What's the worst meal you've been served at a wedding?

[Higgeldypiggeldy35]

I'm veggie so unfortunately have had my fair share of shitty wedding meals as the vegetarians often seem to get shafted but this one takes the biscuit. Fancy wedding, very expensive and exclusive venue, meat eaters had a feast and it looked amazing, I was served......a grilled mushroom, and it was cold. This place is probably £100 per head at the very least and the best they could rustle up for a vegetarian was a mushroom. So, make me feel better, what's the worst meal you've been served?
This is meant to be light hearted 🐱

The lack of easy ready food is a pain, so sad when walking past the bakery section in a shop and thinking of all those things I could get if I could eat gluten. Macdonalds here does gluten free burger buns but I'm not a fan of them, much prefer Hesburger but there's nowhere in my town for such food anyway. There's GF pizza from kebab shops but its not good, supermarket frozen pizzas are better.

@ManifestDestinee I do think it’s lazy not to distinguish between veggies and vegans. It’s a bit like a meat eater being told they can only have a roast without gravy, because some meat eaters can’t eat gravy. Fair enough, dietary box ticked, but it takes a lot of the enjoyment out of the meal for everyone

Which is exactly how mass catering works for meat eaters too! There are literally posters on this thread talking about a lack of gravy.

I’ve been to loads of weddings in both England and Ireland.

It is unusual tohave a buffet for the main reception in Ireland. It’s usual to have a four course meal - generally a choice of starters, a soup (usually no choice but vegetarian), choice of main (usually two choices plus a vegetarian option - so three choices for omnivores but just the one for veggies) and most weddings I’ve been to have served a trio of desserts e.g. mini mousse, meringue and cheesecake on a plate. Obviously with options for veggie/vegan guests.

The standard of food has varied, I’ve been served fairly toughbeef for example, but tbh I’ve never had a really awful meal. The ‘bad’ ones have been very average rather than awful.

The English weddings i’ve attended have been a mixture of buffets, carvery and sit down three course meals. Usually no choice on the sit down meals, bar for dietary reasons. I’ve attended a couple of veggie weddings - both buffets. Again I appear to have been really lucky as never had a really bad experience - with one buffet the food was lovely but we were one of the last tables to go up and the buffet was looking very depleted, although there was enough food. A couple of wedding meals have been pretty average pub food type meals or home catered buffets but again nothing awful. I’m not overly keen on buffets but more for the reason that the first tables have finished before the last has been served.

I definitely think Irish weddings do mass catering better - i’ve been at one wedding which had 350 guests and the food was good, loads of choices and everyone was served at the same time. There were a LOT of waiting staff!

[quote ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHaands]**@Cuck00soup* and @GreyhoundG1rl* . We are not wasting our budget on a sweet table. That part is being provided by my son and his wife. It's something they wanted to do for us.

We have a nice cold buffet (plenty to go round), a table of homemade sweet things/desserts and we will serve the wedding cake.

To me that sounds perfectly ok. One week to go and I'm looking forward to treating our guests.

I just hope neither of you are on my guest list [/quote]
I'd be mega happy with sweets!! A wedding I went to, provided little bags of the most delicious homemade fudge. (Not the wedding favours) They went down a treat with everyone. This was after the 3 course meal, but most guests were sat nibbling on it at some point. We took ours for the car journey back home. Not sure about food for the evening do cos we'd left before that started.

I remember my own wedding. We had a carvery plus starter and dessert too. We then provided for our night do guests a night buffet. My uncle before the wedding asked why we were wasting our money by having a buffet after a carvery cos no one would eat it cos they'd be too full. No prizes for guessing who was the first one up that night stuffing his face with it in the end we did have loads of food left over cos most night guests had eaten, but we packed family up with it to take home.

Vegan option at a £30k wedding. A piece of hard aubergine in a watery tomato sauce with some grated cheese and fruit salad. Everyone else had wonderful gourmet food.

@BillyJoe111 - it is a pain, I agree, especially in the early days of switch over, because you remember what gluten-based baked products etc. taste like.

Once you've been off them for a while, the transition to GF isn't so bad, I found. Especially bread - I was off it for ages, 20+ years ago when there wasn't nearly as much choice as there is now, and I was hanging for a sandwich or some toast!

Initially I could have spelt bread but that was mostly only found in artisan farmers' market type places; then when I emigrated to Australia I found a really decent spelt loaf that is almost as good as normal bread, just more "crumbly". Makes ace toast though! Now I've had to go completely and properly GF, I've been through a range of different ones - some disagree violently with me (haven't worked out what the culprit is yet, it's obvs not gluten!) whereas a couple of others are good.
Genius is (or was!) available in the UK and does a couple of things well, which we can buy in Australia as well.
Sadly Orgran gluten free pastas are harder to find in the UK now, and they've also stopped producing/selling the best one (millet and rice). Personally I prefer the rice-based pastas to the corn ones, because I can't have too much corn either, it seems!
Mrs Crimble does some lovely GF cakes - Sainsbury's GF double chocolate brownies are really nice too.
GF puff pastry is shit - it honestly is - don't waste your time unless you're a tip top baker and know how to manage it perfectly
But I will say there is a huge number of people on the internet who can help you with baking, recipes, ideas etc. - if you have the time, baking yourself might be a better option.

Sorry to derail!

I was informed that spelt and old type wheat has far less gluten than the one used now. The wheat now has been developed to have more gluten as it makes the bread easier to make and softer too. Unfortunately it also gives you tummy ache and bloating.

[quote ThumbWitchesAbroad]@BillyJoe111 - it is a pain, I agree, especially in the early days of switch over, because you remember what gluten-based baked products etc. taste like.

Once you've been off them for a while, the transition to GF isn't so bad, I found. Especially bread - I was off it for ages, 20+ years ago when there wasn't nearly as much choice as there is now, and I was hanging for a sandwich or some toast!

Initially I could have spelt bread but that was mostly only found in artisan farmers' market type places; then when I emigrated to Australia I found a really decent spelt loaf that is almost as good as normal bread, just more "crumbly". Makes ace toast though! Now I've had to go completely and properly GF, I've been through a range of different ones - some disagree violently with me (haven't worked out what the culprit is yet, it's obvs not gluten!) whereas a couple of others are good.
Genius is (or was!) available in the UK and does a couple of things well, which we can buy in Australia as well.
Sadly Orgran gluten free pastas are harder to find in the UK now, and they've also stopped producing/selling the best one (millet and rice). Personally I prefer the rice-based pastas to the corn ones, because I can't have too much corn either, it seems!
Mrs Crimble does some lovely GF cakes - Sainsbury's GF double chocolate brownies are really nice too.
GF puff pastry is shit - it honestly is - don't waste your time unless you're a tip top baker and know how to manage it perfectly
But I will say there is a huge number of people on the internet who can help you with baking, recipes, ideas etc. - if you have the time, baking yourself might be a better option.

Sorry to derail![/quote]
Thank you!! I mean, I’ve gone entire years without eating bread, pasta, cakes, pastries etc when I’ve been devoted to low carb. But it was always there if i wanted it.

Now it’s not, I’ve got a little bit foot stampy about it and suddenly, all I can think about is McDonalds breakfast McMuffins

I crave apples, big fat juice apples that you have to force your teeth into. 🥰 unfortunately the pain after isn't fun. I have found a way but it's pretty gross so do it alone , in secret.

On the McMuffin front, order one without the muffin, but also order 2 hasbrowns. You can then sandwich the egg and bacon between the hashbrowns and its really nice.
The veggie dippers are gluten free btw

For someone starting to plan a wedding, this has been an eyeopener.

I didn't realise hog roasts were something wedding guests are bored of, same with sweet tables.

But what I did/do know is that vegetarians and vegans expect more than just a few measly bits of veg (I'm pretty sure if we can find a catering company that can deal with me and my food issues, they should also know how to deal with allergies and the difference between vegetarian and vegan meals.), and all guests expect lots of food - my side of the family are never happy if there isn't enough food, would never hear the end of it from them, or friends.

Oh yes, so bored of hog roasts. Really over hyped.

I feel like sweetie tables are a bit old hat now. And I had one! But I got married in 2013 so it was quite a few years back. Everything will become passe over time.

@CMOTDibbler

On the McMuffin front, order one without the muffin, but also order 2 hasbrowns. You can then sandwich the egg and bacon between the hashbrowns and its really nice. The veggie dippers are gluten free btw

I keep googling are mcdonald’s hash browns gluten free and it keeps telling me no.

Look at the McDonalds allergy list on their website and it shows GF. They are fried in the fries fryer and the only other things that goes in there is the veggie dippers

@CMOTDibbler

On the McMuffin front, order one without the muffin, but also order 2 hasbrowns. You can then sandwich the egg and bacon between the hashbrowns and its really nice. The veggie dippers are gluten free btw

I've only just noticed that this absolutely stellar bit of advice (I'm not even gf, I just want to eat this) is from CMOT Dibbler. Talk about someone who knows their way around a sausage inna bun! even when it's not a bun

@CMOTDibbler

Look at the McDonalds allergy list on their website and it shows GF. They are fried in the fries fryer and the only other things that goes in there is the veggie dippers

well that’s just made my day.

Thank you!!!

Still working through the thread but worst was, fancy city centre hotel; the bride who didn't allow hubby to speak to other women (!) and served an anaemic looking and tepid Christmas dinner in July, pigs in blankets and all, followed by gelatinous, generic and almost defrosted Baileys cheesecake. All in portions that made you feel like Gulliver. It was like tiny conference food from the 1980s. The night do was the usual Peter Kay buffet with congealed chicken legs and quiche.

There was a big England match on in the main hotel bar where many guests discovered the drinks were half the price they were charging in the banqueting suite bar. Word got round and a huge percentage of guests were congregating there instead of partying for most of the wedding.

At a recent wedding the caterers served up what my friend said was the best vegan meal she'd ever had. They had thought of everything, including loads of canapés she could have for a change and even down to serving vegan champagne. I'm ashamed to say I had no clue some wines aren't vegan .

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

Vegan option at a £30k wedding. A piece of hard aubergine in a watery tomato sauce with some grated cheese and fruit salad. Everyone else had wonderful gourmet food.

Out of interest, what would you cook for a gourmet vegan dinner? Thinking maybe truffle roast potatoes for the carbohydrate, lots of vegetables and maybe a dairy free mushroom stroganoff. Or perhaps even medium rare mushroom or cauliflower steak?

Asking incase I invite a vegan over for dinner (unlikely as most of my friends are country folk and love a good slab of ethically reared cow or pig)

Expensive wedding with very dubious roast beef, soggy vegetables, yorkshire pudding and no gravy. My son is vegetarian and was served chickpea dahl- to be eaten with..soggy vegetables and yorkshire pudding.

Weddings are so expensive, it's such a shame that as this thread proves the food is quite often crap, cold or not enough. It is a celebration of love, everyone should leave happy full of memories. Unfortunately it seems most leave hungry. Next wedding I attend I'm taking a buttie. I can then dance the night away, instead of being in pain from eating crisps. I'm the person who got fish for starter and then the same fish for main. It was ok but boring. Been places where nothing was available for me non meat eater. Emergency buttie it is.

You’ve totally missed the point again. The gravy wasn’t confiscated from the people who like gravy to satisfy the dietary requirements of other people. It just didn’t exist because of crappy catering!

No, you've missed the point that BOTH are because of crappy catering (although you don't know why there was no gravy).
Crappy catering means that the easiest possible combination of dishes is what is made, which means the simplest for meat eaters and the simplest for dietary requirements. Making the vegetarian option vegan is just obvious, as is not bothering with extras like gravy. It's all the same things.

This baffles me. It's never been easier for dissatisfied customers to tell the world that they were let down by a supplier. Most people surely check reviews before parting with the huge sums charged for a wedding. (If not, why not?)

Why would a wedding venue or wedding caterer risk all the duff reviews by providing such poor value for money? Insufficient waiting staff, low quality ingredients, cold food, meals missing vital elements like gravy, ignoring medical, ethical and religious requirements for special dishes - it's inexcusable when you think what they're being paid. The Irish anecdotes on this thread show it's perfectly possible to do mass catering well if the will to do so is there.

Do they bank on the happy couple not getting feedback from their guests and therefore not leaving a review? Quite a few people here have said that they top table got good food and service, and so they think the bride and groom remained oblivious to the inadequate meal given to other people.

When my friend got married, her M.I.L offered to do the buffet as she is a cook by trade.
There was around 30 guests, including me and my husband.
Walked into the reception, which was at a village hall type of venue, got a drink and sat down.
Her M.I.L came in and put down a plate of food on each table which consisted of a meat paste sandwich on cheap white sliced bread, one sandwich each and two bags of crisps.
She had even done a head count of each table prior to serving up.
So, if there were say four people sat at a table, they got four sandwiches and two bags of crisps, enough for one sandwich and half a normal size bag if crisps each!
My friend was mortified and spent most of it in the loo crying.