Wedding Etiquette Forum

catering question

So, this has probably been asked a bajillion times before, so forgive the repetition. My question is this: My fiance and I are having a small wedding (we've invited about 30 guests), so when I give my caterer a headcount, do I give her that number or do I include the officiant and the photographers?

Thanks in advance,
Nicole

Re: catering question

  • If they are eating, you include them in the head count. Some venues will prepare a special plate for vendors, others do not. Our vendors ate the same thing as everyone else. So you can ask your venue and let them know if they need to differentiate between guests and vendors.
  • The officiant should be treated like an invited guest, so yes for the officiant. For the photographers, many venues offer a vendor meal that's substantially less money so check with your venue.
  • Ask the caterer how they want their head count but dont assume you have to feed all vendors. 

    Officiants only needs to be an invited guest if they are your normal pastor or something.  We paid a minister from a JoP company and he was purely a vendor and not invited to dinner.  He actually explained up front that he wouldnt stay for dinner as they do many weddings on weekends during wedding season.  So, it really depends on the situation.

    Photographer should be fed if they are taking your pics all day.  We had a 30 person wedding and our photog was only there from 3pm-6pm so she didnt eat dinner (she was gone before dinner even started).
    image
  • You should feed all the vendors. The so called "special" vendor meals they provide are a joke. They only give them a cold sandwich and a bag of chips, and usually the sandwich is a half of one. They don't go all out because it comes out of their pocket. So, IMO you need to feed them all. They are all working hard to give you a good aday and your guests a good time, so reward them.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_catering-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c88d0d3f-3db1-4cbe-854a-2ac2126a43c0Post:983628dc-6541-4d66-83b0-487fbfab91a1">Re: catering question</a>:
    [QUOTE]The officiant should be treated like an invited guest, so yes for the officiant. For the photographers, many venues offer a vendor meal that's substantially less money so check with your venue.
    Posted by tenofcups4me[/QUOTE]

    This.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_catering-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c88d0d3f-3db1-4cbe-854a-2ac2126a43c0Post:42094a4c-d331-40c6-9784-1e4ebfaecf4f">Re: catering question</a>:
    [QUOTE]You should feed all the vendors. The so called "special" vendor meals they provide are a joke. They only give them a cold sandwich and a bag of chips, and usually the sandwich is a half of one. They don't go all out because it comes out of their pocket. So, IMO you need to feed them all. They are all working hard to give you a good aday and your guests a good time, so reward them.
    Posted by Mary Susan and Chris[/QUOTE]


    This is not true everywhere. Most venues I asked charge a reduced per-head price for vendors, so it's not "coming out of their pocket".

    I would suggest, OP, that you ask your venue how to handle this. Everyone needs to be fed, but they may want you to report vendor meals separately.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_catering-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c88d0d3f-3db1-4cbe-854a-2ac2126a43c0Post:42094a4c-d331-40c6-9784-1e4ebfaecf4f">Re: catering question</a>:
    [QUOTE]You should feed all the vendors. The so called "special" vendor meals they provide are a joke. They only give them a cold sandwich and a bag of chips, and usually the sandwich is a half of one. They don't go all out because it comes out of their pocket. So, IMO you need to feed them all. They are all working hard to give you a good aday and your guests a good time, so reward them.
    Posted by Mary Susan and Chris[/QUOTE]

    That isn't true everywhere at all. Our vendors ate the same dinner as our guests, but because cocktail hour wasn't included or the open bar or dessert, it was a third of the price.
    imageimageimage
  • edited December 2010
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_catering-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c88d0d3f-3db1-4cbe-854a-2ac2126a43c0Post:0da7db94-a2e7-4951-a42e-61133fd8eb29">Re: catering question</a>:
    [QUOTE]I said no because my venue wanted a separate count for vendors.  You have to check with your venue.
    Posted by saisongbird[/QUOTE]

    This. There's no harm in saying, "we have 30 people, plus the photographer and officiant." Ask if they have cheaper vendor meals. Our vendors ate after our guests were served. They also didn't get the whole 3 course meal and alcohol package, so their meals were much cheaper.

    Same with kids, for us. The kids were little and didn't get their own meals (ate from parents' plates) so we told them, "we have 2 kids coming, no meals, but they need chairs."
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