Vegan Wedding Catering: Tips for planning a vegan wedding menu
For every wedding couple a crucial aspect of wedding planning is deciding upon a wedding menu. If you’re a vegan couple, you’ll want to stay true to your own beliefs whilst showcasing the food and flavours that you love the most. Yet devising a vegan menu for a varied guest list of friends and family from all walks of life, can feel like a daunting prospect. You may be wondering how to satisfy the taste buds of meat-eating guests whilst sticking to your preference of a plant-based menu.
To get you started on mapping out your vegan menu, we sat down with wedding caterers Tamsin and Michelle from Bon App. This creative duo are renowned for their culinary masterpieces at The Farmhouse Hotel, especially when it comes to beautiful and inventive plant-based wedding menus. Here we share their tips and inspiration for crafting an exciting wedding menu that embraces the richness and creativity of vegan cuisine.
Don’t be afraid to go all vegan
We’re seeing more and more vegan wedding couples choosing to go completely vegan for their big day, and we don’t blame them. Your wedding menu is a great opportunity to share your personality, foodie flair and favourite flavours, plus with so much choice and creativity around vegan food, it’s possible to satisfy even the most die-hard of meat eaters.
Weddings can be a long day, so you’ll want to ensure everyone eats well, dilutes their alcohol consumption and enjoys their meal. There are lots of tips and tricks for creating an inclusive vegan menu that will appeal to everyone whilst reflecting the personality of the wedding couple. For instance, crowd pleasing plant-based foods such as roasted vegetables, salads, soups, potatoes and tofu can be dressed, seasoned and spiced into surprising and delicious concoctions. These are more likely to be savoured by non-vegans than vegan meats and cheeses, which may be viewed with a critical eye.
Think about the type of day you wish to have
The style of catering you choose should reflect the vibe you wish to create on the day. For instance, sharing platters create an abundant wedding breakfast packed full of variety and flavour, whilst encouraging guests to relax, chat and mingle around the food. Dishes are served at the same time on platters to share at the table, allowing your guests to have more of what they like, and less of what they don’t like.
Alternatively, if you crave a more formal event with introductions and speeches, the traditional 3-course sit down meal works just as well at a vegan wedding as a non-vegan wedding. Couples often feel challenged by the main course, but a beetroot wellington with a rich plant based pastry and mushroom jus, is just as beautiful as its more traditional (meat-based) counterpart.
Consider seasonality
For the richest, most delicious flavours it’s always best to consider seasonality when planning a menu, for a plant-based menu it is even more essential. For a spring/summer wedding you’ll find a bountiful array of edible flowers, salad, fruits and vegetables provide endless possibilities. If your wedding is planned for winter, produce such as mushrooms, courgettes, kale and pumpkin can be used for delicious soups, risottosand Asian inspired dished. In cooler weather, think about warming guests up with treats such as griddled courgette steaks with chilli, mint and sesame or confit leeks with a white bean puree, crispy capers, chilli and garlic.
Timing is everything!
Often wedding ceremonies take place in the afternoon, which means many guests will have spent the morning getting ready and travelling to the venue. Make sure to provide some sustenance after the ceremony, like a selection of delicious vegan canapés, to tide over guests who haven’t eaten since breakfast, this also helps guests pace themselves throughout the day when drinking alcohol.
Another tip, to avoid rushing guests or delaying the kitchen, be practical about how long it takes for people to be seated for the meal (as this is often surprising!). Guests will have a loo break, brush up on makeup, finish chatting – all in all this usually takes around half an hour. Talk to your caterers about timings, including when you wish to have your speeches. These can be in-between courses or all in one go. If choosing an elaborate dessert, such as a red velvet cake, a chocolate and coffee torte with caramelised blood orange or a plant based crème brûlée, speeches can be a handy way to give the kitchen time to deliver the showstopping finale to your meal.
Vegan Wedding Menu Suggestions
Vegan Wedding Canapés
A selection of bruschetta (pea and mint, tomato and basil, kale pesto and marinated mushrooms)
Chargrilled tofu skewers with a soy and honey glaze
Bloody Mary shots with peppered watermelon
Vegan Wedding Starters
Heirloom tomato gazpacho with a black olive focaccia
Celery, squash and apple strudel
Beetroot and horseradish terrine with candied walnuts
Vegan Wedding Main courses
Chargrilled courgette steaks with dukkah, lemon zest and chilli. Served with wild rocket, bulgur wheat and coriander oil
Beetroot wellington with sweet potato puree, honey roasted carrots and a rich mushroom jus.
Roasted Mediterranean tarts with basil oil and pesto, balsamic tomatoes and a new potato crush
Vegan Wedding Desserts
Chocolate and coffee torte with blood orange
Summer berry jellies set with sparkling prosecco and agar-agar
Vegan wedding cake with plant based buttercream and fresh berries
The Farmhouse Hotel, with its timeless charm and mountain backdrop, is a truly idyllic setting for a wedding in the French Alps. Tamsin and Michelle cater for weddings and events at The Farmhouse Hotel, as well as other locations in Geneva and the Northern French Alps.
All photos captured by photographer Flora Gibson at The Farmhouse Hotel, Morzine in summer 2023. For more images of Syd and Coe’s wedding see Flora’s blog.
