Last weekend myself, my parents, my fiancé and his parents all went along to have a final look at the potential wedding venue we'd selected for our wedding, to be held next year. After having a look around the fabulous country hotel and a look at the pavillion where we hoped to be holding the ceremony, we decided on a date and started getting down to the nitty gritty of the details. One of the things that you don't realise when planning a wedding is how much of your budget is taken up by providing the food for your guests. Which is obviously an important consideration when a) you have diabetes, b) some of your guests have diabetes, c) you need to follow a gluten free diet and d) mealtimes are incredibly important because NO bride wants to have a hypo when saying their vows! Especially me, as I tend to get a mind blank when I have a hypo, so imagine not being able to remember saying your wedding vows! Disaster!
Thankfully the wedding planner at our venue was very patient and was happy to answer all of the diabetes/ gluten free/ meal timings questions we had to ask. Even 18 months out from the big day, we decided to plot out the timings for the day now so as to be prepared. This means that I am now able to plan my meal times around the ceremony to try and avoid hypos. We agreed that the ceremony should start at 2pm because this allows me to have breakfast and a light lunch before we say our vows. It also allows me to get my blood sugars in check in plenty of time for the day ahead. With regards to the meals themselves, the hotel we've chosen has agreed that the chef on the day of the wedding, will sit down before with us and go through the details of the menu so as to design gluten free alternatives for myself and other guests with this type of dietary requirement. One other tip that we came across here is that the wedding venue had a package available by which if we chose a certain day of the week, we were guaranteed exclusivity of the venue. So in relation to food preparation, if the chef is able to create a menu for everyone that is just as tasty but using gluten free alternatives, there wouldn't be any need to prepare 'non-gluten free' foods in the same kitchen on that day. Which would be really helpful to those people who have severe gluten sensitivity.
I think the key with managing diabetes and food related concerns with the wedding was not being afraid to ask questions early on. We decided to go ahead and book this venue in the end because we felt their attitude was one that made us feel like nothing was too much trouble. Sorting out meal times this early also means that guests with diabetes will have advance notice of when they can expect to eat on the day and what foods will be available. As I wouldn't want them to have their day spoilt with poor blood sugars either. We're also considering having a sweet station that will come out towards the end of the evening, which will be a fun treat to enjoy for our guests. And it will also act as a very beautiful 'hypo station' for people with diabetes, meaning that we can dance the night away and know that there's a hypo treatment available to hand!
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(Image: littlebigweddings.co.uk)
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