Wedding menu

Some weird responses.

Of course a wedding reflects the couple's beliefs and culture. If guests accept the invitation yes, it 'forces' it on them for the day if you're the kind of person who chooses to see things like that.

Vegetarianism is part of the OP and her fiancé's ethical beliefs. These are as valid as any religious reasons for not serving any or certain meats at a wedding and nobody would question those.

Serve vegetarian food only. Most people will expect it. Even committed and unadventurous meat eaters will sometimes order macaroni cheese or Margherita pizza voluntarily so it's bollocks that they'll be left bereft if they can't have meat.

As a PP says, goats cheese is quite divisive as are mushrooms and butternut squash so I would make sure there are options with none of these.

Don't apologise for not having meat and don't make a big deal of it.

Just order a veggie menu all meat eaters eat vegetables

Also nobody I know eats meat in every single meal anyway, due to health reasons mostly. The one guest that "didn't eat vegetarian food" had the grace to admit he hadn't really thought about the fact that salad, potatoes, couscous, chickpeas, lentils etc are all vegetarian.

I wouldn't have eaten the fake chorizo either, it's rank. I don't eat frankenfood and neither does anyone else in my family.

I think you're well within your rights to serve a vegetarian menu, but you will have to toughen up a bit and accept that some guests will be disappointed. There are still a lot of people who don't feel satisfied by a vegetarian meal and won't view your menu as a celebration meal or anything to get excited about. Hopefully nobody will be rude enough to upset you on the day (I would eat what I was given and stfu), but some will be wishing there was meat. That's life, people differ. If you've decided that your principles are more important than pleasing everyone, then own that decision and don't scrutinise everyone's reactions and expect universal rapture from people who wouldn't choose to eat that way.

I went to a wedding that was vegetarian catering for all, it went down like a lead balloon and the guests were bribing the hotel staff for bacon sandwiches.

We didn't serve meat at our wedding, and of our entire wedding only 1 person said something beforehand but then on the day everyone raved about the food and said it was so much better than the standard roast dinner served at weddings.

I've literally just hosted an evening of kids, adults and teens, all eating and drinking. Around half were vegetarian, so I made vegetarian food for everyone, to save any cross-contamination/accidental meat eating (happened previously ) etc. Everyone was happy with it. I'd be amazed at someone 'kicking off' because their meat needs weren't met for one meal.

Should two meat eaters serve meat, vegetarian and vegan options?

Im not vegetarian but I enjoy a lot of vegetarian dishes so no meat wouldn’t bother me. But I think it will bother others.

Congratulations on your engagement OP. You and DFiancé should absolutely have a menu that makes you happy and does not cause you any ethical concerns. Serve food you like and give no thought about what people like your future BIL might think. There are some amazing examples of CFs on here - people who are unkind, impose on others, are rude/demanding - you don't fit the bill for a Bridezilla by serving a delicious pasta dish, and lots of starters and desserts are veggie by default?! Wishing you all the best.

But I don't think people should be made to try things they don't want I don't get the superiority there. You wouldn't try a meat product, someone else wouldn't try a fake meat product, can you not see the irony?

I see your point, but there are other options for vegetarian roast dinners. Plus, there would be no meat on their plates to remove. If it’s a good restaurant it would be lovely, the best part of a roast even for me as a meat eater is all the veg and Yorkshire puddings! But I do see what you’re saying.

A meatless roast dinner would be my idea of heaven, @MereDintofPandiculation! If we’re going back to the 1960s, the poor veggies would have probably got a pile of grated cheese and a limp lettuce leaf while they enviously eyed up the delicious roast veg 😂

Veggie pasta and pizza sounds great. Vegetarian Indian food sounds even better if you are Indian! I would pick one “plain food” option on the menu for any unadventurous eaters and fussy children, something without any controversial ingredients, like goats cheese or mushrooms, and that most meat eaters eat regularly eg Margarita pizza or a cheddar and onion quiche or mozzarella and tomato ravioli.

Avoid quorn! Fake meat is grim anyway but lots of people are intolerant to quorn. The last thing you want is guests trying it for the first time and spending half the night in the loo 😂

Yes I know but I thought the comment the OP made about BIL's attitude to fake meat was unreasonable

Can I come please OP? Menu looks fab, venue is gorgeous and now you say they have their own gin? Sounds absolutely perfect

I'd be happy to pay for a chicken breast or a steak or salmon fillet myself but I'd not go if I didn't like any of the food. As for the grooms comment about McDonald's I don't eat substandard food.

To be honest, if a wedding guest 'fell out' with me for not serving meat at a vegetarian's wedding, I would find it fairly easy to pay it no mind whatsoever.

I'm not a vegetarian, OP, but probably wouldn't even notice the absence of meat with a selection of delicious foods. Surely everyone can manage one event without meat being served, even if it's not their first choice.

I've been to loads of events where the food wasn't my choice, but 99% of people can soldier on without their 'ideal' meal for one day!

@movingforward96 The OP hasn't mentioned fake meat products in the context of the wedding, only in the meal they made at home. It's perfectly possible to make a pasta sauce or great tasting pizza with vegetables only.

Have a vegetarian wedding. One of the best weddings I’ve been to was vegetarian. The food was lovely and plentiful and wholesome. I eat meat, but I’m more than happy to support someone serving the food that suits them and their values. After all, every wedding menu is the bride and groom telling you what you are eating. Most people probably don’t want a chicken ballantine, or a smoked trout with beetroot creme, but if that’s the menu choices, that’s what you’re eating. It’s no different just because it’s veg. I think anyone who takes issue with not getting a steak at a wedding is probably just a bit pathetic.

If you're serving Italian food then the menu choices will be superb for vegetarians.

Also, if you're in a good location, the meat eaters are welcome to grab a kebab after the wedding breakfast.

Sorry, that was a misunderstanding. I did see your point about the fake meat but assumed that was just an extra point to your argument.

OP I am gluten free and was pescatarian when I got married.
We chose our menu to suit we had a fish option or a vegetarian option. We did so because we wanted to enjoy the same as everyone else, not have to wait for a special meal etc and between the 2 options it covered every dietary requirement of friends (not only mine).

The only person who complained about it was my obnoxious brother who then ate cheese later in the evening (we did a "cheese cake" for evening food). Everyone else loved the food (we went for tapas sharing boards and paella with salads). Several friends who got married after us did the same thing as it worked well (especially for dietary requirements)

Most meat eater don't eat meat at every meal, and quite a few meat eaters won't eat meat at every dinner. So I honestly don't see why having a meatless meal should make them uncomfortable.

If I was attending the wedding of two vegetarians I would fully expect the whole menu to be vegetarian. I find it bizarre the extent to which some people are horrified by the idea of a being served a lentil bolognese rather than a meat one.

Do these people not eat anything non-meat in the course of their lives? No veg, no salad, no fruit, no bread or cereals or grains?