NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

Bride ‘in tears’ after guest orders 20 pizzas to wedding despite five-course vegan meal

Heath Moore
By Heath Moore
NZ Herald·
19 Nov, 2024 04:18 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A couple's plan to serve gourmet vegan food at their wedding reception ran into a pizza problem. Photo / Getty Images

A couple's plan to serve gourmet vegan food at their wedding reception ran into a pizza problem. Photo / Getty Images

A bride was left in tears and furious at her family after a guest ordered pizza to her wedding because she was only serving vegan food.

The 28-year-old bride sought advice online following the incident, revealing she and her husband had been vegans for three years.

The couple decided to have an all-vegan reception dinner. However, she admitted she deliberately failed to tell the guests that the meals would all be vegan to avoid “prejudice”.

Her plan spectacularly backfired when her cousin took matters into his own hands and ordered 20 pizzas, telling guests he had “real food” to share with the wedding party.

The bride said that left her in tears and she sought answers as to whether she was wrong for misleading guests about the menu.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She asked: “Am I the a**hole for serving only vegan food at my wedding without telling anyone, then getting upset when my family ordered 20 pizzas during the reception?”

In her post, she said her husband was in agreement with the menu.

“We spent months working with an amazing chef to create a gourmet five-course meal that just happened to be vegan - think mushroom wellington, truffle risotto, roasted vegetable tarts, etc. We spent nearly $15,000 on the food alone.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“We deliberately didn’t mention the food was vegan on the invitations because we wanted people to enjoy it without prejudice. Every dish was designed to be delicious and satisfying, regardless of dietary preference.”

But her cousin wasn’t happy with the food on offer. She soon noticed something was going on when her brother Tom and cousin weren’t at their table.

“The ceremony was beautiful ... Twenty minutes later, I watched in horror as he and my cousins walked in carrying 20 large pizzas. They started distributing them to guests, announcing, ‘Real food for anyone who wants it!’

“I was mortified. The caterers looked so embarrassed, and several guests hadn’t even tried our carefully planned menu yet.”

The bride asked if she was the a**hole for crying over a cousin ordering 20 pizzas at her vegan wedding.
The bride asked if she was the a**hole for crying over a cousin ordering 20 pizzas at her vegan wedding.

While her anger was originally directed at her cousin, she soon found out her aunt was behind the idea.

“When I confronted Tom, he said my aunt had texted him that ‘all the food is just vegetables’ and they ‘couldn’t let people go hungry at a wedding.’

“The pizza completely upstaged our expensive gourmet meal. People were taking photos and treating it like a joke.”

She went on to say her mother-in-law posted online that her son’s wedding “was saved by pizza” and that the bride attempted to “force everyone to eat rabbit food”.

The bride spent the rest of the night crying and her husband demanded that Tom and her cousins leave.

She explained this “caused a scene” and that “half the family is calling us stuck-up”. The bride said she was accused of “pushing our beliefs” onto the guests.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The bride ended her rant, asking “Am I the a**hole for not announcing the menu was vegan, and then getting upset about the pizza?”

While she hoped to gain sympathy from readers, many piled in on her for not being up front regarding the menu.

“Be honest, you didn’t tell anyone about the menu because you knew they wouldn’t like it/come if you did. This doesn’t make you an AH, but people could have eaten beforehand if they knew the menus weren’t to their liking,” one wrote.

Another responded: “I mean ordering pizzas was out of line but you hid it on purpose knowing people wouldn’t like the idea of it. Yes it’s your special day but being deceptive doesn’t help anyone.”

“You are upset people prefer pizza over your perfectly curated gourmet menu. That alone should answer your question. You’re the a**hole for trying to force the issue,” a third added.


Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Lifestyle

How to divorce well: Kiwi lawyer on how to avoid mistakes many couples make

16 Jun 01:30 AM
New Zealand

'Quite fun': Hamish's quail egg business takes flight

16 Jun 12:09 AM
Premium
Lifestyle

The real-life dating boot camp that inspired Love on the Spectrum

16 Jun 12:00 AM

It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
How to divorce well: Kiwi lawyer on how to avoid mistakes many couples make

How to divorce well: Kiwi lawyer on how to avoid mistakes many couples make

16 Jun 01:30 AM

Is it possible to have a tidy divorce? Leading barrister Sharon Chandra explains how.

'Quite fun': Hamish's quail egg business takes flight

'Quite fun': Hamish's quail egg business takes flight

16 Jun 12:09 AM
Premium
The real-life dating boot camp that inspired Love on the Spectrum

The real-life dating boot camp that inspired Love on the Spectrum

16 Jun 12:00 AM
Premium
Kiwi divorce errors: Insights from barrister Sharon Chandra

Kiwi divorce errors: Insights from barrister Sharon Chandra

Sponsored: Embrace the senses
sponsored

Sponsored: Embrace the senses

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP