Feed Vendors and Seating/table assignment?

They don’t eat the same menu as you. Speak with your venue to see if they have vendor meals. Mine has sandwiches like burgers, etc. for about $10 each. It is a courtesy to feed them. Most will discreetly eat away from your invited guests.

Thank you Leslie!

I’m a wedding musician and it’s super nice to offer them a meal but not required since they’re only going to be there for a little bit. I’ve only eaten at weddings where I was playing for the reception. I didn’t reserve a table for my vendors since we had a nice seating area on the other side of the reception space anyway. We had a buffet so they just helped themselves. I would say the dj, planner, and photographer are the main people who need to eat. I did tip everyone but I didn’t get them gifts.

Yes, you should feed all vendors and assistants who are there providing services during the reception (so, photographer, but not a cake delivery person who dropped the cake and left). If your venue is relatively inclusive (providing food and beverage, etc.) they typically have a standard plan for this. It might be a meal that's the same or similar to what your guests will be served or they might offer a more simple item (sandwich or whatever) as a vendor meal (some vendor contracts will stipulate a "hot meal," so check yours). Daughter's wedding served them the same meal, but didn't charge us for appetizers or alcohol, and gave us a significant discount. I think we paid $40 per vendor meal (compared with $180 for guest meals, including 6 hours of open bar). The venue set a table up for the vendors in a separate room, but I attended a wedding once where the two videographers ate at the same table we were seated at with other guests (that was a little weird...). Daughter's DJ, who often works at the venue, had an agreement with the venue that he'd eat at his DJ station so he could manage the music without a break. Daughter's photographer told her not to order a meal for him, because he doesn't like to be away from the action for fear of missing something he should be covering. His second shooter, however, does take a break to eat.

Daughter's favors were two large chocolate chip cookies. A favor was placed at each guest place setting, and then there were extras on the coffee service table. We would have been fine with the vendors taking one of the extras, but I'd guess they didn't. They were busy professionals who were working all night.

Daughter and SIL's officiant was SIL's youth pastor growing up, so he and his wife were invited as guests to the wedding/reception, so they were seated at a guest table with FOG and his guests. (They "gifted" the pastor $300 when he refused to charge them.)

Finally, regarding tips.... Daughter's inclusive venue included a 20% service charge, which technically wasn't a "tip," so we asked the event coordinator for honest feedback on what we should tip. Based on that, we tipped: $100 for each bartender & $50 for each valet (NO TIP JARS was a huge requirement on our part, so we tipped directly), bridal attendant (followed bride around all day making sure her every need was met) $100, the servers $400 total (the event coordinator asked that we give that tip to her to distribute, as "some staff work a lot harder than others"), $200 for the event coordinator (SHE never suggested that, but she was AWESOME and made the day & 18 months of planning completely perfect for daughter, so it was worth it to us). Separate from the venue, we tipped the photographer $200 (for him to share with his second shooter, total bill was $2700); DJ $100 (on $1400 charges); cake delivery $25.

Good luck! It seems like there are so many details, but once you take care of them it's all good!

My venue told us vendors get whatever chicken dish we choose, not sure what other places do

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Thank you this amazing detailed reply MOB so cal ! You are a superstar! This really help me out so so much! Thank you

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Thank you for letting me know about the musician perspective Mrs. Sarantos!

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Okay thank you Rachel!

Just ask your caterer how this is done and they will tell you.

Usually you do feed your vendors but they get a vendor meal that is typically a bit different than what other guests are served (less fancy, less costly). You let your caterer know how many vendor meals are needed on top of the guest count, and they provide those and add them to your bill. The vendors eat separately from the guests (usually just discretely in some other area).

If you have any guests providing vendor services (a friend is your officiant for example), they are considered a guest and do not get a vendor meal.

It also doesn't hurt to ask your vendors if they are expecting a meal. For some it is included in the contract. And if you are going to provide a meal for vendors its helpful to know if they have any food allergies or dietary restrictions so you can pass that on to your caterer. Some vendors, especially those with unique dietary needs, just prefer to feed themselves.

Literally, just ask your caterer how this works and they will give you all the details you need to know.

We also tipped the chef and his line...there were 4 working in the kitchen all night cooking and serving and creating the most wonderful meal.

The venue coordinator gave us the names of all the staff that would be working the reception (bartenders, servers, kitchen) and I wrote thank you cards for each and handed them out at the end of the evening. The looks on the faces of the line cooks was priceless...

The next morning during the breakfast buffet, the executive chef sought me and my husband out in the dining room to personally thank us for remembering them. It was the right thing to do - their efforts made such a big difference in how much everyone enjoyed the evening.

All of your vendors, including their assistants, should be fed. They do not need a table assignment. They will eat whatever you are serving your guests, but typically eat behind the scenes (in the kitchen, in another room, etc). A lot of vendors will state this in their contracts. You are not required to feed them during your rehearsal because it is not a long enough event, but you can if you’d like.

As others have said, I would look to your venue or caterer for some guidance. I would also review what's in the contract. For us, the DJ's contract stipulates that a meal is required for a 6 hour contract - our venue can do a $20 vendor meal, based on our entree selections. On the other hand, our Photo Booth vendor will only be there for 3 hours and no meal is required. If you're doing a plated dinner, you can ask ahead of time for meal preferences (and, really, I would be sure to ask about allergies/dietary restrictions just so that there aren't any surprises later).

I don't know what your favor would be but I wouldn't necessarily include the vendors in that count. We're doing can coozies - I doubt my photographer will want one of those. If we had a food item and it didn't bust the budget to add another 5-6 to our total count, tough? Sure, why not?

We did not have assigned seating but our vendors were welcome to eat with our guests. There was an extra table for them. Ours was also a buffet so they helped themselves.