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5-Star vegan catering in mid-Michigan? Please help!

chaiteachickchaiteachick member
First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
in Michigan-Lansing
Hey everyone, 

I'm new to this board, mainly because we don't know our exact location yet. We're thinking somewhere in mid-Michigan, between the western half of the Detroit suburbs and Grand Rapids (huge area, I know). I don't yet know if it will be closer to Lansing or Grand Rapids. 

Our problem is that we need a fantastic, quite specific location, that also either allows outside catering or that provides fantastic vegan food. We don't want any pasta or eggplant parmesan! As we feel that venue and catering are the most important aspects of our wedding, we want to really get the bang for our buck. The problem is that most or all of the great venues I've found don't allow outside catering, and if they even have a vegetarian or vegan option, it's really a quite bad one. 

For reference, we're looking for a large, beautiful, airy ballroom (lots of windows, French doors, etc. that can be open for the entire reception), on the ground floor, with doors leading out to beautiful lawns and gardens. It needs to be airy and sunny, per FI's request, and it can't just be an outdoor wedding and reception, per my own request. Also, we hope to scout these places online, as we have to travel approximately 6000 miles to see the venues, so we'd like to have a short-list in advance.

Does anyone have any ideas at all about what I'm supposed to do? Do you think that a venue would be willing to provide a special vegan menu, if requested? 

Thanks! :)
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Re: 5-Star vegan catering in mid-Michigan? Please help!

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    gailpetegailpete member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    If you talk to the venues (particularly the ones that actually have a head chef), they may be willing to prepare dishes, if you supply the recipes. DD's reception was at Walnut Hills Country Club and the chef made Maryland Crab Cakes for us from my mother's recipe.   They may charge you more, if you are using ingredients they don't normally stock.  The Kellogg Center at Michigan State also will work with you on a menu.
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    chaiteachickchaiteachick member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Thanks! So do you think we should look at venues that we like, even if their menus don't seem to be the most accommodating? I did find one caterer that looks promising, but again, the problem is that most places don't allow outside catering. 
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    gailpetegailpete member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I would at least contact the wedding coordinator at each site you are interested in and tell them the kind of menu you want and ask if they can accomodate that, especially if you provide the recipes.  How many guests are you planning on?  We may be able to help you narrow down locations.

    It will be harder to find a ballroom type venue that will allow outside catering, but shouldn't be impossible.

    Are all of your guests vegan?  I ask, because for those guests that aren't adventuresome eaters a vegan menu may seem intimidating.  For example, I don't eat mushrooms (and I know I'm not alone), and from what I've seen vegetarian and vegan menus can have a lot of mushrooms.  You are free to serve whatever type of food you want, but please be sure to take other tastes into account when deciding on a final menu.  A pasta dish may seem bland to you, but comforting to some of your guests.
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    gailpetegailpete member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I would at least contact the wedding coordinator at each site you are interested in and tell them the kind of menu you want and ask if they can accomodate that, especially if you provide the recipes.  How many guests are you planning on?  We may be able to help you narrow down locations.

    It will be harder to find a ballroom type venue that will allow outside catering, but shouldn't be impossible.

    Are all of your guests vegan?  I ask, because for those guests that aren't adventuresome eaters a vegan menu may seem intimidating.  For example, I don't eat mushrooms (and I know I'm not alone), and from what I've seen vegetarian and vegan menus can have a lot of mushrooms.  You are free to serve whatever type of food you want, but please be sure to take other tastes into account when deciding on a final menu.  A pasta dish may seem bland to you, but comforting to some of your guests.
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    chaiteachickchaiteachick member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    See, that's what I thought about the menu--my family has a TOOONNNN of hunters--but FI is being pretty non-negotiable about this. In the end, I hope to have a few options, possibly including a GOOD pasta, especially because I know a lot of people don't like exotic vegan food. :-P To be honest, I'm not even vegetarian; I just stay away from factory-farmed meat and dairy products. (Oh, and I'm also not usually a fan of mushrooms. ;) )

    It's still early in the planning process, so we will see if, ultimately, we stick with a full-on vegan menu. I think his main problem is that, since he's probably the one paying for it, he doesn't want to pay for a bunch of animals to be slaughtered, and whatnot. ;) 

    I never would have thought to contact the coordinator ahead of time; what a great idea! Also, since I have a huge family, we are assuming somewhere around 200-300 people, altogether. (This is quite the shaky number, as we don't have a family headcount yet, and don't know whether or not we will be inviting children as well, but it's a decent approximation.) 

    What do you think? Also, thanks so much for your help! 
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    gailpetegailpete member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I understand your FI's position, but ask him how he feels when he goes to an event and the host and hostess have not made at least a vegetarian entree (I know not everyone realizes there is a difference between vegan and vegetarian) available for him.  A good host cares about their guests comfort and does what they can to make sure that everyone is comfortable. You may also need to consider if any of your choices will be acceptable for a gluten free diet. 

    For as many people as you may be looking at, check with Eagle Eye Banquet center in the Lansing area.  They do have doors opening onto a porch and overlooks a golf course, so it is pretty.  I'm not sure how flexible they are with their menu, however.  Kellogg Center at Michigan State can also handle a group that size.

    Another option you may want to consider, since you are planning from a distance, is hiring a local wedding planner.  They would be able to help you narrow down choices and have a larger knowledge base of the local venues.  If you want to look into that, I would recommend Lynn Lucas from W.E.D.  She does a great job and is very reasonably priced.  She'll give you as much or as little help as you may want.

    I'm happy to help.  Where are you planning from?  Enjoy.
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    chaiteachickchaiteachick member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Thanks so much; I did mention to FI that, likelier than not, he is going to probably have to compromise and at least offer a familiar vegetarian dish--like pasta with parm, as an example--for those who just wig out at the mention of veganism (read: my dad). We will see what the options are, once we look at some venues. 

    Thanks for the venue ideas; we will look into them! :) 

    We're going to be going to the USA to plan, and to get our visa stuff in order, either this summer or this fall. We're trying to avoid a coordinator, since we're also going to be planning and paying for a smaller celebration here, but if we find out that we need one, I will definitely look Lynn up! 

    Oh, and we're planning from the middle east. x-P Thanks! 
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    amandancer05amandancer05 member
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    The Soup Spoon here in Lansing does catering and I know they are very popular with  vegetarian/vegan friends of mine.

    The Grand Ledge Opera House has huge windows and doors that open to a beautiful landscape and is ball roomy, but it might be tight for that many guests. They allow outside catering but there's a fee to use their kitchen (or something).

    The Ingham County Fair Building will accomodate your party size and outside catering but is kinda dark. There is a park with a stream next door though.
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    chaiteachickchaiteachick member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Wow, thanks sooo much for the suggestions! We will definitely be checking them out! 

    I did consider the Grand Ledge Opera House, but was also worried about the size. I guess we're going to find out! :) 
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