Food glorious food!

So you've said "I do" but now it's time to come to the crux of the issue. What are you going to eat for your wedding breakfast? After endless wedding photos everyone is always desperate to get to the feasting and you don't want to disappoint.

If you're vegan or vegetarian you may have the dilemma of whether you should serve meat to the assembled wedding guests. Just remember it's your day so do what feels best to you both. As you well know, veggie dishes are delicious so as long as you choose your wedding caterers wisely (or do it yourself!) no one will miss the meat.

If you are serving meat, you'll want to know where it's come from and if the animals in question were well treated, so go for organic where possible and support local farmers and the environment by choosing meat that hasn't been flown half way around the world.

As to how you do it, there are any number of options but here are a few:

Opt for a wedding reception venue that gives you the whole package, including food and drink, and ask them whether they use organic and/or locally produced food and drink, and can offer fair trade items such as tea and coffee, and chocolate!

Alternatively, select a wedding caterer on the same basis to come to your marquee or barn or back garden. See Ethical Weddings Directory for suggested suppliers.

In both cases, find out if the wedding caterer will provide crockery and glasses (most do) so you don't have to use disposables.

And don't forget to ask for a taster session to decide if they are the wedding caterer or wedding venue for you, and to help you make up your mind on which menu to go for.

If you know the area you are getting married in well, you could select a range of local suppliers to provide different items such as cheese, cold meats, and local ales, and get friends and relatives to help serve them up as a buffet on the day.

Weather permitting, you could even pack up all the goodies in hampers for a perfect wedding breakfast picnic (providing granny's knees can take it!).

To wash it all down, don't miss the chance to serve some beautiful beverages. There are fair trade options for soft drinks (remember the wonderful licuados (fruit cocktails) from Frutos de Espiritu from last week's post!), wine and beer; or if you want to keep it closer to home and cut down on 'drink miles', the reputation of English wines has improved beyond all recognition.

Why not find out if there's a vineyard local to you - they might be able to do you a good deal. You could even help out and get free wine for your troubles as you can at Sedlescombe Vineyard in Sussex

And remember you don't have to have champagne for the toasts - it's only a name - a local sparkling wine can do the job just as well.

Give local suppliers a chance to show you what they can do - let them tempt your tastebuds... and enjoy!

Happy planning,

Katie
www.ethicalweddings.com