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Dinner

blanchendustinblanchendustin member
First Comment First Anniversary
in Wedding Reception Forum
My wedding is in October and wondering do we feed our photographer and the officiant? 
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Re: Dinner

  • ShesSoColdShesSoCold mod
    First Answer First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its
    Most likely. Well, the photographer at least. Is your ceremony and reception in the same place? The officiant will probably just leave after the ceremony, right? 

    Look at your contracts. If the contract doesn't specify, I would ask them what they want. Even if the contract doesn't say you need to feed the photog, I would. He or she is probably spending a lot of time photographing your wedding and you want them to be happy and not rushing out at the end of the night to eat.
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  • provocajadeprovocajade member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    I plan to offer food to the wedding photographer. My officiant is my best friend. 

    It depends how long you have them there, but if you are booking them for a full day you can't expect them to not eat for 8 hours. It also will take longer if they have to leave the venue, go eat, then come back than just eating what is there. The way I look at it is while they are offering a service, it's still a day of hospitality. I have to ensure that everyone, including the people who are helping make the wedding even possible, are cared for. 

    If  youre having a pricey set menu sit down dinner, you can maybe make a arrangement with the caterer to provide a plate of food for the other service people for less than the per head of a full setup.
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  • JoanE2012JoanE2012 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    blanchendustin said:
    My wedding is in October and wondering do we feed our photographer and the officiant? 
    Check your contracts.  Our photographer required a meal (he's working a full day, so that's a no-brainer).   And even if it wasn't required, we still would've fed him......I think people perform their best when they're not hungry!  Do check with your venue though....ours had "vendor" meals.  Same thing everyone else ate, but at a reduced rate (he didn't eat at cocktail hour nor did he partake in the open bar).

    The officiant was only there for a short while before the ceremony and the ceremony itself....probably an hour total.....afterwards he left.  We did not feed him.
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    Photographer, yes. See what the contract requires - may specify a hot meal, or a comparable meal to what your guests receive. 

    Officiant, only if s/he is staying for the reception as an invited guest. Then they'd be seated and fed with the rest of the guests.
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  • LarraO2530LarraO2530 member
    Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment

    I would say yes to feeding the photographer and the DJ because it is good hosting to provide a meal for those who are helping to make your day possible and memorable. Many of the venues my FI and I have looked into offer catering options that have separate "vendor menus" that are provided for a lesser charge and allow the bride and groom to choose a meal similar to the rest of the guests or a simple sandwich platter for the vendors. Obviously we would read the vendor contracts to ensure that we provide what is requested, if the photographer or DJ requires a hot meal, that is what he/she will get, they won't be sent away hungry.

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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Yes, typically you feed your photographer and DJ (and videographer if you are going to have one), but look over your contract and see what it says since some require certain types of meals, etc.  As for your officiant do you know him/her well or are you just hiring a random officiant to perform your ceremony?  If you know him/her well, then feel free to invite them with their SO (if they have one) to your wedding.  But if your officiant is just like another vendor (say like your ceremony musicians) then you do not need to invite him/her.

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  • Jen4948Jen4948 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    See what your contracts with them say.  If you're hiring vendors such as a photographer or DJ for several hours' worth of work, it's polite to offer them meals.

    If your officiant is someone you feel close enough to to invite them to the reception, then you would treat him/her as a guest along with his/her SO and provide them meals.  If s/he is just someone you chose to officiate but you have no other relationship with, then it's not necessary to invite them to the reception.
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  • tammym1001tammym1001 member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    We are feeding all of our vendors who will be there during the reception. Our venue doesn't offer cheaper vendor meals because they are eating the same food, but they were willing to not charge us a bar fee in our per person count for them.

    Because I've been on TK for awhile I asked our photographer about a meal for him and his assistant. He told me that he usually just packs a sandwich and he would eat it in his car and I told him that I would provide a meal for them anyways.
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