Gluten Free Wedding Guide
Catering gluten free can be an intimidating feat to pull off on top of the many other little details to get figured out before your wedding day. Luckily, Kansas City has a variety of vendors that are happy to meet whatever dietary needs you may have to adhere to. This is Clayton, a Celiac of almost 10 years, giving you a quick run down of how to pull off a gluten free wedding.
You have options!
The best news is that you have choices! When I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease while in high school, the options both out and about and at the grocery store were slim. The pasta sucked, the bread was a mess and the cookies were sandy. Speaking from experience, Kansas City has a roster of bakeries that will be able to provide a delicious option for a gluten free wedding cake.
1. Billies Grocery
In my top spot, to no surprise to my friends and family, is Billies Grocery. Billies gluten free bakery has no shortage of options and nails the execution every time. They offer six or nine-inch cakes with seasonal options and also offer a vegan option (great for anyone that is also dairy free). The icing is perfect and the cake itself always holds up without reminding you of a sand castle while eating it.
Let them eat cake, or pie, or brownies or cookies. Billies provides far more than just cake and even my friends who have never had to eat gluten free in their lives are always impressed by the quality of the products they put out.
The folks at Billies are always incredibly kind and would love to provide the sweets for your wedding day. The only downside is that you will be paying more than you may expect for a cake, but this is absolutely a case of getting what you pay for.
2. Morganas Bakery
Morganas Bakery in Raytown is a dedicated gluten free facility and provides custom cakes, including tiered wedding cakes. While the storefront is currently only open one day a week, their website says to give them 2-3 weeks notice to order a custom cake (but luckily we would help you navigate that well before that window of time).
I have had a few items from Morganas and can tell you that you are in for a treat. This is a solid place to invest in getting a gluten free cake that will keep you and/or your spouse feeling good for the rest of the reception.
3. Emily Kates
If you live in KC, you are probably already familiar with Emily Kates. This local brand provides three options for cakes: carrot, chocolate and vanilla. All options come as a six-inch option.
4. Mud Pie
This list would be incomplete without Mud Pie! This plant based bakery also knocks it out of the park with gluten free offerings. While they are not a dedicated gluten free facility, this is what their website says regarding it, “Gluten-free items are prepared in separate batches using dedicated equipment. While our kitchen is not certified gluten-free, we take steps to reduce cross-contact.”
What is most impressive about Mud Pie in my opinion is the variety of options available. A vanilla cake with earl grey frosting? Yes please. Lemon cake with a strawberry buttercream? These folks are insane for that. The best part is you can totally customize the options. We won’t say a word even if you go with a lime cake and espresso buttercream…but we may double check that is for sure what you had in mind.
Our advice
The other consideration to make is how much (or how little) you want to provide that is gluten free to your guests. My sister is currently planning her wedding and she eats gluten and dairy free. Her and my soon to be brother-in-law decided to only get a small cake for them to have at the reception while providing the rest of the guests a cheaper sheet cake.
It can be cost effective to tailor the amount of gluten free options to those who need it, rather than providing it for everyone. That oftentimes may be more feasible with some of these local bakeries that may not have a ton of resources but want to provide you with the best experience. When Josh and Maddie got married, I brought a box of assorted goodies from Billies and made sure I snagged the fellow celiacs in the room so we could have our own sweet treat in between dancing and several whiskey sours.
Your wedding day can be gluten free and most folks will never know the difference. We at Clover Coterie are happy to help you navigate what that looks like based on our own experiences of eating gluten free in Kansas City.