Plasticware or silverware for vendors

First off - what food are you serving? Some food is not meant to be eaten by anyone using plastic ware.

Secondly, it's kind of shitty to give the people who are responsible for making your day awesome the shaft in the silverware department. If it's not good enough for you and your guests - how is it good enough for the vendors?

Chicken and salmon, salad and sides. FH feels like they're charging less for vendor meals, so do they really need the silverware? He's all about the bottom line, though, especially the closer we get.

My caterer provides plasticware, but it's that kind that is silver and heavier weight than a lot of plasticware. I don't have a problem with that, but I could see where some people would prefer real flatware. Especially if you're serving something like steak.

Give them real flatware. They're not beneath you or your guests. Hell I don't even like the idea of our vendors not sitting at our reception tables. Find the $150 elsewhere but treat your vendors right.

That's insulting. Just let me know I'm being given plastic forks and knives before I show up at your venue to do my work. I'll have my own silverware in my purse. Plastic utensils cause anyone, vendor or guest, to think, "Really? Plastic? They gave me a plastic fork?" Don't do it...for anyone you're serving.

Remember, your vendors are the artists you've hired to give you a product you desperately want; they are not the equivalent of early 20th century European house servants who are hidden in the kitchen to eat their meals. Treat them like the respected business people and artists that they are. They are there, and if they're being served a meal, they're there for hours, and their objective is to give you a finished product that you love. You paid a lot of money for them to be there. Why would you insult them with plastic utensils when you can buy ten forks and ten knives for $2.00 at the dollar store?

I never said (or thought) they're beneath us...my vendors are amazing, I want to do my part to show my appreciation, I just didn't know if it was a thing that mattered or not. Now I do.

And we're having them in a different room because the band specifically requested one so that they can have a separate space to relax and not have to be "on", but our DOC and photographer all said they'd rather take breaks in there, too.

I guess it depends on the person, but I don't think the silverware really matters. As long as the food can be eaten with plastic silverware. I honestly wouldn't even think about it if we were given plastic. By that time of night, I'm just so thankful to have food in general!