How To Throw A Vegan Wedding Reception Without Freaking Out

When you’re trying to organize your own vegan wedding reception, it’s important to let everyone know right from the beginning that you intend to stage this celebration according to your own principles. There are times when it’s okay to compromise, but in this case, you should be able to have your wedding exactly as you want it. Hang tough and don’t allow anyone to push you around when it comes to your principles, that goes for caterers, your baker, or your future mother-in-law. Be polite and courteous, but be firm. It’s your wedding, and you’re entitled to stage it in a manner that goes along with how you live your life. If you refuse to use animal products of any kind, so be it. It’s your wedding, so you have the right.

One of the hardest aspects of staging a vegan wedding may be dealing with caterers. They can be really pushy and inflexible, so my advice is to start early and find a caterer who’s in synch with your ideas and beliefs. Otherwise, you may wind up clashing with the caterer who wants you to cut corners and serve meat dishes or foods made with eggs and butter to your guests. Don’t compromise. It’s possible to prepare delicious gourmet foods without using any kind of animal products in them. Saitan makes an excellent meat substitute in many dishes and it’s readily available at stores like Whole Foods. Even if you can’t find an experienced vegan or vegetarian caterer in your area, try to find one who’s willing to do it your way, and then bring in your favorite recipes for vegan soups, entrees, and appetizers. Don’t let the caterer be lazy and serve everyone a menu composed of grilled vegetables, steamed vegetables and raw vegetables. Force the caterer to be more creative. You know, there are a lot of wonderful, spicy, tasty vegan foods that come from the world’s great ethnic cuisines, like Japanese, Thai, Middle Eastern, Indian or even African and Cuban dishes. It’s not necessary for a dish to have meat in it for it to be hearty, filling fare that will please just about everyone.

And if you can’t find a caterer in your area that can satisfy your needs, then don’t be afraid to do it yourself. Enlist some of your friends and make the food for your wedding reception dinner yourself, including a vegan cake. There are plenty of recipes out on the Internet for delicious, beautiful cakes that don’t use eggs, butter, or milk. When it comes to being vegan, you can have your cake and eat it too, so don’t be afraid to try.