Friday, April 1, 2016

Planning a Gluten-Free Wedding

This year I'm excited to be planning a wedding with my fantastic fiancé, Aaron. Being the amazing
man that he is, it was his idea to have a 100% gluten-free wedding (with the exception of some local brews). Now, while I definitely wanted this, I wasn't going to push the 100% part too much if it was met with dismay.

Lucky for me, he's on board and excited about it! Therefore, we've had the task of creating a gluten-free menu, selecting gluten-free alcohol and of course, finding a gluten-free wedding cake.

Our wedding will be taking place at the Pecan Grove, which is a venue owned by the Salt Lick. While they require you to use their catering services, don't assume that all you're going to get is BBQ. On top of having a brisket and sausage carving station, they are setting us up with a mashed potato bar, salad bar, list of gluten-free appetizers AND a charcuterie spread for the cocktail hour complete with gluten-free crackers.

The alcohol was fairly easy...we are winos so we'll have a nice selection (and a wine tasting!) paired with some safe liquors including Deep Eddy Vodkas and tequila (who has a Texas wedding without tequila!?).

The last item was the cake, and we thought it would be the most challenging. Luckily, being the gluten-free blogger that I am, I have had great experiences with options around town. We looked at Wildwood Bakehouse, but they weren't big on wedding cakes, as well as some other cake makers who "could make something gluten-free" but couldn't guarantee cross-contamination. There was one on our list that we were counting on and it turned out to be a success - Better Bites Bakery.

Better Bites Bakery is hugely popular for cakes, cookies and more PLUS it is vegan! We went for a tasting and spoke with the decorator who has made us very excited about our cakes. We'll be having a smaller groom's cake and a wedding cake - both of which can be made tall! You will see that many of the websites say they won't hold up over 3 stories, but Better Bites is making it happen.

We'll keep you up to date as things progress...there are still food decisions that must be made for the shower, bachelorette, rehearsal and bridal luncheon...so stay tuned!