What Do You Do During Dinner At A Wedding?

[Merika]

I'm going to my friend's wedding Sunday evening. It should be great fun It never occurred to me there was a sit-down dinner at the reception until she called about seating arrangement.....I must have missed in on the invite or just really not been thinking.

It's a buffet. I know I won't be able to eat anything there, and so am not going to bother calling and finding out about anything. Aside from keeping my hands out of my mouth the entire reception (there'll be lots of entertainment too, my guess is while we're still seated...), lol, *what am I going to do*??? I mean, obviously sit and talk with the folks at our table, but the food will be such a central aspect of it all.

Anyone know of any great ways to pass the time? I am thinking maybe I will go around and amuse the kids as my own ds is staying with my folks during it.

Any tips? Thanks,

Merika

[mouse]

I think you should ask what is on the buffet. Do not assume that you will be able to eat nothing. Many times the appetisers at a wedding include small shrimp. You can then bring your own gluten free sauce. They probably will have a salad and usually at a buffet, all the toppings are in separate bowls. Just add what is safe and bring your own salad dressing. What is the main course? Any large gathering I have attended will let you talk to the caterer and ask for something else. Just be careful to stress to the caterer about cross contamination. The caterer wants everyone to enjoy the meal (and not get sick) and the bride is paying a fortune for your plate. Give it a try - you have everything to gain.

Also do not ask the busy bride to do the talking to the caterer. Something could get lost in the transalation. I have also found that most caterers and chefs (not always cooks) are very familiar with gluten.

[jenvan]

Bring your own snack to chomp away with others, have a drink, and as Armetta said, you may be able to eat some of the food if its on a buffet. A lot of times they'll have fruit or veggie trays...

[kabowman]

Snack in the car between the church and reception location (if changing), usually there is salad and plain meat which I have done OK with. Also instead of trying to stuff a tiny purse used for these events, I have asked wait staff for lemons for my salad.

Sit and chat the rest of the time and enjoy the company...

[tarnalberry]

At the wedding I went to the weekend before last, I brought crackers I made, dried fruit, and beef jerky and had it at the table while chatting with my friends. :-)

[flagbabyds]

Bring your own food and eat it while everyone is eating the buffett. At my cousin's wedding she was very nice and instead of having cake, they had chocolate covered stawberries which was my dinner. And you should eat in the car between the churchh and the reception bcause then you can have an energy bar and such and not look rude eating an energy bar in the nice fancy reception.

[aljf]

In these situations, when it is my good friend's event, I usually just ask him/her if it would be possible for me to get something gluten-free (and explain what that is), and say that, if not, it's no big deal, and I will just eat before the event. The bride/groom are usually in very frequent conversations with the caterers, so it's not an imposition to add this one question to the list!

[Violet]

My question is what about cross contamination? Can you *really* get something gluten free from a kitchen like that?

Is there anywhere on this forum with a list of what people eat during the day? Like today for breakfast, lunch, dinner I had...I have noticed some of you have pretty extensive food allergies and I'm really curious what you eat daily.

I hope you have fun at the wedding. I say eat in the car

[jenvan]

Violet-

Here's a quick/abbreviated version of what I eat for a typical day:

Breakfast: cereal with rice milk (am dairy free for right now)

Morning snack: a fruit bar or enjoy life granola type bar or rice crackers, veggies with hummus

Lunch: big salad w/meat and lots of veggies, sometimes with gluten-free chips, crackers, leftover rice or quinoa, apple, fruit roll-up type snack, occasional sandwich with lunch meat

Snack: some gluten-free cookies or peanut butter or fruit

Dinner: i love to cook, so we eat a ton of different things, but for a few examples, beans and rice with chicken sausage/shrimp or vegetables; tacos; grilled ckn/hamburgers with fries or spicy rice or quinoa with steamed or stirfried veggies; breakfast for dinner-gluten-free pancakes, omelette, fruit; gluten-free pizza/pasta; stirfries/pad thai w/chicken or shrimp and veggies

Dessert: sorbet, italian ice, fruit salad, fruit with chocolate syrup, sundaes(when eating dairy), phillyswirl popsicles

[kabowman]

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with sauteed veggies (in olive oil) with bacon (which I can't believe I can still eat)

Morning Snack: cereal (rice/buckwheat/EnjoyLife) with plain rice milk or an EnjoyLife snack bar

Lunch: Left over dinner - grilled or baked meat, veggies, and rice or fried potatoes (in olive oil) with veggies--weekends on the boat bring chicken salad with passover mayo (made with citric acid which doesn't make me sick)

Afternoon Snack: carrots, peas, and/or potato chips

Dinner: grilled or baked meat, veggies, and rice or fried potatoes (olive oil) with veggies - occasionally rice pasta with corn syrup free pasta sauce (once in a week at MOST), homemade pizza-sparingly, chili, soup, etc.

Evening Snack: potato chips with homemade guacamole or a brownie (if I have made some) or a cookie if I have any, or Rice Dream Ice Cream - which seems to be bothering me right now

Eating out: chicken, steak, burger, with a side salad and no dressing, only lemons.

I found a great little bar with a cook that can't wait for me to come in because then he gets to "create" food rather than just cook what is on the menu.

We have a BBQ salt that is incredible, I use onions, garlic, lots of herbs, lemon, lime, etc. when we cook so my food is rarely plain.

Winter time, every Sunday the family begs (actually they are begging now too) for my homemade chicken soup with homemade noodles/dumplings. My snacks in the winter include rice cakes with cashew butter and honey.

I drink water, coffee (unflavored), unsweetened decaf tea because my family is actually from the north even though I was born in the south, homemade margaritas with homemade limeade, etc.

[tarnalberry]

I posted something under the traveling section about all the foods I made and took with me when I went to a wedding this weekend - it was about five days of living out of my backpack. You might check there. It was primarily crackers, dried fruit, nuts, and jerky, as well as some hot cereal I could make with water in the microwave.