Getting Married

[Firegirl43]

Ok I am newly engaged and all was well until I started thnking about what the reception was going to be like with the food. I dont know what I should do. If I should make all of the guests eat the gluten free food, If I should have my own made then have normal food for everyone else ( ok I know our food is normal, for us) But holy crap I dont know.

[penguin]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Now that THAT is out of the way!

I wasn't gluten-free at my wedding, but a lot of our food was naturally that way. We did a heavy hors d'oevure buffet for ours. I let the restaurant just put out whatever they wanted, because I'd done many banquets with them before and trusted them. We had salad, shrimp, marinated vegetables, mushrooms, fresh fruit, deviled eggs, etc. There were a few bread things, I think, but to be honest, I don't really remember!

One option is to go ethnic! Mexican food is gluten-free, by and large, and what isn't could be easily adapted. Indian and asian food is easy to make gluten-free as well.

My advice would be to keep the meal totally gluten-free. The last thing you want to worry about is being glutened on your wedding day!

The only thing I might do not gluten-free is the cake. Have a little cake for you and your groom and have the big cake for everyone else. Or do a cupcake cake with one layer made of gluten-free cupcakes. To be honest, the best reason to do that is it's cheaper!

[sspitzer5]

Ok I am newly engaged and all was well until I started thnking about what the reception was going to be like with the food. I dont know what I should do. If I should make all of the guests eat the gluten free food, If I should have my own made then have normal food for everyone else ( ok I know our food is normal, for us) But holy crap I dont know.

Hi,

First of all, congratulations! Second, I say let the guests eat gluten free! I doubt most of them will even realize that it's gluten free. I cook gluten free stuff for my friends and family all the time and I don't make anything gluteny for them and they never even notice.

I'm going to a wedding in a few weeks and it turns out that one of their chefs is Celiac. And, she says I can eat many things (except the obvious pasta salad, rolls, etc.). Most good restaurants/chefs can easily create great gluten free stuff that no one would even realize was gluten free. Coincidentally, they are having a flourless chocolate cake that the chef says I can eat!!! I almost feel out of my chair when I heard that.

Another option is to have one gluten free meal option and one non-gluten free option.

S

[Moongirl]

I always wondered too about how I would do my wedding cake....the flourless choc cake is a great option!

[StrongerToday]

To paraphrase Marie Antionette.... Let Them Eat gluten-free cake!

I'd have the whole thing gluten-free, and chance are no one would know if you didn't tell them.

Congrats!!

[odcdinah]

Congrats!

I am getting married in July and am newly diagnosed. The reception is buffet, but I"m going to ask the caterer to prepare a special plate for me.

As for the cake, my doctor told me to go entirely gluten-free, but said to me "I'm telling you to have a few bites of cake at your wedding". I know the purists would disagree, but it's a once in a lifetime thing and I'm going to have a couple of bites, but that's it!

[ehrin]

My vote is to have a gluten-free wedding - it's your wedding, your big day and it should be what you want and can eat!! I hardly think most of your guests would even know...as for the cake, I wonder if you'd be able to find a bakery or caterer that could accomodate your needs?? I'd say have a gluten-free cake for all! My mum makes a mean gluten-free cake, and you'd never even know...

Congratulations and good luck!

[jkmunchkin]

I got married this past October. When I first got engaged and was planning the wedding I was not yet diagnosed. However once I found out I had celiac I didn't change the plans or menu at all with one small exception. The cake. They made the top layer of the cake a gluten-free cheesecake, so we could still feed each other.

But my maitre'd was incredible. Granted I was a little bummed I couldn't eat all the amazing food at the cocktail hour I had been so psyched about when we picked the place, but the maitre d' made me a little plate of food of the stuff I could eat. As for the main entree, well one of the ones we had picked was filet mignon with a red wine sauce, so they just simply made mine without the sauce, and made sure everything on my plate was ok. (Not that I really ate to be honest). But it couldn't have been easier. There is absolutely no need to make your entire wedding gluten free.

[NicoleAJ]

Congratulations! This is really exciting news. I've actually thought about this issue quite a bit since my boyfriend and I have been talking about getting engaged sooner rather than later. I have no idea where I'd find a bakery to do an entirely gluten free cake, so I like ChelsE and jkmunchkin's ideas quite a bit.

odcdinah, if you're not really symptomatic, it might be nice to indulge in a few bites of cake, but take into consideration that once you've been off of gluten, your symptoms will become much worse if you have any gluten at all. This past weekend there was a crumb of pastry floating in my tea at a professional conference, and I didn't notice it until I was half way finished. Of course I stopped drinking as soon as I saw it, but I was violently ill for the entire day and have not felt healthy ever since. Even if you take imodium beforehand to prevent the D, you could still experience extreme fatigue, nausea, brain fog, gas, etc at your wedding and throughout your honeymoon. If you are an asymptomatic celiac and totally attached to the idea of eating a bite of wedding cake, you should test it out beforehand to see what your reaction will be. It's not really a matter of being a purist but, instead, of being a realist--you wouldn't want to ruin your "once in a lifetime" moment with extreme illness.

[odcdinah]

You are right Nicole, and I have thought about that. At the moment, my gastro symptoms have hardly improved at all since going on the gluten-free diet. If it is still the same way in July, I"m not going to worry about a bite. However, if I am feeling better by then, will most likely skip the cake

quote name='NicoleAJ' date='Apr 21 2006, 11:34 AM' post='129688']

Congratulations! This is really exciting news. I've actually thought about this issue quite a bit since my boyfriend and I have been talking about getting engaged sooner rather than later. I have no idea where I'd find a bakery to do an entirely gluten free cake, so I like ChelsE and jkmunchkin's ideas quite a bit.

odcdinah, if you're not really symptomatic, it might be nice to indulge in a few bites of cake, but take into consideration that once you've been off of gluten, your symptoms will become much worse if you have any gluten at all. This past weekend there was a crumb of pastry floating in my tea at a professional conference, and I didn't notice it until I was half way finished. Of course I stopped drinking as soon as I saw it, but I was violently ill for the entire day and have not felt healthy ever since. Even if you take imodium beforehand to prevent the D, you could still experience extreme fatigue, nausea, brain fog, gas, etc at your wedding and throughout your honeymoon. If you are an asymptomatic celiac and totally attached to the idea of eating a bite of wedding cake, you should test it out beforehand to see what your reaction will be. It's not really a matter of being a purist but, instead, of being a realist--you wouldn't want to ruin your "once in a lifetime" moment with extreme illness.

[MallysMama]

Ok I am newly engaged and all was well until I started thnking about what the reception was going to be like with the food. I dont know what I should do. If I should make all of the guests eat the gluten free food, If I should have my own made then have normal food for everyone else ( ok I know our food is normal, for us) But holy crap I dont know.

I don't know where you're from or how people in your area seem to do wedding receptions - but where I'm from it's a lot simpler than most places. The majority of people don't seem to go "all out" (spending thousands and thousands of dollars on one day). The total cost of my entire wedding was just over $3,000 - and it was perfect!! So - saying this - I have no idea what you plan on doing for your reception food. We just had a little desert table set up that the guests were welcome to take some if they wanted. We did a luncheon earlier in the day for family and close friends (that my hubby's family was in charge of - and they didn't know hardly anything about Celiac at the time - still don't). They did it buffet style. There were the makings of sandwiches (on rolls) - so you could pick your cheeses and meats and build your own sandwich. Then they had some different salads and fruits and veggies. I've always been one to just modify whatever I ate - instead of making everyone else change what they're eating. I ate the cheese and meat rolled up along with other yummy, naturally, gluten-free foods.

Unless there is something specifically gluten-free that you want in your wedding - why stress about it? Just have enough options that are naturally gluten-free for you...and you'll be fine. Chances are you'll be so busy that day with lots of nerves - that you won't have the chance to eat a lot anyway.

As for the cake - I didn't worry about it. In my cake they did a rice-krispie layer just to save money (we didn't plan on eating the whole cake anyway). (Looking back, now that I'm trying to do better, the rice krispies had gluten in them too... I was never good about keeping malt flavoring out of my diet.) I fed a piece to my hubby.....but didn't care about not having any fed to me (kept me clean - no cake in the face! haha!) I think the cupcake cake is a good idea though! gluten-free cupcakes look exactly like the real thing - no one would even notice a difference. There are lots of options - just do what works best for you and your hubby!

Good luck and Congrats!!

[penguin]

Oh! I thought of something else! We were originally going to do this but changed venue and had to make it earlier in the evening.

You could have your ceremony at say, 8pm, and then have a dessert reception. Tables full of cakes, cheesecakes, truffles, fruit, maybe a chocolate fountain, an ice cream bar...the possibilities are endless! and decadent! Have some wine and chamagne and call it a party!

Advantages to this are: 1: this reception type is way cheaper than dinner, and very chic 2: It would be easy to seperate gluten-free food from gluten food, just have them on seperate tables. Since most things are purchased packaged, cc isn't as big of an issue as say, a special meal having to be prepped for you in a busy caterer's kitchen

Just a thought

[Lollie]

Congratulations!!!!!! I just love weddings!

I had fruit, vegies and finger sandwiches for the food at my wedding. We had it at 8pm so it wasn't like we had to feed everybody dinner. And as for the cake, I would try the gluten free options. Give them a try and see what you like. I love the idea that jkmunchkin had about having the layer that was gluten free cheese cake! And Chelsea's idea is good too. I like the idea of the dessert reception. But, I think I would go gluten free for the whole thing, because it is to honor you and your fiance's comitment to one another. The meal should be safe for you to eat! Even if you don't really feel like it once you get there!

Lollie

[Carriefaith]

I am getting married in August and I am having a turkey dinner for my guests and a gluten cake. I am making my own dinner for myself and a gluten-free casein free cake to take for myself, my fiance (he is dairy intolerant), and my grandmother (celiac). Since I am also allergic to wheat, I can't take any chances with other people preparing my food. My doctor has even said that I shouldn't be eating food that I haven't seen being prepared.

[qwertyui]

I just got married last September. We had the big reception! Made sure that there were appetizers that I could eat, salad was fine (oil and vinegar dressing). soup was fine (butternut squash), and then served prime rib, grilled veggies, and garlic mashed potatoes( i didn't eat the garlic stuffed yorkshire pudding, wasn't even put on my plate). We did have a gluten cake, but the caterer made a gluten free cheese cake for me! I was happy! Couldn't have asked for better food. When I told hin that I was celiac, he asked me to go over the menu with him, and I allowed for gluten options. We fed 125 people. It was easy to just make the odd chance for me - and I was very pleased!

[Rusla]

Congratulations! I am with the gluten-free club. Let them eat gluten-free, if it is good enough for you it is good enough for them. They will never know the difference until you wait till the end and tell them. If I was to ever get married, everyone would be eating gluten-free. Not only that but it helps broaden their horizons.

[Firegirl43]

Cool you guys are great thanks!!

[tarnalberry]

If I were getting married right now, unless I was doing a very simple lunch appetizer thing, I would *not* go gluten-free, because it would be more expensive, and it's just not worth the cost to me when you add it up. I'd go out, have some place special make me my own lunch/dinner and pack it separately for the event, having *whatever* I wanted. ;-)

[GreySaber]

I know a german who makes a wonderful cake out of buckwheat. The man is an artist with flour, but since his primary busniess is spelt, I don't go there much anymore. (SIGH!) I don't know how he is about cross contamination, but I am certain he would make every effort if you talk to him about it. His web address is

Open Original Shared Link

(Spelt is better then wheat, but still not good for us. I tried it for awhile and still had symptoms but reduced ones.)