Providing meal for photographer

Ask your caterer if they'll provide a discount for vendors. Mine offers 50% the pp price (which is only $29 pp) our price is food only though not venue, rentals etc. ours isn't all inclusive

I look at it this way.... You treat your vendors with respect and they respect you in return. You provide them with a nice meal and try not to be such a bridezilla and you get wonderful results from them like getting those extra fun shots of your wedding you were not expecting. You treat your vendors like crap and hired help then you get exactly what you pay for and nothing else. It pays off being nice and respectful. I have seen photographers watch their clocks so they could book because the bride and groom were so hard to work with but I have also seen photographers stay later because the bride and groom treated them well. Choice is yours.

@Julia, it's one thing to bring a meal to work if you have a set place to work and a place to store your food--fridge, desk, whatever. But it's ridiculous to ask a photographer, who already has a ton of equipment to carry and is following you around all day, to also carry around a brown-bag lunch. And since wedding vendors are typically independent contractors, normal rules about breaks/meal periods don't apply the way they do to employees.

If you're not willing to go above and beyond for your vendors don't expect them to go above and beyond for you.

It's in my photographers contract too and I'm glad. I feel silly that I never thought of it. We're feeding and giving a favour to the bartender,let as well. (no other vendors)

It's a long day that they're putting a lot if effort into. Never thought to mention the vendors for a discount though

I'm glad my first small venue I looked at mentioned the vendor meal because I wouldn't have necessarily thought of it either, but we are definitely feeding all of our vendors. We also have a food truck for the wedding though, so it is different than a plated meal. At the first place we looked, the vendor meal would have been half off though.

I'd think this one of the most important vendors for your wedding. Feed them the same meal as everyone.

I'm not including them in the guest count but I am feeding them. The planner had it in her contract and I can't remember if the photog had it in hers. The DJ we are thinking about said specifically that while the gesture was appreciated, he is also the emcee and would not be able to step away to eat. I'm going to have the meal just in case but he likely won't eat it and I'll end up paying for a potentially wasted meal. Our venue does a discounted rate ($24/vendor compared to our $99pp dinner) so that helps. If the vendors do eat, they have a separate area where they can sit and eat in peace for their break. If I was a vendor, I wouldn't want to have a table with the guests because it wouldn't feel like a break since I'd still be in work mode.