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Wedding Cakes & Food Forum
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Totally vegan wedding menu... Thoughts?
Hi everyone! I've been lurking for a while trying to figure our the best etiquette to have a completely vegan reception for our guests at our wedding next May. My fiance and I have been vegan for many years now and paying for food that isn't vegan would be completely against our morals, and when every event and restaurant we go to ends up being a struggle to find something to eat we do not want our wedding to feel that way at all. That being said we want to make sure our guests really enjoy the food and that there is a variety that has something for everyone. We didn't want to go crazy with the "mock meat/cheese" products because those seem somewhat deceptive and are not always received well by meat lovers. Here is what we have so far that has been proposed by our caterer:
- Mixed Green Salad with Seasonal Berries, Toasted Walnuts & Lavender Vinaigrette
- Vegan “Chicken” Pot Pie with Seasonal Vegetables
- Stuffed Squash with Blackened Tempeh (Smiling Hara) & Braised Baby Chard topped with Fried Leeks
- Garlicky Mashed Potatoes
- Smoked Broth Braised Collards
- Three Bean Salad with Fresh Herb Vinaigrette
- Roasted Broccoli with Lemon, Garlic & Sunflower Seeds
- Cornbread with Sorghum “Butter”
We also have several options we can substitute in if we don't like one of the menu items or think something else would go over better with guests.
Substitutions:
- Lentil & Mushroom Sheppard’s Pie
- Ratatouille
- Late Spring Vegetable Pasta with Fresh Herbs
- Wild Rice & Quinoa Salad with Sugar Blanched Pecans and Sour Cherries
- Wilted Sesame Kale Salad with Braised Radishes
- Green Beans w/ House Smoked Sea Salt Almonds
- Maple Roasted Buttercup Squash
- New Potatoes w/ Lemon, Chives and Olive Oil
- Spicy Mustard Greens w/ Cumin
- Saffron Roasted Cauliflower
- Herbed Squash Casserole
We aren't having a true cocktail "hour" as we are doing a first look/family pictures before the ceremony, so will only have about 30-45 of down time as guests walk up the hill from our ceremony space to the reception space, where dinner will be served almost immediately. That being said we decided to go light on the Hors d’oeuvres. Do you think we should have more than this? (Short ceremony at 4:00 pm and dinner at 5:15 pm)
- Crudités - Fresh Vegetables with a choice of “Really Good” Vegan Ranch Dip, Smoked Tomato Hummus or Green Tomato & Charred Corn Basil Salsa with Pickled Okra, GF Wafers & Sourdough Crostini
- Bar Snacks: Cumin Fried Chickpeas
One final question, should we announce that it is a vegan only reception before the wedding? It's going to be buffet style so people can pick and choose whatever they want, and there is going to be no "food choice" option on the invites. I'm not trying to trick people into eating vegan food, but I also don't want it to go to waste because some people are just so turned off by the word vegan that they refuse to even give the food a chance.
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Re: Totally vegan wedding menu... Thoughts?
I think lentil and mushroom shepherd's pie and the pasta with veggies will be your best entrees for more traditional/carnivorous eaters. It's normal enough for them that they obviously know what it is and something they may eat anyway. Does that make sense?
All your sides look fantastic.
ETA: I think subbing the almond green beans for braised collards would be a good idea.
I'm with everyone else. I am totally fine with an all vegan menu, but I will not eat tofu, and I will not eat fake meat. Chicken pot pie is one of my all-time favourite things in the whole entire world - but if it's fake chicken, I would spit it out and then cry. Mushrooms are not my favourite thing, but I would (gladly) eat the lentil & mushroom shepherd's pie before I eat the 'chicken' pot pie.
Your sides look amazing.
I don't think you necessarily need to let people know beforehand that it's going to be all vegan... we didn't tell everyone that our buffet was going to be ham & turkey. But you need to be close enough to a traditional diet so that your guests aren't turned off.
I definitely agree with PPs to be mindful of allergies.
I'm an omnivore, and when I eat meat I prefer that it is actually meat and not "meat" or tofu.
That being said, the pasta, roasted cauliflower, squash casserole, and new potatoes sound mouth-wateringly amazing.
To answer your question - YES - please let your guests know ahead of time it'll be a vegan meal!!! Not out of etiquette, but courtesy because of food issues/sensitivities (it's a lot easier to work with your caterer on these when you know about them ahead of time - plus, quite honestly, the menu is so heavily carb focused, I'd appreciate knowing to plan stopping to get something to eat before the meal if I was at an event with this menu "it's not you, it's me!").
My concern also comes in the form of what many PP have already mentioned. Food allergies and sensitivities. Also, fake meat, isn't meat, don't try to claim it is, tofu is just nasty, choose an over the top vegan dish, not "it's just like chicken".. A vegetarian meal is an easier "sell" than full-on vegan, but it's your day, your choice. You may end up paying for a lot of food that's going to go straight into the compost bin depending on the demographic of your average guests. I'm not going to say "Serve ham at a Jewish wedding" for example, but strike a balance with who your guests are, not the vegans you wish they'd be.
I want to know just how big this hill is that guests will be required to climb, in heels no less!
Okay so based on the suggestions we need to eliminate the fake chicken and tempeh. I was kind of thinking that would be the consensus since a lot of people don't know what tempeh is and mock chicken sounds scary (even though it actually is really good imo!).
Ditto. That's definitely not a meal in my book. And while I like the 3 items above (though I can't eat walnuts on the salad), if I didn't - to say that means I'm not a grown up is ridiculous.
Not being able to survive an evening on this menu, if you don't have actual food allergies, is absurd, childish, and not something the rest of us need to cater to.
Just going to give my thoughts.... You REALLY REALLY need to know your circle. I have actually never heard of this happening.. In my circle my reception would be ending way sooner then I had planned if I served this option. I can give you a lot of debates on tofu and how unhealthy it is as well. At this point the reception is a thank you to your guests.. not you imposing your morals on the rest of them.Had you not said anything about your morals I would not have written that but if as I guest I were to hear that I would eye roll. Because I choose not to be vegan I have bad morals? I know it's going to the extreme but people like to read into things. I think I would put somewhere it will be an all vegan menu so people aren't surprised.
That's nice for you I guess! So I assume you're not okay with dry weddings because the couple has a religious objection to alcohol right?
There's plenty of delicious vegan food out there and plenty of it that don't involve mock meats. And even so, eating tofu for one meal isn't going to kill anyone no matter how unhealthy you feel it may be - are you going to suggest she not serve soda and especially not diet soda because high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners are also unhealthy? And having one meal without meat never killed anyone. Generally, humans who eat animal products are not carnivores, they are omnivores, meaning they eat a varied diet including plants. We're not polar bears that can only eat meat. People who eat meat are capable of enjoying foods that don't include meat. I somehow managed to eat a big salad of lettuce, onion, cucumber, chickpeas, and tomatoes for lunch today and a dinner of black beans, rice, and avocado for dinner last night and live to tell the tale.
And she never said she's planning to shame all her omnivore friends at her wedding - just that she and her FI don't feel comfortable spending their money to purchase animal products and wants to stick to what beliefs guide her life whilst providing delicious food for her guests. It doesn't sound like she's making PETA pamphlets her favors at every place setting and hanging a "Meat is Murder" banner as part of her decorations.
Some people are just going to reject tofu, tempeh, and seitan sight unseen because it's unfamiliar and they aren't willing to be open minded about it, but I think it doesn't help the stigma when there are cases when people try to make it mimic things it's not. It's nice for the people who already are veg*n who can create old favorites they miss, it's just not the way to convince people who aren't veg*n and leaves the door wide open for them to call it "fake whatever".
Do what works for you, but don't be even a little surprised if people bail early to go get a meal they like.
Don't do fake meat. Stick with dishes where meat and dairy won't be missed too much. Vegan korma, vegan chili (hmm, no cheese with chili does sound a bit sad, though), vegan pasta, vegetarian spring rolls. Make sure you're loading them up with legumes, since those are the true "meat substitutes." The quickest way to draw attention to your all vegan menu is to offer bacon substitutes!
What are you planning on doing for coffee? To me this will be your most challenging part, since there's no true substitute for cream.
Even when I was eating meat I was pretty adventurous, and would have at least tried anything you served. It's hard to please a big crowd with food, just be mindful of allergens and other sensitivities.