We were looking at the Citrus Club for a venue for our ceremony and reception. It was not our #1 choice, but it was high up there and it was my parents' #1 choice (they are paying).
Now, my fiance and I are vegan and therefore are having an entirely vegan wedding. Since of course many vendors don't offer vegan services or don't understand what vegan means, that has always been something we have made clear in our first communication we have had with each and every vendor. I don't want to waste their valuable time (I feel as though that it is rude to lead on a vendor) and I definitely don't want to waste my time when I'm planning a wedding in 8 months while also trying to handle the most difficult semester of my college career.
When I contacted the Citrus Club (they do their catering in house and only allow cakes from one baker), the first question I asked was if they could do an entirely vegan wedding. In their contact form they even had a section to select if you needed to cater to an alternative diet. I was pretty impressed, however I also asked for sample menus just to be sure the food looked like something our omni guests would like (literally the LAST thing we want to serve is tofu and quinoa).
They responded by saying they do "vegan packages." And sent me a PDF of all of their packages. None were vegan. It took me two more tries to get a sample menu, and during this time I also contacted the baker. Today I finally get a copy of their vegan menu, which is also their gluten free and vegetarian menu (which baffles me since those are all very different diets). It was 3 items. The items were Caribbean tofu, fried rice, and quinoa stuffed peppers. For a $13,000+ wedding. The response from the baker was that they absolutely do not do vegan cakes.
I was so upset and offended that this women wasted so much of my time, and I also felt as though any vegetarians or clients with celiac disease would also feel pretty upset if they were lead to get their hopes up for a venue only to figure out it could never work.
I guess I'm just ranting but so far other vendors have been fairly straightforward with me about whether or not they can meet our needs. I'm not going to be offended or upset that someone can't cater a vegan wedding. It takes a whole different skill set. Some venues have said no, some have said yes but have given me a lackluster menu right up front, and others have gone out of their way to show me their options and work with me.
However it does bother me that a well respected venue lied to me and wasted this much of my time (plus they got my parents hopes up out the atmosphere. They are paying and they had fallen in love with the place). Maybe I'm just venting but grrr.