Photographer & DJ at the reception - included in headcount?

augurey

I realize that this is probably a really dumb question and only just thought of this tonight.

Sorry if this should be obvious BUT:

Should the photographer and DJ be included in the headcount for the reception? I just went through our guest list, seeing how much our reception should cost us & trying to find a monthly payment plan (which will help determine how many we need to cut from the list.

I realize this is probably dumb, but I'd rather get this straight now rather than making an error later on. Obviously the photographer at the very least, I would think, would be entitled to dinner as I'm sure they'll be busy throughout the day and need to eat.

The DJ not so sure - I'm sure they'll have some soft drinks to drink, but would they eat with the guests? I'm thinking no, but I could be wrong.

We already have the person down who we are going to be asking to be our Officiant on the list as part of our headcount.

So yes/no on the photographer and DJ?

Are there any others that this would apply to that I might be forgetting? We're not doing a videographer.

JoanE2012

Usually vendors are not included in your regular guest count and are instead given a lower vendor price for their meal.  You should double check with your venue though.

jagore08

Definitely check with your venue on this.  My venue asked for my guest head count and my vendor head count.  They were served the same meal as my guests but were seated in a separate area where they had space for any equipment they had to bring with them.  I believe I was charged the same for the meals but I was not charged the alcohol fee for vendors. 

ETA: Our officiant was not able to stay for the reception but if he had he would have been counted as a guests and seated with the guests as he was not working the reception.

fallbride1109

I included my DJ and photographer in my head count as vendor meals were not an option at my venue.  We had a buffet and they were included among the guests.

meganb1977

Ditto about checking with your venue.

augurey

Thanks for the input!

I feel incredibly stupid for having had to ask

FI just kind of gave me a look like "really?" lol

I'll definitely check to see if they do vendor meals & if not just add them as a guest. I'm guessing that they won't do vendors separately due to the type of place that they are, but I will definitely find out.

I honestly don't even know how I hadn't even thought of this before - though before I was entirely focused on getting venues booked and then getting our guest list down to an acceptable number.

Thanks again!

[Deleted User]

Thank you for asking. I never would have thought about including them. But since I don't have my vendors booked yet, I will ask them whether they expect it or not. Hopefully since its a late dinner they will eat beforehand lol