Meals for vendors?

My DJ has it right in his contract, either feed me or I charge $30 to go buy something and have 1 hour to leave. Our DJ was going to be a guest anyway so he was already counted in our numbers. I haven't talked about it with my photographter yet but will.

Your vendor meals should not cost as much as your guest meals because the vendors should not be getting alcoholic beverages.

They should be the cost of food per person. The equipment (special plates, linens etc) shouldn't be included unless you are making a vendor table. The bar charges shouldn't apply since we shouldn't be drinking anything but water or maybe soda.

Our band (a trio) and the videographer are the only ones that mentioned meals in their contracts. But I am planning enough food to include everyone (buffet style). Our videographer has a spot in the contract that says that if he is put in another room to eat, he isn't liable for any content missed. He also requires the same meal as the guests. Our photographer doesn't mention food at all, but I told her we are hosting her for the reception too and she was excited we included her.

None of my vendors have the meal stipulation in their contract, now that I think about it. But of course I'm going to feed them all--the two photographers, DJ, and DOC definitely. My photographers will be with me from noon until 10 PM--yeah, they get a meal. I'll probably also get enough sandwiches or whatever lunch food I get for my bridal party to cover them as well.

I'm not sure of the logistics of it yet. I will likely have a family style meal, but if it's more convenient for my vendors I may ask my venue to plate a few meals for them. I'll have to check.

Pretty sure my venue allows up to three vendor meals included in price. If I need additional, they are at a reduced price per plate than the guests.

We fed all of our vendors.

If you have a minimum guarantee, those vendors could be part of that when you get a lower # than you need...

Great idea Celia!

Depending on your dinner style, buffet, station or sit down, your caterer may have a process for fellow vendors. I used a package with my venue that included me choosing from a selection of vendors they partner with, by using their caterer there's no extra charge to feed my vendors. We are doing a buffet, so there will be plenty of extra food available.

I would definitely say to check with your caterer as well as your venue for what they can provide and would recommend, and like the ladies said previously, check your contracts. Vendors can throw in extra accommodations you may not be aware of. My quartet for the ceremony requires us to have a canopy set up to protect their instruments, luckily my FFIL already has one we can use, but that would have been an extra $50-100 from the budget.

I am actually having a buffet style at my wedding and of course I would want to feed everyone there, that's why I will be doing buffet versus plated. I want all my guests to enjoy and eat as much as they want and not be limited to just one plate of given food. What I am saying is that the contract with my venue states that it will cost me extra $25.00 per vendor. I will not be asking the DJ, photographer, etc "hey, I am paying $25 ++ for you to eat so pay me back". The food is there and trust me there will be LOTS of it. more or less 100 people, 5 different stations and each station will have 3-5 different variety. Just not sure why I have to pay extra for 3-4 more people to eat when it's not plated dinner

Geez, it's pretty demanding to require the same meal as guests. If you are offered filet mignon and lobster as a vendor, great, but it seems rude to me to demand it if you're working and not a guest.

So Fluffy - are you serving filet mignon and lobster at your wedding? I'm guessing not, because if you were, you could easily afford to pay to have your vendors served the same thing. I don't thing it's demanding at all. I think it's common courtesy.

Fluffy, not sure who requires that specifically, but what else would you feed us? I'd be happy with a sammich if there were gummy bears.

I think most of my vendors said a meal is appreciated, but i don't recall any of my contracts saying it was required. I am definitely going to feed the photographers and videographer who will be with us from the morning and also the DJ (although he's there for 4 hours, but still during dinner time). Probably won't feed the Photo Booth people who will be there for 3 hours though.

My venue charges way less for vendor meals, but still a lot ($50 per vendor). They better be getting the same food at that price though!

Curiosity question for the vendors on here: Does the time taken to eat interfere with your work? How do you manage it so that you don't miss something important/are not missed somehow?

Ouchies....50 dollars per meal? Eek. Ok M&M to answer your question, there is not always time to eat. If it's an 8 hour wedding, we're far more likely to stop and eat for a few than if it was a 4 or 5 hour wedding. It will just make my assistant and I more productive. While guests and the couple are eating, not much will be missed. Photos of people with their mouths full are not flattering, LOL. So that is really the only lull time at the reception where we would take advantage of meal time. I always photograph the cake by itself and food before it's ravaged, as well as guests serving, etc. Once people sit to eat, if we were to stop and eat, it would be then. The best guest candids come after when they grab an after dinner drink, and during dances, etc.

Marina, while you do have some extra flexibility when you have a buffet as to how many people it can feed, your caterer still needs to take every person into account when planning and preparing food...as they have to approximate how many people out of your 100 guests might want the pasta dish, how many might want the chicken, etc. It's for this reason that buffets are not always less expensive than doing a plated.