Rock a Healthy Lifestyle posted about a CNN article he found about wedding receptions and food allergies. Don’t worry friends, just because I post about a wedding article doesn’t mean I’ll be tying the knot anytime soon. However, I have been strongly considering that when/if I do get married, that it will be a 100% gluten-free event. Gluten-free meals served to everyone, not just the bride and groom. Celebrating with gluten-free cupcakes or full sheet cakes. The whole thing. But before I start my gluten-free wedding Pinterest board, back to the article.
It opens with, ““As Scott and I are both vegans for ethical reasons, it was very clear to us that we wanted our wedding, and everything around it, to reflect our ethics and values,” said Pardo, the founder and director of “The Vegan Woman” website. Pardo has been vegan for one year and a vegetarian since she was 12. There will be no animal-derived products served at her reception on June 1.”
Okay, nothing strange here. I mean, at least to me.
It continues, “She was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity in 2008, and two years later, opted against a gluten-free wedding.“At first I wanted the entire wedding to be gluten-free, however I came to realize that the cost was just too much to bear…'”
Well, that’s a bummer. But I guess that’s understandable. Hope she gets some gluten-free cake at least!
But when I finished the article, I read some of the comments on CNN’s Facebook post of the article. Please note, I am obsessed with reading all the weirdo comments on CNN’s Facebook page, but some of them were so irksome! Here’s my favorites and my thoughts on their opinions.
“Having given vegan food an “honest try” I can tell you there is no way I would eat any of the stuff they would be serving. If you have religious or health reasons for a strict diet, that’s one thing. But if you’re ethically opposed to eating animal products, I’m ethically opposed to NOT eating them. I’m from the Midwest, and lots of my family members make their living growing vegtables and raising cattle, chickens, and pigs. If I was invited to a vegan wedding, I’d come to the reception, but I’d make a stop at Chipotle for a steak burrito first.”
Okay, I’m fine with this. Eat Chipotle before you go there. We all have our own thoughts and morals, but at least this person would still go a Vegan wedding. Also, I’ve had some really amazing vegan food, and that’s my “honest” opinion, but I’m sure it’s not everyone’s favorite. After all, I eat meat (except beef) almost every day. Also, GF isn’t an ethics issue, so this commenter might let me have my GF wedding.
“Yes, if the goal is to make the guests feel welcomed and for the guests to enjoy being there. I think it would be rude not consider what would please the guests.”
Is it the goal of a wedding? I thought the goal was to get married and have people come celebrate our love? It seemed like a lot of comments were hung up on how the guests and how they should all have a great time? I can’t make comments like this when I attend alcohol-free weddings, which I think are way less fun then vegan weddings 🙂
“Sure, you can totally serve what you want at your wedding. Just don’t expect me to pony up hundred of dollars for plane tickets, dresses, shoes and presents since clearly my feelings don’t matter at all.”
Ouch. What If I only register for really high-end baking tools? I want a cherry red Kitchen Aid mixer!
“I don’t care if it is there wedding, that’s a very selfish decision. If they can’t OR won’t eat certain foods and didn’t want to make sure others didn’t feel part of their celebration (isn’t that 1 of the reasons to have a wedding..sharing it with loved one??)…then they should’ve eloped or took it to the courthouse.”
See, I think it’s kind of selfish not to at least try it in order to celebrate with the rest of the gathering.
“dear bridezilla, the wedding is done infront of family because they are there to celebrate your union, if it’s JUST about you and him andyour vows then elope…but to hold court and make your family endure your selfishness is rude and doesn’t seem to reflect your love for your family. do you love your family? if not why are they needed for your wedding…”
If anyone called me a Bridezilla, they wouldn’t be invited to the wedding! I agree that it’s for the family, but it’s just food? And I’m sure it’s going to be tasty vegan food. So why isn’t that showing love for your family?
“i have a gluten intolerance, so am doing cupcakes for my wedding. a few gf ones for me and my aunt who also has an allergy, and everyone else gets regular ones. a regular cake would have been too dangerous, but it’s my wedding and i deserve to eat something, so we found a compromise.”
Smart compromise! Cupcakes are the new “it” thing for weddings too! I just don’t think I’d feel safe with that much wheat-y cake being passed out to my guests, then them hugging and kissing me and shaking hands, etc. I want to be able to be fancy free and not worry about cross-contamination from unruly crumbs.
I know that this couple is vegan because of ethics (although gluten-free for diet), but imagine if this was a gluten-intolerant person or a Celiac who wanted an entirely gluten-free wedding. If I heard any of these comments about gluten, that person would be off of my list. Seriously? You can’t have ONE meal without gluten in it? Anyone who is invited to my wedding will understand what I’ve gone through with Celiac and better accept how hard I’ve worked in developing a gluten-free life. And you better believe that it will be announced on the save the date. You don’t like it? You don’t have to come. But please still send me a gift card to Target because I still want that Kitchen Aid mixer.
Have any of you had a gluten-free wedding? Have you gone to a gluten-free wedding? What about other food allergies – have you been to a dairy-free, soy-free, or nut-free wedding? I still have yet to go to a Vegan wedding, but have any of you been? I want to know your thoughts!
I dream of a gluten free wedding. I totally agree on your stance. How ridiculous of someone to be so demanding on your special day. It won’t kill them (in fact, it’d probably help them) to eat one gluten free meal.
Maybe I WILL start a gluten-free Pinterest wedding board 🙂
Totally should. I have way too many things pinned for my imaginary wedding.
Hey…if I ever had to get married again, it would be completely GFree. I wouldn’t even tell anybody. I’m curious if anybody would even know. Until they got to the cake perhaps.
I am not getting married any time soon either, but when I do it will be 100% gluten-free. If you get an excellent chef/caterer and choose creative dishes, no one will know it is gluten-free anyway. Why should I be ostracized on my most special day? If the guests don’t like gluten-free food, they can go home.
So, I am totally with Gluten Dude on this. A completely gluten-free wedding. You don’t have to tell the guests if you don’t want – there are plenty of foods that are just gluten free without any swaps or substitutions.
And if it came down to it, I would make my own stinkin cake. I think the problem is emphasizing to your guests that it is “special diet food”. They want to celebrate and for some reason people are crazy and forget the wedding is about the people getting married. If a friend served frog legs at their wedding, I wouldn’t complain, but I would make sure I ate before I went because I personally don’t like them. I wouldn’t expect them to change something that they love for me, a guest. (But I do appreciate when they can get me a meal I can eat).
But heck, I usually have to bring larabars or something to a wedding to ensure that I can eat, I am not having a wedding where I have to worry. Weddings are about the bride and groom, and what they serve to you shouldn’t really matter (if you don’t have special dietary needs).
I am all for serving the food of the bride and groom for the wedding guests. I had my own vegan wedding a year ago and guests complained about it before-hand and then when they ate it, they loved it. I made certain special arrangements for the few gluten-free guests and the few Kosher guests, just like any couple could choose what they want to serve and then make something separate considering an allergy or belief.
That sounds awesome! I’m glad you proved them wrong! I feel like the same would be said about a GF wedding!
I’m having my 100% gluten-free vegan wedding in September. If someone were that bitchy to me, I wouldn’t invite them – do these people not realize that the bride/grooms PAYS 50+ dollars for their meal? I wouldn’t want to waste $50 to try and feed someone that rude, who wouldn’t even TRY what we put so much thought into serving.
The fact that people make those comments is the reason why veganism hasn’t been more fully adopted. Most people only care about themselves, not other people, let alone animals. Weddings do take some compromise. However, I have been vegan for 16 years and haven’t eaten meat in 20. Anyone who is getting an invitation to my wedding knows that I’m not compromising my morals one whit. If they don’t want to eat, well, that sucks for them. The wedding is 100% vegan AND 100% gluten free. I’ve been gf since 2003. The food will be delicious and the cupcakes moist and rich. Not only is it the diet both I and my fiance follow, but I have several vegan (and one vegan-gf) friends. Also, a large amount of our friends and relatives follow a gluten free diet themselves. Why would I compromise my health or theirs? I guess I’m lucky in that most of the people I know aren’t selfish jerks. The majority of the reactions have been surprise and delight that everyone there will be able to eat every single thing.
Oh wow, that is so wrong! I was vegetarian and/or vegan for most of my life and never considered skipping out on a wedding or other event because there would be animal products in the food and cake. If you don’t want to or can’t eat the food, don’t eat it. I know, many times I didn’t eat (and didn’t make a fuss like that either!) Guess my vegan years were good training for now when I’m gluten-free, and really can’t always eat the food.
I’m thankful for my TRUE friends, none of which complained about the delicious food at my wedding reception being vegetarian (or refusing to come all together).