A Wedding Without Gluten, Sugar or Alcohol? No Problem!
A behind-the-scenes look at a marriage that celebrates good health
By Debbie Feit
When Ayelet Weiselfish and Matt Connell sat down with their caterer to discuss their wedding reception, the happy couple was explicit in their wishes for the perfect menu: barbecue ribs with a smoky dipping sauce; Asian stir fry with veggies and rice noodles; garlicky hummus with baked crackers; tender brisket, to be carved on the spot; creamy mushroom risotto; and a duck station for make-your-own tortillas.
The couple also made another request — no gluten, no refined sugar and no alcohol.
Not many brides would take on the task of planning a wedding with these restrictions but Ayelet Weiselfish is unflappable. In addition, she’s chosen as the site for her very special day the Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station, a beautiful banquet facility that’s nestled atop the banks of the Connecticut River and is still very much in the process of being built.
This doesn’t faze Weiselfish; nor does the task she and her fiancé Connell have set for themselves -- to have their June 22nd wedding, including the celebratory meal, reflect the way they choose to live.
Here Comes the Bride
A 31-year-old physical therapist in Bloomfield, Connecticut, Weiselfish has spent the last seven years working to help others feel their best. That’s the family business. Her mother, Sharon Weiselfish-Giammatteo, Ph.D., is the developer of Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT), a form of bodywork (think chiropractic or craniosacral therapy) designed to address pain, disease and disability. Mother and daughter both practice at the facility Weiselfish-Giammatteo started, the Center for Integrative Manual Therapy and Diagnostics (see sidebar on page xx).
Weiselfish had been working with autistic children and adults for many years, so she was familiar with the positive results that can come from following a gluten- and casein-free diet. But it was after attending a seminar on nutritional wellness that she and her mother began exploring how others, not just those with autism, might benefit from following a similar food plan. She learned that there are a great number of people who don’t even realize they have a gluten intolerance -- and she discovered that she herself had a sensitivity.
“About five years ago, I made it a point to stop eating gluten for one or two months every six months or so,” Weiselfish says. After adding gluten back into her diet, she noticed symptoms like “abdominal bloating, headaches, backaches, joint stiffness and decreased clarity of thought.”
And although she eats processed sugar on the rare occasion, Weiselfish has pretty much removed it from her regular diet.
“We found that processed sugar appears to be neurotoxic,” she says. “It inhibits regeneration of the nerves. And for people with disorders such as autism, cerebral palsy, or Parkinson’s, the body requires the nerves to regenerate if it is to heal. For me, I just feel better when I’m not eating it.”
Here Comes the Groom
Although 31-year-old Matt Connell went to high school with Weiselfish, they had different sets of friends. The two didn’t connect until ten years later, when their high school reunion and a mutual friend brought them together.
Connell was familiar with Integrative Manual Therapy long before his first date with Weiselfish. As a special education teacher, he had considered studying it in the past. But after listening to Weiselfish talk about her work, he was eager to see if the treatment would alleviate his own respiratory and gastrointestinal problems. So he made an appointment with Weiselfish-Giammatteo, his future mother-in-law.
She recommended Connell eliminate gluten from his diet in order to uncover the underlying issues relating to his chronic breathing problems and allergies. The results, says Connell, were almost instantaneous.
“I saw an immediate increase in my energy level and a decrease in upset stomachs that had become common after consuming any food,” he says. “On the diet, I no longer worried about feeling ill after I ate. Within four weeks, I lost almost three inches from my waist. And most remarkable was that before beginning the diet I was using my asthma inhaler about seven to twelve times a week. Within six weeks, I no longer needed my inhaler and to this day I don’t even carry it with me.”
Eat, Drink and Be Healthy
The decision to plan a gluten-free menu for their wedding reception wasn’t difficult.
“The wedding is about us, not anybody else,” Weiselfish says. “And to be honest, most of our community is gluten-free as well…probably over half our guests. Many people were actually relieved to learn of our plans.”
Of course, not everyone was relieved. The couple received some minor reactions, ranging from surprise to confusion, about their choice. That there would be no gluten served was the least of it.
”The most shocking thing for people to hear was that the wedding would be alcohol-free,” says Weiselfish. “But alcohol contains processed sugar and Matt and I only eat and drink things with natural sweeteners. So we’ll serve sparkling mineral water and spritzers with fruit nectars.”
The search for a chef who could accommodate the couple’s requests didn’t prove to be difficult either. Much of the wedding planning responsibilities had been given to Weiselfish’s friend and co-worker, Mary Farrell. She suggested having the wedding at the Riverhouse. Because it’s a new facility, the chef had yet to prepare a menu, so he was more than receptive to the couple’s requests.
“I’ve never prepared a gluten- and sugar-free meal before,” says chef John Thompson. “But I find it interesting and I’m looking forward to the challenge. We’re going to have carving stations, so I need to eliminate the rolls. Ayelet and Matt are big on veggies so we’ll have lots of crudité platters. And I’m going to see what kind of cracker I can use for the dips.”
Weiselfish wanted to use her grandmother’s carrot cake recipe for the wedding cake. So she turned to Donna Everett of Creative Cakes by Donna in Haddam, Connecticut. Everett had experience baking gluten-free cakes; the challenge now would be working with the couple’s request to use only natural sugars.
“Most wedding cakes use butter cream or fondant on the outside but these frostings require confectioner’s sugar,” says Donna. “Ayelet and Matt were limited to using maple sugar, which is grainy and brown and doesn’t really work for frosting.”
After some experimentation, Donna came up with a sumptuous solution. “I used real whipped cream and maple syrup as a flavoring and I prepared it at the last minute,” she says. “But it can’t be left out as a showpiece for the whole day. It will need to sit in the fridge.”
Recipe for Success
With a positive attitude, creative planning and help from the right people, Weiselfish and Connell’s wedding celebration will be a true reflection of who they are as a couple and how they choose to live. Your next celebration can be, too. Whether you’re planning an elegant affair, backyard barbecue or a toddler’s birthday party, don’t let dietary restrictions stress you out.
If it’s your first party, Weiselfish suggests giving yourself plenty of time to plan. This way, you can experiment with new recipes.
“Pick up one of the gluten-free product guides from Whole Foods or Wild Oats,” she suggests. “You can read the different food sections and see what you can use for substitutions.”
It’s also important to check ingredients, regardless of what it may say on the front of the package, since gluten – and most other food allergens – can take many forms.
And don’t worry about what other people think. Plan a menu that you and your family will enjoy and you can be sure your guests will enjoy it, as well.
“Everyone will have an opinion but don’t get into the drama of it,” urges Weiselfish. “In the end, planning a gluten- and sugar-free party is easy to do.”
“Everything we will serve at our wedding will be out of this world,” says Connell. “If we hadn’t already told our guests the food would be gluten- and sugar-free, they would never know.”
