Attending Weddings with a Metabolic Disorder
Let's talk about how I handle attending a wedding as a guest with PKU. This is tricky because you need to ensure proper sustenance to coat your stomach for a few drinks (if appropriate). You also want them to be good, low phe calories for your body.
Proper communication with the venue seems to be
most effective and direct way to get what you need.
When possible, leave out the bride and groom. This is their day and they do not need to be bothered by trivial diet modifications unless you need to pull them in. Below are the best strategies I have found for various situations.
The RSVP: I usually circle vegetarian or one of each if no vegetarian option. To be honest, the meat or fish dishes are usually more PKU friendly because the vegetarian option is generally regular pasta, beans, or tofu. The chicken and fish dish usually has a great, PKU friendly veggie side so I will trade with my husband.
Make a note on the RSVP that you will
contact the venue yourself to discuss dietary restrictions.
This gives the bride and groom a heads up if the venue follows up with them.
1. Friends with the bride or groom: More often than not, the bride reaches out to me directly a month or two before the wedding and asks what they should tell the venue. At that time, I will give them a brief overview of the diet that sometimes goes like this...
"Just a bunch of veggies! Any kind of butter or fat, any veggie, no beans, rice, quinoa or tofu."
I follow that up with my email for the bride to give the venue and encourage them to reach out to me directly with any other questions. This cuts out the middleman and gives the bride one less detail to worry about. They usually appreciate that.
I always bring my lophlex with me and also some bread or some easy low pro food to pair with the meal. Pasta sounds great but unless I am home to prepare, it does not make for easy transportation. How often is the wedding actually where you live? Basically never.
2. Attending as a plus one: This is not an issue for me anymore but I do remember the days of attending a wedding with my husband as a new couple. I was nervous to throw a bunch of food allergies at a couple who did not even know me yet. One of my biggest fears is that would be the only thing they knew about me. In this situation, there are options! Do not eat off diet because we all know that will only make things worse.
In this situation, pack low pro bread to eat and fill up on.
Then, eat all the veggies off your plate and your date.
That was my life-hack when I did not know the hosts or did not want to sound the alarm on the diet modifications.
The other way around it is to call the venue yourself.
I usually call the week of and ask for the event coordinator because I have some dietary restrictions. Usually they are quite accommodating and then you can even leave out the bride and groom all together. The advanced notification is key. I tried once to ask when I was there and the venue was not nearly as receptive.
Any questions or better ideas? Send them to me!! What do you do in this situation?
