Help! People Don’t Like Our Vegan Wedding Menu

It's your party, so veg out if you want to

Ask The Kit Weddings is our bi-monthly wedding etiquette column. Wedding expert Alison McGill tackles the pressing—sometimes uncomfortable—questions that everyone from almost-marrieds to attending guests have on their minds. Send your Qs to [email protected].

My fiancé and I are both vegan. It’s a life choice that we feel really good about, but we’re having an increasingly heated debate with our family and friends about the food for our wedding! Our intention was to have an exclusively vegan wedding menu, but we’re getting such negative feedback from people saying that we should offer more food choices. We’re working with an amazing caterer who specializes in vegan cuisine, and we’re excited to serve some incredibly inspired dishes to our wedding guests. Do we really need to rethink our food selections? —Janelle

The wonderful thing about creating a wedding menu today is there is so much choice. Those standard banquet hall menus where there was a meat, fish or a vegetarian stuffed pepper on order? Long gone. And, let’s be real, fabulous food is an integral part of an amazing party—it’s one of the elements your guests will remember the most. You want it to be incredible.

With a wedding menu, of course it’s important to be mindful of your guests and what you think they’ll like. Still, ultimately, it’s your day and you should do what you want. If that means serving an all-vegan menu from starters to sweets, then that’s what you should do!

Damon Campbell is the executive chef of Fairmont Pacific Rim and he says you can absolutely go vegan-only in a way that delights your guests. “There are so many opportunities to create delicious and unique vegan items today,” says Campbell, who, with his culinary team recently launched a dedicated vegan menu at the hotel’s multi-award-winning restaurant Botanist.  “We’ve seen an upward trend in the number of vegan menus we are selling. This doesn’t always mean that the people are 100 per cent vegan themselves, but overall, we’re seeing guests making conscious decisions to add more vegan options into their diet, and to expand their interests into vegan offerings.”

Still, Campbell says that choice is “always a good thing” when it comes to parties and food: “I think it’s a great idea to include a non-vegan item on your menu because some of your guests will want them.”

Read on for chef Campbell’s advice on what’s trending in vegan wedding food options and how to create a standout menu everyone will enjoy on your big day.

What’s the best way to present an all-vegan menu that appeals to all wedding guests?

“I recommend using a range of flavour profiles, cooking techniques and textures that highlight some peak season food ingredients. Using these guidelines to approach your wedding menu will offer lots of amazing food options.”

What’s trending in vegan food right now that would be great on a wedding menu?

“Vegan proteins are a big focus. Things like vegan fish, chicken, eggs, and ice cream are very popular and allow you to create interesting dishes and tastes. On the new Botanist vegan menu, we have a beautiful strawberry gazpacho, which is made with cucumbers, white balsamic and confit strawberries—that would be a perfect appetizer choice. For mains, we have a vegan pasta with confit tomato, toasted pine nuts and basil that is so delicious. That would be great on a wedding menu!”

Is a vegan wedding menu more expensive?

“I don’t find this to be the case at all. From my experience, vegan and protein-forward menus are all very similar in price.”

If you want to mix in some non-vegan items, what would you suggest to create  a beautifully integrated wedding menu?

“I recommend looking at seafood items or poultry options because they are on the lighter side and pair beautifully with a vegetable/vegan-forward menu. The most important thing here is to work with your caterer to create an unforgettable food experience!”

 

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