I feel a little crass asking, but...

decarljn

Hi All,I was wondering if anyone would be able to give me a little guidance on 'vendor dinners' at the reception (we're having a seated dinner).  Is it customary to offer the photog and dj dinner at the reception?  On one hand, I feel that as a 'hostess' I should offer them dinner.  On the other, I feel that they technically aren't guests and they're getting paid to be there...TIA!

MeaghanandMichael

Yes you offer them dinner. I asked which choice they wanted and I submitted it as part of my final numbers to my venue.

janedoe1113a

Yes, you need to feed them.  Would you want to work for 8 hours without a meal?

tlv204

Yes you should.  Check your contract.  Some say that if they aren't fed dinner, they have the right to leave and eat dinner somewhere else.  See if your venue has separate "vendor" meals that cost less than the guest meals, although I've heard that some vendor's actually require (in the contract also) the same meal as the guests just because they've gotten such crappy food before.  Even though they're being paid, they still need to eat.  If nothing else it will put them in a better mood and help them perform better.  Plus it's just nice.

iamjoesgurl

Yes, you need to feed them.  Ask your venue if they have something special for vendor meals.  My venue said I needed to include them in the count with my guests.

melissainabq

Yes - it's usually customary to offer them a meal. Check your contracts because it also may be required. Your venue should offer some type of vendor meal so you aren't paying full price.

gkb0910

You should feed them.  They'll be with you all day.  Talk to your venue.  I'm sure they have dealt with this many times before.

mandysmear

Yes, you feed them.  My photographer was with us for 10 hours.  When is he expected to eat?  Was he supposed to pack a PB&J and a juice box?  We fed our limo driver, our DJs, bartenders, and our photographer.  The rest of the vendors were only there for about an hour, so they were not provided with anything.

notquiteblushing

Yes you should feed them as they will be working for hours and unless you want them to skip out to McDonalds they will need food.  Also it's usually in their contracts.  Many venues have discounted meal prices for vendors.

kristinanddan

They absolutely should be fed. Our photographer is coming at 11am, so he'll be working a 12 hour day. We'll offer him whatever catered lunch we end up having, and then he'll have a vendor meal at the reception.

danieliza1127

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ffmaid

Yes they get dinner bit not teh same super nice dinner as guests. Ask your venue what they normally do for vendors.

thesuninherhead

In our photog contract, it is stated that not offering dinner will result in the photog needing to go elsewhere for dinner... I'd imagine most of them are similar.