Vegan Wedding Dinner HELP ME I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING

[sequoia]

So yeah, the title of the thread should serve as a clue as to what I've gotten myself into.

My fiance and I are both vegan. We are getting married soon. I am not planning a wedding because the thought of that gives me anxiety. Plus, we are poor (he's a marine, I'm a student and book keeper). So we want to just get married in the chapel on base, which is free, and then have dinner with close family and friends (about 10-15 people). The problem is, there aren't any "upscale" vegan restaurants in my area. There are plenty of vegan fast food places and whatnot, but we want to go somewhere sort of special. The base is about an hour south of LA, where there are nicer vegan restaurants. Is it too much to ask our loved ones to travel up there for dinner? I really really do not want to cook on my wedding day (or clean up the mess). I suppose we could get it catered at my house, but then it turns into A THING and people will expect something more than what it really is, which is a simple little affair with no lace or frills.

I'd appreciate any input or suggestions. This is all happening very quickly and I'm a bit frazzled. I can't imagine what it's like for people who actually have full-blown weddings >_<

 

[Calliegirl]

Would it be an hour drive for all of them? If so, I don't think that would be asking too much, an hour is nothing. People often travel much, much farther than that for weddings/receptions.

 

[Fyvel]

An hour to travel is not a big deal to most people for this sort of event. Heck my wedding was in another country and a my family had to get flights to attend and quite a few did.

 

[Amy SF]

I agree. An hour's drive is not much compared to longer drives or an airplane flight.

 

[KLS52]

Yes, depending on people's circumstances, I do not think asking them to drive an hour is asking too much. Perhaps you can discuss this option with some of them and get their reaction?

 

[SummerRain]

An hours drive is fine IMO, half of my guests will be travelling much further for my wedding, most peoples friends and family don't live within an hours radius. If there's anyone who might struggle to travel (elderly relatives, people who are sick) you can check with them first.

Alternativly, you could look at other restaurants and ask them if they'd consider putting on a vegan menu for the evening, that are closer to the chapel. I've had lots of restaurants make me vegan meals - often with less than a days notice - and actually all of them have been amoungst some of the nicest dishes I've eaten. There's a vegan group local to me that ask restaurants to make vegan menus for a specific night - and within one city lots of restaurants have done it and made a delicious sounding special vegan menu for the night... So my point is don't be afraid to ask, often places are both willing and able to make delicious vegan meals, and if you have time to plan even better because if you ring up several places, the odds are one will be accommodating for you Especially if you can tell them you'll bring a party of 10-15, that's a lot of business, especially for a small restaurant.

 

[KLS52]

^^^ Great idea, asking a restaurant to prepare something special.

 

[LuvOurMother]

Are you in so cal? I ask bc that's around where I live. There is an excellent Indian restaurant in San Bernardino that is perfect for gatherings and the chef makes amazing vegan food : http://www.clayovenusa.com/