How to word a vegetarian alternative on reply card

rknox88

My fiance and I are having a local BBQ joint cater our reception (we are from Kansas City so its only appropriate We have a few vegetarian friends and few friends who are semi-vegetarian who might want meat or might want the veggie alternative the caterer offers.  The BBQ dinner is buffet style so we need to know how many veggie sandwiches will need to be prepared in advance.  How would you ask this on your reply card?

Right now we just have the standard

M___________________

____Graciously accepts

____ Regretfully declines

and also have this

Please indicate how many guests in your party would prefer a vegetarian dinner alternative:

____

Is that ok?  Should it be worded differently?

danieliza1127

That seems okay to me. 

scoetto

I would just say

Please indicate meal choice:
____ Meat
____ Vegetarian

or something similar. I'd list both to keep the numbers straight.

mandybear7

I would go scoetto's way, more because I like things concise. The sentence is wordy. Maybe the options of

_____ BBQ Buffet

_____ Vegetarian alternative

unplainjane

i think the original way you have it is great. since it's a bbq buffet i don't think you need to have people check that as the option. you just need to know how many vegetarian meals you need. instead of veggie sandwiches maybe consider having a veg option such as pasta and maybe have a fish included in the buffet as some vegetarians eat fish.

pirategal03

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_word-vegetarian-alternative-reply-card-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:64ea093c-42d3-40a3-93a7-4be99f06566fPost:294ede7d-f9a5-43ff-aaf3-b2bb73f99286">Re: How to word a vegetarian alternative on reply card</a>:
[QUOTE]I would go scoetto's way, more because I like things concise. The sentence is wordy. Maybe the options of _____ BBQ Buffet _____ Vegetarian alternative
Posted by mandybear7[/QUOTE]

I like this option.  It gives your guests a little more information to go on.

Kristin789

Tell the caterer to put vegetables or veg sandwiches on the buffet.  That way, no one is singled out and embarassed.  Everyone gets up and goes to the buffet, and gets whatever they choose that very night.

rak123

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_word-vegetarian-alternative-reply-card-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:64ea093c-42d3-40a3-93a7-4be99f06566fPost:5efbc802-953e-44cb-b5b4-5d0e2319acb2">Re: How to word a vegetarian alternative on reply card</a>:
[QUOTE]Tell the caterer to put vegetables or veg sandwiches on the buffet.  That way, no one is singled out and embarassed.  Everyone gets up and goes to the buffet, and gets whatever they choose that very night.
Posted by Kristin789[/QUOTE]

Why in the world would anyone be embarassed about being a vegetarian?? 

ohwhynot

Kristin, she still needs to know how much veggie food to have her caterer prepare. 

danieliza1127

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_word-vegetarian-alternative-reply-card-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:64ea093c-42d3-40a3-93a7-4be99f06566fPost:f5ff1e4c-4730-41fe-9c90-a73199ba8a9a">Re: How to word a vegetarian alternative on reply card</a>:
[QUOTE]Kristin, she still needs to know how much veggie food to have her caterer prepare. 
Posted by ohwhynot[/QUOTE]

I think Kristin's suggestion was that if it's just added to the buffet like any other buffet food, she wouldn't need to know how much to prepare.  You know?  Like if it was treated like any other main dish or side dish on the buffet.

mseale

If you just set out veggie sandwiches as part of the buffet, some people will still grab them even though they did not state that on the RSVP.  You really should just have it incorporated into the buffet if you are going that route.

meredithrohter

Please do NOT put the veggie meals on the buffet. People who are not vegetarians will grab them and then the vegetarians will be stuck with nothing to eat (I have had this happen before) and then you are sitting there hungry and crabby. Having them brought to the people isn't a big deal.  I like the wording of meat and vegetarian.

danieliza1127

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_word-vegetarian-alternative-reply-card-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:64ea093c-42d3-40a3-93a7-4be99f06566fPost:0c2c1d79-7798-498c-bf41-1238e422de07">Re: How to word a vegetarian alternative on reply card</a>:
[QUOTE]Please do NOT put the veggie meals on the buffet. People who are not vegetarians will grab them and then the vegetarians will be stuck with nothing to eat (I have had this happen before) and then you are sitting there hungry and crabby. Having them brought to the people isn't a big deal.  I like the wording of meat and vegetarian.
Posted by meredithrohter@gmail.com[/QUOTE]

That won't happen if it's prepared and refilled just like any other buffet item would be.  I don't know why this is such a hard concept to grasp.

ginaweena418

we added a "vegetarian option available upon request" disclaimer to our response cards much like you suggested in your original post.  for our venue,  the veg option isn't really a choice for everyone so much as it is something that's available for those folks who are vegetarians (of which we only have a few).