Do caterers count in my guest total?

You can always ask but I didn't include them in our count.

Caterers and their waiters, no. If you hire an outside company that provides staffing (waitstaff, bartenders, etc) then yes you feed them. You do feed photographers, djs, coordinators, and include them in the count as vendor meals, and they will have verbiage in the contract stating that they require a complete hot meal equivalent to what guests are served, not a last minute cold sandwich. You don’t need to feed the baker or florist who will only be there long enough to drop off and set up their products.

Thanks, I didn’t think so but didn’t want to assume. I’ll ask them but it sounds like they’d cover themselves.

Typically you do not need to know the number of catering staff for meal purposes (although it can be helpful for making cash tips easy for the catering crew to divide), but you should also check with your caterer whether or not vendors are counted separately from guests. For our wedding, we had a headcount that included us and guests, and vendor meals for DJ, photographers, and bartender were separate and cost less per head than guests did (they were given the same meal, but I think the cost is adjusted to account for fewer apps during cocktail hour and slightly less attention needed to perfect plating, exact choice of protein, etc). Your caterer might just bill guests and vendors the same, but ask them!

View Quoted Comment Thank you! I know the contract says to include vendors in the headcount but there was no mention specifically of the catering staff. I have my tasting this weekend, so I’ll be sure to ask!