Serving dinner to photographers??

Yes. I never thought of that before I saw a thread on here. I would ask your venue about it. Maybe they offer a discount.

View Quoted Comment Good idea didn’t even think of that. I mean I know they can freely grab some fingers foods during cocktail hour but am I supposed to feed them a full meal? Will definitely have to talk to our venue, thanks

Yes talk to your caterer about vendor meals. Make sure none of your vendors are bringing helpers because they will need one too

View Quoted Comment Thank you. Going to have to add that

Yes. Normally vendors have this in their contract. I know my venue had vendor meals that were only $35 each compared to $135pp.

View Quoted Comment Great to know! Thank you!

Absolutely. Usually it’s in their contract, but you should either way.

Yes and usually the venue offers a cheaper rate for vendor meals since they wont be drinking alcohol.

Good question!

Our venue allows us 2 vendors to eat on the house; which will most likely be the DJ and photographer. If we have any others then we'll include them in the count.

Check your contract with all vendors. If the contract stipulates a meal then you provide a meal. I'd also check with the vendors to see if they would prefer a standard meal or a sandwich meal. It's not unusual for DJs to prefer a sandwich, which is easier to handle while working.

My contract for my DJ states I need to provide food. And since my photographers are there through dinner, I think it would be rude to watch everyone else eat, as well as my officiant. So they are all included in my final head count.

You should absolutely feed your vendors! Many of them are there for 8-10 hours. But yes talk to your vendors and confirm exactly how many people they will have with them (assistants and what not). Then speak with your venue and caterer about vendor meals. It will usually be way less than the guest food. For example my guest meal is $42 a plate. The vendor meal is $28. You also need to make a plan for when and where they eat. Some venues have a location away from the reception they can eat and some don’t. If they don’t have a place away from the reception then you need to add a table in your reception that would be a “vendor” table.

View Quoted Comment Thank you I appreciate it.

View Quoted Comment My dj contract doesn’t state that but now I will definitely look into it either way.

View Quoted Comment Didn’t think venues had a limit to vendor meals either. Thank you! Good to know

Agree with all the PPs. Our venue offers 4 free vendor meals, then it’s $35/person for vendors compared to $131/person for our dinner. Include DJ, photographer(s), videographer(s), officiant, any attendants (ie: we have someone there all night managing our photo booth - they’ll need a meal), etc. You need to make sure everyone is fed and has a place to eat! 😊

Our venue told us not to include them unless we were under our guaranteed amount because they discount their meals, but we were under so we ended up including them. I would ask your venue exactly how they prefer it to be handled.

Definitely check your contract, as PPs have suggested. Usually any additional vendors on the venue property do get included in the meal-count; however, I would also consult with your venue, as they oftentimes offer discounts for them. I know mine does!

Our caterer has "vendor meals" so it's a separate count for us.