Catering to picky eaters

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I suppose I just found it surprising that your cousin wouldn't be given the option of a vegan meal. A side salad is definitely not filling. Having a vegetarian/vegan option is the norm where I'm from.

Siiiiigh...kind of? We aren't catering to one or two individuals, it's more like the majority of our guest list. My paternal family is into lots of different foods, but the rest of both sides of our families are pretty Midwestern and are NOT into different foods.

We wanted Greek food...nooo too many people wouldn't eat it.
We wanted Middle Eastern food...nooo too many people wouldn't eat it.
We wanted duck, unique sides, fun cake flavors...no, no, and no, too many people wouldn't eat it.

We decided to go with American foods, and keep even that at foods that most people like (chicken, rib tips, mac n cheese). We'd love for our wedding to be filled with things WE love, but I guess food isn't really the place to do that. If we're paying for so many meals, people better actually eat it.

View Quoted Comment Ha! I offered the same kids plate to my sister! Shes super picky and I refuse to cater to her. Mostlty because we as family always have to say well will Ashley eat there, will Ashley like it. Im over it

View Quoted Comment She can eat every side from our buffet with the exception of our chicken and beef kabob. We’re having eggplant rollatini, butternut squash risotto, roasted white and sweet potatoes, long beans and carrots, and salad. There’s actually a lot she can eat.

We did a buffet so there were many options. If you couldn't find something on that long line of food, than I am sorry. That's not on me.

We are going with a buffet full of BBQ, so there's bound to be something for everyone! Long story short, we are not catering to anyone. We went with what we thought everyone would like and we definitely wouldn't expect anyone to cater to us if the roles were reversed.

Not really. My husband and I are pescatarian so we understand that people have different eating habits. We offered a chicken dish, salmon dish, and eggplant dish to at least offer a variety, but other than that the venue did agree to make modifications to meals if needed.

View Quoted Comment Our venue doesn't offer a different dish just got those with dietary restrictions unless it is the bride and groom. They cook evening in the venue kitchen and it's buffet style, so it would be silly to make just one or two meals worth of food for a guest or two. We are keeping it simple with chicken as one entree, to sides, a salad, and an additional entree. We won't decide until February when we go for a tasting party.
Honestly, the way my family and his is, if they don't like it or can't eat it, they just won't. I may ask anyone if there's a peanut allergy or something of the sort, but I don't think we have any except shellfish because of my fh's allergy.

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Our venue didn't offer a different dish included in the price, but we did opt to pay for a vegan meal. A reception meal is a "thank you" to your guests for taking the time out to celebrate your wedding day. I didn't find it silly at all to ask my caterer to accommodate my friend with a dietary restriction. Any buffet item that has come in contact with butter, cheese, or any other animal product is no longer vegan friendly - and I 100% wanted to make sure my friend/bridesmaid had a filling meal.

I totally agree that couples shouldn't go crazy trying to cater to every single picky eater, but in my opinion, a vegetarian/vegan option is always a kind gesture. I know even though I'm a meat eater, I typically lean towards the vegetarian option at weddings. That's just me though. It's 100% understandable not to have shellfish - allergies are not something to mess with and it's not worth the risk for sure.

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Completely agree with this. We have a wide variety of food for the night. If you don't like any of it, eat cake! Lol

View Quoted Comment I understand what the reception, but what I am saying is that practically no one coming to our reception is vegan or vegetarian. And if they were, the way our family is (it's maybe 3 friends and the rest are family), they would either eat before or bring their own alternative. I've gone and to weddings and just not liked any of the meal options. I just didn't eat it, and found something else I did. That's just our crowd. May not work for everyone but it does for us. I wouldn't even want as a guest for someone to go out the way for me out of 100+ people. It's nice, but not expected for a buffet type meal. There isn't even an option for it for us. Our venue is all inclusive so if we had more strict requirements, or needed plated meals where people chose beforehand, we would have went somewhere else because we would have to offer that one entree to everyone and pay extra per person.

Nope or not that they have made known, because honestly, thats rude. We are having a buffet so we can pick and choose what they want, and we did make a couple tweaks to our menu to appeal to more diverse interests. You can only accommodate people so much, and if it's not a health related restriction (or vegan, vegetarian, etc) I don't care. Find something you like or don't eat...

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My opinion in the matter won't change. I had an all-inclusive venue with a buffet - with one vegan guest, and they were happy to make one separate meal for her dietary restriction. If I offered the vegan meal, and she still didn't like it and chose to grab food before/after - that's on her. BUT in my mind, at least I went above & beyond to make sure she had a meal. It will always surprise me a little to not see a vegetarian/vegan option. It's just the norm in my social circle, but that doesn't mean everyone has to agree.

You do whatever makes you and your guests happy - congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

No I never considered catering to picky eaters. My SIL is GF due to Celiac's and that was the only consideration I gave.

I just want to say I am a picky eater, and I would never except somebody to cater their wedding towards me, nor would I want them too. I've been to weddings with food I don't like, I eat the things they have that I do like and don't mention it. Likewise I'm not doing my catering for any picky eaters. Food allergies/gluten free/vegetarian/vegan lifestyles is different, and a lot of caters can work with you for those dietary needs but if it's just that they're a picky eater there's no reason to cater towards them.

If you have a lot of picky eaters I'd probably do buffet and make sure there are plates that are fine for allergies (non-dairy, no nuts, gluten-free) and veggie dishes for vegetarians. Thank goodness we didn't have friends or family who asked/complained about our food--we're not a restaurant taking orders!

I had a few young teens ask for the kids meal. It's supposed to be 10 and under, so if the venue has a problem with it I assume I'll just have to pay $100 for chicken nuggets instead of $25. Other than that, no one has made any strange requests. We have a pasta bar before the main course, so I think just about everyone at least likes pasta.

My niece had the very typical buffet offerings - roasted chicken, roast beef, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, salad, glazed carrots, and a meatless pasta/sauce. There are a lot of picky eaters on her dad's side. But she and her husband got very creative with the hors d'oeuvres: they had a variety of Asian, Greek, and Latin appetizers and to be honest I would have made a meal of just those! They were all delicious That might be an option for you.

View Quoted Comment Thank you. Our catering is already set I was just curious what others were doing.

I want to say no, but my FH did cater to his mother which pissed me off. She is too picky and acts like everything is disgusting. The woman literally only cooks spaghetti and meatloaf. Now, if they were helping pay for it then I would not complain, but we chose one of our dual entrees solely based on her likes and I'm regretting it. My advice would be do not accommodate for anyone unless it is because of allergies. Also have a vegan or vegetarian option as well. But other than that, no. It is a headache.