Guests Have Decided to Go Vegan and I Don't Have Food For Them

Otherwise check out this link for common chain restaurants and the vegan options you can order. I use it all the time. Chipotle is another good option.

https://www.peta.org/living/food/chain-restaurants/

@Kristin, I agree. I never said it was hard to find a vegan restaurant. I just don't think she needs to harass her caterer about it.

Samantha, read my post on page four. We're not talking a restaurant where every meal is cooked to order. "Cooking two portions of something in oil" isn't the issue, and it's not a easy as it sounds when your chef is trying to do 50 other things for the rest of the group, (very often in an off premise kitchen that isn't set up in the ideal way) and in a banquet facility, possibly several other groups. Plating 150 meals, three choices, some rare, some well, some no sauce, some double starch, in a timely way, with style and heat? That is a challenge that few people know. I happen to. And if I had to stop the line to cook or even just plate an entirely different meal, the whole process suffers.

Yes, ordering from another source is a possibility, but the hundreds of moving parts that happen on a wedding day, I betcha the two meals from "leave and twigs r us" get lost in the shuffle.

I think they're rude too.

ETD: harrassing your caterer will get you no where except put you in a confrontational position with a company that is doing its best to entertain your OTHER 280 guests.

Some of y'all are seriously recommending finding a new caterer six weeks out (for a date right before Christmas) because two people changed their diets? Damn.

Mary, do you have anything that is vegan in your menu? Maybe the vegans can just be vegetarian for that meal, it's not a big deal. I'm not offering vegan options, only vegetarian & gluten free. Don't feel bad about it. My caterer even told me don't try to accommodate everyone because it will drive you crazy.

Actually after reading some of these comments and thinking about it more, I think you're perfectly fine just responding to your vegan guests and saying "I discussed it with my caterer and they cannot guarantee any food to be vegan. We will have vegetarian options, but we won't have any clear vegan option. So sorry about this."

Thanks everyone so much for your insight and help. I'm punting this back to parents and telling them to deal. The couple in question is the adult son and his wife of family friends that we've never met. I think my frustration stems from the fact that I could NEVER imagine being so demanding with someone that I've never met in my life. Thanks!

Totally agree, Mary! The folks I know that have strict dietary needs take their own meals with them wherever they go and would never demand someone cater to them.

@Kristin - It's culturally the norm for me and my family to have very large weddings where the couple hasn't necessarily met every single person in attendance.

Seems like i may be in the minority here but i think these guests are rude AF and i would not expect your caterer to accommodate them. I think its nice of you to offer to try to bring two vegan meals in IF you can do it seamlessly. if its going to be a huge hassle, cause issues, or stress you out, you need to just tell them to deal. i do not have any strict dietary restrictions however i did the whole 30 before and during that time i still went to social events and NEVER expected anyone to accommodate me. I was never without snacks in my purse. This is a conscious decision they have made and a month before your wedding no less and they expect you to accommodate them? yeah no sorry they sound like assholes.

They lost me at "Free Range Chicken" I'd tell them to eat some paper, but I tend to be a dick at times.

*Note - I had vegan options at my wedding but do not believe any were ordered.

So bring in other meals from a vegan take out put them on a pretty plate and done! But like others said, it is a little rude on the guest. I am transitioning to a plant base diet (a little stricter than vegan) and made no fuss when they served me chicken at a wedding last month that I RSVP chicken for. I wouldn't have the balls to ask to be accommodated so late in the process. There is a transitioning period, no one wakes up and goes 100% vegan because it is not possible. All that daid, I also think the caterer should not be in business of they can't accomodate vegan options.

Same boat and it's stressing me out looks like I'm going to have to go back to my caterer and spend more money

I agree that your guests are being pretty demanding and I don't think you'd be in the wrong just giving them the vegetarian option.

But, I think if you did want to make it work with a caterer for a vegan meal, you could always say the person is a vegetarian and also lactose intolerant? I think caterers are much more accommodating of allergies

I'm just waiting for you to ask for their restaurant recommendations to order from and they have to reveal they're not actually vegan. They're just not comfortable eating something you can't guarantee was ethically sourced. But that's me.

Please, WW member that would find a new caterer six weeks before their wedding because of the needs of two guests in a 300+ person wedding, raise your hand. None of you? Great.

Just chiming to say these guests sound atrocious and full of crap. I can't imagine a mindset where I'd ask A STRANGER the food origins at her wedding. Some people today...

I am having BBQ for the wedding reception. My vegan guests are going to have a meal of sides. There really is no way around it. It is one meal.

@FMK - Sorry, that's a lot different...

Too lazy to read the other comments. I mean... the wedding is next month, how do they expect you to suddenly accommodate a strict, intense vegan diet on the fly? They can bring their own food. Maybe it's callous but fuck 'em.

I'd tell them tough luck...lol.