind of like the "veggie sandwich" at most delis-- lettuce, tomato and onion on a sub roll... ugh.
ShyViolet, your menu sounds delish. I do agree with aiee about making the pasta dish a little more elegant. I've seen some yummy presentations of variations on lasagna.
I also have a great Vegetarian Wellington recipe. PM me if you'd like me to email it to you.
aiee, can I come to your wedding??? Truffled roasted potatoes and bananna fritters-- YUM!!
i love mushrooms. i even drove out to the mushroom festival in kennett square. pa last year. but even i get really tired of the same portabello dish as the token veggie option, i have to agree.
aiee, thanks for the ideas. i will definitely talk to the caterers about a layered cashew cream lasagna and see what they can do. as for vctotw cupcakes, ooh i hope so, i am tempted to make them myself but i should probably hire a professional. your menu sounds awesome! i wouldn't change a thing.
glittergrl, i would also be interested in what you are serving for gluten-free folks. i need to be thinking about that too...
ShyViolet--no problem! i'm home from work today, and obviously have food on my mind and time on my hands! Thanks for the outside approval, from the inside, i just keep thinking, oh my god, too starchy!
I initially thought I'd do vctotw cupcakes myself, but then the boyfriend decided he really wanted a cake, so we've gotten a baker (lotus cake studio, they're in philly, awesome, and do 95% or more vegan cakes and will do cupcakes too. we're not having the wedding in philly, but she's still a deal for nyc even with a delivery charge)
we are also having an all vegan buffet catered by Real Food Daily of West Hollywood! it's very nice to see that i am not alone. me and my fiance are both vegan and so is his sister and his uncle and several other guests as well. so i hope it goes well.
we are about to start planning the menu so i love hearing what other people served or will serve.
Anyone else planning a vegan wedding? Just curious.
posted by ShyViolet 11 posts 5 months agonot 100%, but mostly! what are you planning to serve?
posted by aiee 21 posts 5 months agoVegetarian...but not Vegan. We are Vegetarian and proud of it (we don't eat anything with a stomach.) My FH and myself are both Ovo-Lacto Vegetarians. We are having a Harvest dinner, family style to promote more taste testing. I picked my venue based on their ability to accomodate our lifestyle and taste. They change their menu nightly and include a vegetarian and often a vegan option every night. I hope it goes well because only 2 other people coming are vegetarians. I couldn't see us serving meat though. Being Vegetarian is part of our identity. It's not a fad or a phase, it's a lifestyle that we are both proud of.
posted by NYAmber 40 posts 5 months agoWe had a vegetarian (not vegan) wedding even though only about 5 or so of our guests (other than me!) are vegetarian. It went over really well and the only person who complained was the one significant other who everyone was hoping wouldn't come because he's such an ass (I mean literally 20 people asked "X is not coming is he???") So you expect people like THAT to complain, but all our other friends (aka ACTUAL friends) and everyone in my family just kept talking about how wonderful the food was, and my husband's fairly traditional Chinese family (from the city in China known for where they will eat ANYTHING) seemed to enjoy it too! Overall, we both (my non-veg husband included) thought it was a huge success, and people still talk about how wonderful the food was, and I just would NOT have been comfortable serving meat. And then my in-laws hosted a ten-courses-of-meat Chinese banquet later, that we invited everyone to also, so we figure anyone who didn't get enough meat at our wedding more than made up for it then.
posted by bluebell 82 posts 5 months agoIt is so good to hear stories of veg weddings that people loved! Hopefully ours will be one too. I also would NOT be comfortable serving meat. Mr.ShyViolet and I have been vegan and/or vegetarian for almost ten years now. There was no question that we would incorporate it into our wedding, it is just a matter of how to do it so that all of our guests are happy. Not that I expect them to complain, but I just really want to share with them a little glimpse of the things we love and are passionate about, like yummy vegan food.
NYamber, I am glad you mentioned family style. I have been debating about this. One caterer we met with advised against it because the tables might get crowded with dishes, but I am in favor of it for exactly the reason you mentioned. We might have food people aren't used to, and with family style they could feel more comfortable sampling new things and going back for more.
Which brings us to aiee's question, what are we serving? I don't know(!), but here are some thoughts: for the cocktail hour ~ fresh fruit, hummus with veggies, bruschetta on crostini, grilled polenta with pesto, and for dinner ~ mixed green salad with dried cranberries and carmelized walnuts in a balsamic vinaigrette, avocado-cucumber soup, chilled gazpacho, fresh bread with olive oil, herb mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, white beans and spinach, penne with tomatoe and garlic sauce, veggies over pasta with a cashew cream sauce, ratatouille over rice... and of course a tower of vegan cupcakes!
So what do you think bees? Which ones sound good? And can I get away with pasta dishes as a "main course"?
posted by ShyViolet 11 posts 5 months agowe are doing mostly vegetarian and some vegan buffet and using a sustainable slow-food caterer. we did our tasting last week (booked them before doing a tasting because I'd had the food before at an event) and it was fanastic. I was concerned over how my dad would like the food and he loved it.
I debated between an organic caterer that I know and one that is more into the sustainable slow food movement and ultimately it came down to price and quality of food and flavor, and for that the local sustainable caterer won. Though FI and I eat organic whenever possible, we felt it better to use the local farms and food the the region to celebrate Northern California Cuisine and share it with our guests.
Our cake is organic dairy. But I'll be making a homeade cookie dessert bar and doing a couple different Vegan/Gluten free desserts for our guests that can't have cake.
It's exciting to hear how others are going about the veg process! GoVEG!
posted by glittergrl 320 posts 5 months agoshyviolet--i think you can definitely "get away" with serving pasta as your main course (if your families/friends are big meat eaters, they may appreciate the familiarity), though it might be nice to do a fancier presentation than penne. a lasagnette or manicotti made up of layers of the delicious cashew cream, pesto and asparagus would probably be really tasty and appealing as fancy food the non-veg. the white beans and spinach side dish sounds like a good idea too as it'll shut up some of the protein questions (ooh, am i a little oversensitive about that?). and your cocktail hour and soups all sound very tasty! and yay cupcakes! are you using vctotw cupcakes?
glittergrl--what are you having? it's so awesome you're providing vegan/gluten free dessert! you reminded me that i need to figure out my gluten free options.
we're doing our wedding about 75% vegan (everything but 1/2 the cocktail hour will be vegan). it feels a little icky to be having meat in the beginning, but my boyfriend does eat meat and i wanted him to have some special treats too (he doesn't really eat meat at home). i also have to be able to feed my super-picky grandma, and that pretty much has to involve meat unless i just give her cookies (she's always so sweet about feeding me with my incomprehensible--to her--diet that i feel like i need to do the same for her). at the moment the plan is to do a sit down dinner serving a salad with a raw cashew/basil cream "ravioli" on top, a mushroom tart with the smoked apple field roast, caramelized onions and a wine sauce with green beans and truffled roasted potatoes alongside (that feels like a lot of starch to me, but the caterer insists that it's better with a starchy side dish--anyone care to comment?). then some passed desserts (mini pies! banana fritters! sorbet cones!) and a giant, vegan wedding cake! cocktail hour's going to have borscht shots, summer rolls, and two other things i'm forgetting right now as well as a handful of meaty things like shrimp skewers, tuna tartare, and little cuban sandwiches.
any advice? sound tasty? should we switch anything around? we're still in the preliminary phase of picking food.
posted by aiee 21 posts 5 months agoaiee, that sounds delicious! I'm hungry and you made my mouth water in jealousy! If omnivores don't like that, they don't like good food.
We're planning on having an entirely local, organic, vegetarian meal as both me and the FI are vegetarian. We figure that omnis eat vegetarian food already, so it really shouldn't be a problem for them to go without meat for one meal. We are having an afternoon, casual affair so we don't expect anyone to really notice the lack of meat anyway. It might be more acute of an issue at a formal, sit down dinner.
posted by MegK 25 posts 5 months agothanks MegK! I think you're totally right about people not missing meat in the afternoon, especially when it's warm out. Of course genius that i am decided a vegan, winter, sit down dinner wedding was the way to go...
posted by aiee 21 posts 5 months agoI worried about the mass of dishes for Family style too. I was going to opt for a Stir Fry station with veggies and tofu, but my FH thought we'd end up with too much food! I'm trying to be contiencious of waste and of making sure there are too many dishes that are too ethnic. It's so hard! At some point I'm just going to say F it and tell them to cook what I want! I mean, come on, Polenta isn't Ethinic! Anyone else getting too much advice about their Veggie Wedding Meal?
posted by NYAmber 40 posts 5 months agoyeah, a lot of our more "ethnic" ideas got shot down too because they might not be popular. what dishes are you deciding between, maybe folks on here can help?
maybe a crepe station? that's not as "scary" as tofu and stir fry but can still incorporate lots of vegetables as well as tofu in the fillings for the crepes.
posted by aiee 21 posts 5 months agoEven though we did meat, our Antipasti Station (had almost no meat, but you could delete all, and vegans could remove the cheese aspect: i.e. do marinated olives, roasted veggies with pesto minus the cheese, pickled veggies) and our Salad Station (we did Beet with Goat Cheese, Potato with Vinaigrette, and Grain and Roasted Veggie) were devoured by everyone. Even minus the dairy on these and they would've been very "normal" choices for most people.
We also did a Shrimp and Grits station but had a BBQ'd Tofu option for veggies.
I concur too--buffet, station, or warm-weather affairs, people tend to not miss meat as much at all.
posted by lotusmoss 99 posts 5 months agoOh wow, it's nice to hear that others are throwing successful vegan/vegetarian receptions as well! The FI and I are both strict vegetarians, and we are excited (and a little scared) to show off how truly delicious being a vegetarian can be.
We're in the early planning stages, but we are talking about having a mostly appetizer reception, with a pasta station to honor my Italian heritage and a latke and toppings station to honor his Jewish family. I figure that our families will be so excited to see some familiar (carb-tastic!) comfort food that they won't be missing their artery-clogging bacon-wrapped filet mignons for very long.
Anyone ever been to a wedding where there was absolutely nothing to eat for a vegetarian? Or the vegetarian choice is yet another overcooked, soggy giant portobello mushroom (or am I the only vegetarian that hates mushrooms?)
posted by thriftsiren 19 posts 5 months agoWe had a mostly vegan reception. It was a buffet and we had one polenta dish that had some kind of dairy in it and we had some kind of beef tips or something.
We were going to go completely meatless, but I didn't want to hear it from our families. They would've complained endlessly and I just didn't want to deal with that.
posted by radish 156 posts 5 months agothriftsiren--yeah, i shot down the caterer on the grilled portobellos so fast he was kind of offended. i actually like mushrooms, but i _hate_ grilled portobello as the vegetarian option (so boring, so badly done, no protein!). all the weddings i've been to have been pretty decent (even as a vegan, which was shocking). i've been to subject to some really, dramatically bad banquet food at other events (an entire plate of defrosted frozen veggie mix, totally plain comes to mind).
posted by aiee 21 posts 5 months agothriftsiren, I love mushrooms, but I do hear you on the often lack-luster way they are presented when they are the "veg option." Kind of like the "veggie sandwich" at most delis-- lettuce, tomato and onion on a sub roll... ugh.
ShyViolet, your menu sounds delish. I do agree with aiee about making the pasta dish a little more elegant. I've seen some yummy presentations of variations on lasagna.
I also have a great Vegetarian Wellington recipe. PM me if you'd like me to email it to you.
aiee, can I come to your wedding???
Truffled roasted potatoes and bananna fritters-- YUM!!
posted by beanchar 95 posts 5 months agobeanchar--totally, we'll just boot out some misbehaving family members for you!
posted by aiee 21 posts 5 months agoi love mushrooms. i even drove out to the mushroom festival in kennett square. pa last year. but even i get really tired of the same portabello dish as the token veggie option, i have to agree.
aiee, thanks for the ideas. i will definitely talk to the caterers about a layered cashew cream lasagna and see what they can do. as for vctotw cupcakes, ooh i hope so, i am tempted to make them myself but i should probably hire a professional. your menu sounds awesome! i wouldn't change a thing.
glittergrl, i would also be interested in what you are serving for gluten-free folks. i need to be thinking about that too...
posted by ShyViolet 11 posts 5 months agoShyViolet--no problem! i'm home from work today, and obviously have food on my mind and time on my hands! Thanks for the outside approval, from the inside, i just keep thinking, oh my god, too starchy!
I initially thought I'd do vctotw cupcakes myself, but then the boyfriend decided he really wanted a cake, so we've gotten a baker (lotus cake studio, they're in philly, awesome, and do 95% or more vegan cakes and will do cupcakes too. we're not having the wedding in philly, but she's still a deal for nyc even with a delivery charge)
posted by aiee 21 posts 5 months agogreat post!
we are also having an all vegan buffet catered by Real Food Daily of West Hollywood! it's very nice to see that i am not alone. me and my fiance are both vegan and so is his sister and his uncle and several other guests as well. so i hope it goes well.
we are about to start planning the menu so i love hearing what other people served or will serve.
P.S. you will all appreciate this link: http://www.vegnews.com/wedding_2006.html
click on the couples name and it will give details about their all-vegan weddings including detailed menus.
posted by SugaryRocks 60 posts 5 months ago