Food For Vendors?

themosthappy91

I know we are expected to feed our vendors at our reception- but somehow it just occurred to me today to wonder WHAT we are supposed to feed them!  Do we offer them the same choices that we are offering our guests (we're having a sit-down served dinner)?  

mikenberger

A lot of venues/catering teams have vendor meals for you to choose from. You should contact them and see what they have available if anything.

If they don't have something available, feed them as one of your guests. These people are responsible for making your day special and might be spending 8-12 hrs with you. Don't you want to keep them happy? If everybody is eating steak and lobster and you give them a sandwich, bag of chips and an apple, how do you think they'll feel? Yes, they're hired help but they're also very important on taking pictures, keeping the dance floor full etc. Maybe its just me, I think its important not to take advantage of the situation to save some dollars on a lower priced meal.

themosthappy91

I agree and will be happy to offer them the meal options that we are giving our guests!  I just wanted to make sure that wasn't weird or they aren't going to look at me like I'm crazy when I ask them what they would like.  Will my venue take care of food for their own staff (like the bartender, for example) or do I need to be thinking about those people as well as my photographer and DJ?

mikenberger

I would look at your contract with the venue and see what they have you provide, if anything. Typically, the food clauses are written into your contract or once again, contact the venue and ask. I would hazard a guess to say no, unless you are getting a DOC along with your venue, since they'll probably be with you the whole day while the others are not.

southernbelle0915

Ditto PPs. Look in your contracts to see what's required. If it doesn't specify and your vendor is working a full day, ask them when they plan to break so you can schedule it. It would be nice to offer a meal at this time.

RebeccaFlower

Just ask them if they have a preference. Our DJ wanted something simple, while our photographer was Vegan, so I picked something up the day before and the venue warmed it up. 

Hungry vendors= crappy music & pictures. 

Jen4948

I agree with @mikenberger-find out what's in your contracts, not only with the venue but also with each vendor.  Some require you to serve them the same as your guests; others have other requirements.  If the contracts don't make it clear, take a look at your budget and then contact each one.  You may be able to offer lower-priced but still good meals for them.  If everyone expects to eat exactly what the guests eat and you haven't budgeted for that, then you have some decisions to make.

MobKaz

Many venues will offer the same meal as is being served to your guests at a reduced cost.  Because your vendors will not be drinking, the reduced cost comes as a result of deducting the bar cost from the meal.  This is usually the most gracious and easy solution.  Many venues will not allow outside food.  It would be rude to offer your vendors a lesser meal.  Yes, you are paying your vendors to perform a service, but they are putting in long hours to make sure you have the best service.  This is not the area to be cheap.

There are several threads on this topic.  It would benefit you to find and read them.  Vendors most typically eat somewhere in the reception room as well.  The photographer will often interrupt his own meal to snap a quick picture if he sees something during dinner, including toasts.  If he does not eat his meal in the dining room, those of lost/missed photo opportunities.

In our correspondence with vendors, we simply gave them our entree choices and asked them to select their preference.  In our case, vendor meals, although the same as our guests, were half/one third the cost.

cupcait927

I just offered our vendors the same meal that we had. Our venue gave us a discount on those two meals and I wanted to make sure that they were fed appropriately, especially since our photographer spent almost 10 hours with us that day. Just check your contract but I would say just feed them what you're feeding your other guests.

peachy13

Check the contracts to see if they specify what kind of meal. I know in my photog's contract, it asks for a hot meal to be provided to the photographer. So if my venue is offering cold sandwiches to the vendors (I doubt they would do this however), I need to request something different. Besides, these people are working their asses off, I want them to have a nice meal! 

climbingsingle

Most venues/caterers will have an option for feeding your vendors. My venue offered the same entrees at a reduced rate for the vendors, or a deli tray I could have set up for them. 

loro929

ClimbingBrideNY said:

Most venues/caterers will have an option for feeding your vendors. My venue offered the same entrees at a reduced rate for the vendors, or a deli tray I could have set up for them. 

This. We don't have the option for a deli tray, but the vendors meals are offered at a reduced rate of 1/3 of the price. 

short+sassy

I had a catered buffet at my reception, charged by amount of food not per person, and invited my photog and her assistant to help themselves.  Their response made me laugh from being able to relate.  They graciously thanked me, but declined.  They said if they ate the food and cake at all the weddings they went to, they would gain a ton of weight!

But certainly most vendors will want to eat something and the PPs have good advice. 

themosthappy91

Thanks for the advice everyone! I went back and checked my contracts and nothing was ever specified by my venue or vendors, so I'll just reach out and ask them which of our entree options they'd like! It won't be a problem budget-wise to pay full price if we need to, but I'll ask my venue of they offer a discount like you all have suggested!