Wedding Tip: Vendor Meals, Part 1 (for the Bride and Groom)

As you plan your Wedding day "taking care" of the Vendors isn't typically something that you worry about.  And why should you?  You're paying the vendors to perform a service for you.  Oftentimes once you've hired a vendor they are out of your mind until the day of the Wedding when you see them again.  Of course you might maintain a relationship with your photographer as you'll see them for your engagement photo session.  And you might talk to the DJ again about your music selections, but I would hazard a guess that once the payments are made and the contracts are signed you don't review the contract again.  

I would encourage you to think of your Vendors one last time as you are coordinating your final guest counts for the caterer.  It's a wonderful gesture to feed your Vendors a meal.  Some Vendors actually require it and have it in their contracts, others just hope you'll think to feed them.  A good rule of thumb is if you and your guests are hungry by the time you get to your meals, we are too.  Many of your Vendors will have already been working for you from the moment they get up - checking batteries, memory cards and tripods; arranging florals; setting up sites and finalizing last minute seating chart changes... all the little things that go unnoticed to you are being taken care of for you.  In my experience, the one thing we forget to do (or don't have time to do) is eat.  

When you talk to your catering manager, ask them about Vendor meals.  They will often recommend a less expensive meal option for your Vendors.  It doesn't have to be the shrimp scampi and fillet mignon that you're eating - we're happy to just take 5 minutes to sit and stop the grumbling of our stomachs with a pasta, or a chicken breast - preferably something warm.

So when should you feed these Vendors?  Typically the best time to feed your Vendors is immediately after you've been served your salad course (or just as the guests are starting to go through the buffet line).  This is the time of the day when the least amount of Vendor support is needed.  You likely don't need photo or video of your guests eating or going through the buffet line.  Your Planner will be staying out of the way of the catering staff.  The DJ can typically set 15 minutes of "dinner music" and leave the room for a few minutes to have a quick bite of food.  We appreciate the thought and gesture more than you know.  Until next time...

You cut the cake; I'll cut the chaos!