I have spoken on the blog in the past about catering for dietary requirements, but that was quite a while ago now and seeing as it's coeliac awareness week I thought it would be perfect timing to recap.

I am a coeliac; as many of you may already know and I found out about 6 years ago now, so I am pretty used the the strict gluten free diet I must stick to.

Today I want to talk about how to achieve a gluten free wedding if you are on a gluten free diet and how to cater for gluten free guests. Of course the advice below can also be applied to other dietary requirements too :-)

Gluten free wedding food. Image by Heline Bekker, full shoot here.

On your wedding day the last thing you want to worry about is getting poorly. By having a gluten free day for everyone you can relax a little more. Or you can go gluten free on the day for you and a gluten menu for all of your guests.

Many wedding venues are clued up about gluten free diets due to the large amount of catering they do. Ask them at your initial venue visit if they understand the requirements for a gluten free diet and if they can cater. Venues quite often offer a menu tasting, which should help to build trust in your venue for catering to your needs.

You could also go down the route of finding a caterer separately and checking that they are proficient in providing gluten free options. Think about food alternatives such as food trucks, fish and chips, BBQs or afternoon tea.

Going for naturally gluten free dishes on your menu will always make things simpler and more cost affective, rather than using substitutes for bread, pastry, pasta and cakes. Think about fresh local produce, vegetables, rice, meat, fish and potatoes. For pudding you can have naturally gluten free options which are totally delicious too. Pancakes (with alternative flour), panna cotta, rice pudding, crème brulee, ice cream, mousse and almond based bakes can all work fabulously.

If you go down the buffet route, be sure to try and avoid cross contamination of foods. Keep gluten free options to once side if possible and have separate utensils or butter for bead at hand.

Image by Andy Li Photography, full wedding here.

Image by Cory Ryan Photography, full wedding here.

It's important not to forget that drinks could have hidden gluten ingredients that you may not have thought about. Double check the drinks menu and ingredients with your supplier. Instead of beer how about cider, wine or cocktails.

Gluten free wedding cake. Image by Fraser Stewart, full wedding here.

Everyone loves a spot of cake and gluten free cake can be just as scrummy. If the taste of the cake is a priority, find a baker that creates gluten free bakes and ask to taste them first before booking. If you are happy with the gluten free cake then why not serve the gluten free cake to all of the guests? I am sure no one will even notice the difference. You could also try having a gluten free cake put to the side for yourself to eat and have the decorated cake to cut in front of guests made from a gluten recipe.

If you are not sure about going for cake then a cake made of cheese is becoming really popular and is naturally gluten free, so can be a great option.

Image by James & Lianne Photography, full wedding here.

Don't worry about including food or drink based wedding favours. There are so many different favour ideas around as alternatives. Just look at the favour ideas I collated here.

Image by Daffodil Waves Photography, full wedding here.

Do check out Coeliac UK for so much information about gluten free diets and catering for coeliac disease. There are tips for those catering, ingredients to avoid and steps to take to avoid cross contamination.

If we were planning our wedding now, I am sure we would go for a gluten free day for everyone. Take a look at some of the real weddings on WWW with gluten free options here.

Are you planning your wedding with a dietary requirement? Or if you have any questions about planning a gluten free wedding pop them in the box below and I will do my best to help :-) XOXO Lou