Photographer's hotel room

Jen4948 · March 2016

banana468 said:

Jen4948 said:

banana468 said:

Maggie0829 said:

Jen4948 said:

But that's your choice, and that's fine. It's when your vendors try to make that choice for you by inserting clauses into their contracts that require that they get everything a guest is entitled to that's not fine.

And those clauses were most likely added after they were treated like crap by previous clients. So they are just protecting themselves from being treated like shit again.

STUCK IN THE BOX:

I had a conversation with my DJ who said, "I think it's pretty awful to get a soggy turkey club as my vendor meal. " He didn't require the same meal the guests ate but he did say he wanted a hot meal. I made sure that he was offered one of our options.

It's all about being respectful of people who are working for you. Anytime you're "the boss" you can pull a line and say, "You're hired to do a job," but if you continue that sort of mentality without treating your employees well all they're remember is that you're all about the work and not about a little something - you know - for the effort.

I can tell you that when I worked crazy hours in middle management and saw upper management treat themselves to parties and holiday rewards that were multiple tiers above me, it left a poor taste in my mouth.

Not providing any meal at all, or a poor-quality meal, would be "pretty awful" and disrespectful to a vendor, but while it might be pretty awful to get a soggy sandwich, vendors are not entitled to "hot meals."

Correct. Guests aren't entitled to a hot meal either.

I'm saying that a vendor should be treated well. And while I think this is going to be a constantly debated topic, one treats a vendor well by making sure that they have a meal and plenty of non alcoholic beverages to drink. The meal doesn't need to be exactly the same as what the guests eat (although ours were) but when there is a very large disparity between how you treat your guests vs how you treat your vendors expect them to notice.

The fact that my DJ mentioned this to me means that he's been treated poorly by others who have hired him in the past. Maybe that's not how YOU would treat your vendors @Jen4948 but the fact is that he has had bad experiences and felt it necessary to address avoiding one on my wedding day.

I agree that he didn't deserve a soggy sandwich, but I don't think he was entitled to a hot meal. If you wanted to provide him one, by all means you had the right to do so. That doesn't mean that all couples have to provide all vendors with hot meals.

marriedwithpoodles · March 2016

Piggy backing off of OP's question -- my contract does not state that I have to provide lodging for my photographer but I am planning to anyway. I have blocks at 2 hotels. I was planning to ask him if he has a preferred hotel chain (my dad, for example, only stays at certain hotels for the points) and if he does not, I was going to book him at the less expensive hotel we blocked. It's a Courtyard, so it's still a decently nice hotel and there will be wedding guests staying there. Thoughts?
This seemed close enough to the OP that I didn't think it was necessary to start a new thread, but please let me know if I'm wrong on that!

Jen4948 · March 2016

DallasBtoBe said:

Piggy backing off of OP's question -- my contract does not state that I have to provide lodging for my photographer but I am planning to anyway. I have blocks at 2 hotels. I was planning to ask him if he has a preferred hotel chain (my dad, for example, only stays at certain hotels for the points) and if he does not, I was going to book him at the less expensive hotel we blocked. It's a Courtyard, so it's still a decently nice hotel and there will be wedding guests staying there. Thoughts?
This seemed close enough to the OP that I didn't think it was necessary to start a new thread, but please let me know if I'm wrong on that!

Doesn't sound wrong to me.

thisismynickname2 · March 2016

Jen4948 said:

DallasBtoBe said:

Piggy backing off of OP's question -- my contract does not state that I have to provide lodging for my photographer but I am planning to anyway. I have blocks at 2 hotels. I was planning to ask him if he has a preferred hotel chain (my dad, for example, only stays at certain hotels for the points) and if he does not, I was going to book him at the less expensive hotel we blocked. It's a Courtyard, so it's still a decently nice hotel and there will be wedding guests staying there. Thoughts?
This seemed close enough to the OP that I didn't think it was necessary to start a new thread, but please let me know if I'm wrong on that!

Doesn't sound wrong to me.

Agreed, plan sounds good. I like that you asked about points too; points are valuable and lots of people would prefer their hotel of choice over a block too, for that reason.

lc07 · March 2016

What does your contract say, OP? When I was helping a friend book a photographer for her DW all of the photographers we inquired with charged a travel fee and used that to book their own hotel accommodations.

wink0erin · March 2016

ShesSoCold said:

Holy hell I agree with Jen. It's a banner day. :P
I also agree that there's a big gap between treating a vendor like shit and giving them the exact same offerings as guests.
Obviously there's nothing wrong with giving a vendor lobster, but I agree with Jen and Starmoon that they are vendors and not guests and therefore don't NEED to be hosted as properly. But giving them a hamburger or chicken instead of prime rib is hardly "treating them like shit".
To everyone arguing that vendors need to be treated the same as guests - did you offer bartenders, wait staff, coat checkers, valet parkers, etc. the same meal? Probably not, so why are they not as good as the photographer and/or DJ?
FTR, I offered my vendor the same food as everyone else. I included him in the guest count and told him to enjoy the food and bar.

Wait staff and bartenders usually work for the catering company in shifts and aren't there the entire 8+ hour day. And coat check people? Seriously? Give me a break.

Your photographer is more than likely there from well before the ceremony to well into (or after) the reception. Don't be a cheapass, feed them a freakin decent hot meal. It doesn't have to be the 8-course meal you selected, but they definitely should have at least the hot meal portion (and perhaps a salad). Photographer I worked with had to put "I eat what the guests eat" into her contract after a few too many weddings where the couple decided a tiny cold turkey sandwich and a bag of chips were all they could swing, or no meal at all. She fainted at one wedding like that. Being on your feet for 8+ hours with little to no food is a bad mix.

Treat your vendors well and they will treat you well in return.

Re: hotel. I don't think it is required to put them up at the same hotel, but it should be close by and not a roach infested slum hole. Check contract and definitely ask, they may not want to stay at the hotel and prefer to drive back to wherever their home base is anyway.

Jen4948 · March 2016

wink0erin said:

ShesSoCold said:

Holy hell I agree with Jen. It's a banner day. :P
I also agree that there's a big gap between treating a vendor like shit and giving them the exact same offerings as guests.
Obviously there's nothing wrong with giving a vendor lobster, but I agree with Jen and Starmoon that they are vendors and not guests and therefore don't NEED to be hosted as properly. But giving them a hamburger or chicken instead of prime rib is hardly "treating them like shit".
To everyone arguing that vendors need to be treated the same as guests - did you offer bartenders, wait staff, coat checkers, valet parkers, etc. the same meal? Probably not, so why are they not as good as the photographer and/or DJ?
FTR, I offered my vendor the same food as everyone else. I included him in the guest count and told him to enjoy the food and bar.

Wait staff and bartenders usually work for the catering company in shifts and aren't there the entire 8+ hour day. And coat check people? Seriously? Give me a break.

Your photographer is more than likely there from well before the ceremony to well into (or after) the reception. Don't be a cheapass, feed them a freakin decent hot meal. It doesn't have to be the 8-course meal you selected, but they definitely should have at least the hot meal portion (and perhaps a salad). Photographer I worked with had to put "I eat what the guests eat" into her contract after a few too many weddings where the couple decided a tiny cold turkey sandwich and a bag of chips were all they could swing, or no meal at all. She fainted at one wedding like that. Being on your feet for 8+ hours with little to no food is a bad mix.

Treat your vendors well and they will treat you well in return.

Re: hotel. I don't think it is required to put them up at the same hotel, but it should be close by and not a roach infested slum hole. Check contract and definitely ask, they may not want to stay at the hotel and prefer to drive back to wherever their home base is anyway.

Sorry, but giving your photographer a (hot) hamburger, hot dogs, pizza, or chicken is not being a "cheapass."

SP29 · March 2016

At our venue, meal + bar for adults was a package price. The "vendor meal" was the same food the guests got minus the bar, so it was slightly cheaper (same meal and price as the under 18 guests).

We had 3 courses- soup, hot entree, dessert. Our vendors (2 photogs and DJ) got all 3 courses, and it did not affect their ability to work. We had a seat reserved for the DJ at one of our guest tables, but he took his meal at his DJ table so he could keep the music going. Our photogs were seated with guests as well, and they got up to take some photos between courses- things like the cake, some of the decor, flowers, our rings. Really, who wants photos of people eating?

I would agree that I don't think it necessarily rude that the vendors do not get the same meal as the guest, BUT it seemed so simple that if a meal was being prepared for my guests, why wouldn't my vendors get it too? I do think it a bit weird to have a group of people seated in a room and serve some people something different.

I do see a difference between vendors such as a DJ/photog and the venue staff. In the case of the DJ/photog, those are vendors the B&G directly hired. As for the venue staff, the B&G hired the venue, not the individual staff, thus it is on the venue to feed their staff appropriately/ provide breaks. Our venue staff were also not seated among the guests, where as our DJ and 2 photogs were. The DJ and photogs also didn't really get breaks- sure, they weren't "on" the whole time, but they didn't leave the venue site until they were done. Considering our DJ showed up an hour before our ceremony to set up (he played our ceremony music) and didn't leave until the night was done (near 2am by the time he put his stuff away), I think he deserved to enjoy whatever food he wanted at our cocktail hour and a filling hot meal.

As for the hotel- I think this is a bit more grey. Not all of the guests will stay at the expensive high end hotel either, nor do the B&G pay for guest lodgings, thus there isn't a comparison to say the vendors should get what the guests get (if this were the case, the vendors could be offered the hotel block but be expected to pay for it them self- which is not how it should be). Of course check the contract- I think there would be either "vendor stays at X comparable hotel" or "vendor charges Y dollars for travel and lodging compensation". I do not think it is required that the photog stay at the same hotel as the B&G (though consider travel and other logistics)- but the cost of the hotel should be compensated in some way, and if the B&G are directly paying for it, a clean, safe hotel is all that is required.

JediElizabeth · March 2016

I'm confused about the word entitlement being thrown around so much here.

If I hire a vendor, and they require a meal, that's part of my budget for them. If they require a hotel room & the same hot meal as my guests, then I'm going to make sure their up front price + the meal + the hotel is less than my overall budget for them, BEFORE I sign the contract. It's not something I would roll my eyes at when reading the contract, or something I'd renegotiate, just part of the total cost of service. They're not entitled, they're just charging what they think is fair for their services and time, in both cash and goods.

kimmiinthemitten · March 2016

wink0erin
Wait staff and bartenders usually work for the catering company in shifts and aren't there the entire 8+ hour day. And coat check people? Seriously?

I work for a catering company on the side, this is the second company I've worked for. I can recall one wedding over the last 5 years that wasn't an 8+ hour day and that was because we didn't provide the bar. However, because I work for the people providing the food, they are responsible for feeding me. The first company is a nationally award winning caterer who does all of the big wig weddings, they gave us pizza and uncrustables. The company I work for now is a smaller startup and they allow us to eat the leftovers. It's really nice to be able to enjoy a hot meal during an event and it's amazingly appreciated by staff. I'm not home all day, I won't get home until long after FI goes to bed, and I'm fairly worthless the following day because my feet will be swollen and sore. We usually double as the coat check too.

Our photographer has stipulated a hot meal for them. They work for 10 hours that day per our contract, and deserve a hot meal in my opinion. But then again, I'm biased as I know what it's like to be the faceless vendor. I've worked parties where acquaintances were in attendance and didn't notice me, even with direct interaction. There's no better camaflouge than a black shirt and tie.

scrunchythief · March 2016

kimmiinthemitten said:

wink0erin
Wait staff and bartenders usually work for the catering company in shifts and aren't there the entire 8+ hour day. And coat check people? Seriously?

I work for a catering company on the side, this is the second company I've worked for. I can recall one wedding over the last 5 years that wasn't an 8+ hour day and that was because we didn't provide the bar. However, because I work for the people providing the food, they are responsible for feeding me. The first company is a nationally award winning caterer who does all of the big wig weddings, they gave us pizza and uncrustables. The company I work for now is a smaller startup and they allow us to eat the leftovers. It's really nice to be able to enjoy a hot meal during an event and it's amazingly appreciated by staff. I'm not home all day, I won't get home until long after FI goes to bed, and I'm fairly worthless the following day because my feet will be swollen and sore. We usually double as the coat check too.

Our photographer has stipulated a hot meal for them. They work for 10 hours that day per our contract, and deserve a hot meal in my opinion. But then again, I'm biased as I know what it's like to be the faceless vendor. I've worked parties where acquaintances were in attendance and didn't notice me, even with direct interaction. There's no better camaflouge than a black shirt and tie.

I can't help myself:

Image: https://tealeavesdogears.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/waiter.jpg

MesmrEwe · March 2016

Since my career involves contracts, hotels, and food (i.e. "Rubber Chicken Circuit")... I'll say this, if someone hires me in to an event that they're paying me thousands to work, at a hotel that their event is taking place, if they don't put me up at the same or better hotel, it says a lot on a nonverbal level. If they put me up at the Infest Inn vs. Holiday Inn the event is at - yea - I'm not going to be a happy Mesmr... I have $$$$ of equipment that I'm having to haul multiple times, that takes me time which takes time away from you.

1) Check your contract - make sure you're solid on knowing what travel expenses you're going to be responsible for.

2) If you house your vendor at another hotel, consider things like travel (you may get dinged for additional mileage depending on your contract), distance, events (is the football game going to start/tailgate/let out at the time you want your vendor to be navigating through traffic. Also, consider the hotel's amenities. Sometimes the more expensive hotel isn't the better hotel. Hot breakfast included the next morning and a more comfortable setting - is a good thing!

3) If you can afford to host your event at this hotel, you can afford an extra room for your contracted vendor. Especially the one who is taking the one thing that you're going to have to look back on the day of. You never know, your hotel may be able to give you a corporate/business rate for that room since it's a vendor..

ETA: When it comes to food - don't make your vendors look bad by giving them a "lesser" meal. If I saw a DJ with a pizza and everyone else was being served steak, I'd side-eye them ("what, isn't steak good enough for you?" or think the couple were cheap)... If I was the DJ and was treated like that - trust me, I wouldn't go above and beyond, 11:30 cut-off, 11:28 I'm doing a "thank you and goodnight" type announcement and not a soft cut-off when the venue says "done"... Sure, the vender isn't a friend/family, but they are working all day and aren't allowed to stop what they're doing and go grab an appropriate meal (sorry, hamburger isn't an appropriate meal if your guests are being served a 2-meat buffet.. and depending on their dietary restrictions may not be appropriate)...

MobKaz · March 2016

Maggie0829 said:

STARMOON44 said:

I'm not saying stick them in a camp ground, but I'm also not paying for them to stay at the Four Seasons when there is a safe convenient Holiday Inn Express available. I absolutely treat the paid staff as second class compared to the guests. Because they are. They are doing a job. They need to be treated respectfully and courteously and provided for in accordance with the contracts they sign. They don't need to be wined and dined out of some misguided sense of nobless oblige.

Yeah, it isn't out of some noble obligation, but rather me just liking to treat people as well as I can, even if they are only working the event.

In many cases, as was ours, our photographer, DJ, and photo booth attendant ate their meal at the same time as our guests. I am not about to feed someone something different, particularly lesser, while they watch others enjoy a better meal.

MrsMack10612 · March 2016

Jen4948 said:

banana468 said:

Maggie0829 said:

Jen4948 said:

But that's your choice, and that's fine. It's when your vendors try to make that choice for you by inserting clauses into their contracts that require that they get everything a guest is entitled to that's not fine.

And those clauses were most likely added after they were treated like crap by previous clients. So they are just protecting themselves from being treated like shit again.

STUCK IN THE BOX:

I had a conversation with my DJ who said, "I think it's pretty awful to get a soggy turkey club as my vendor meal. " He didn't require the same meal the guests ate but he did say he wanted a hot meal. I made sure that he was offered one of our options.

It's all about being respectful of people who are working for you. Anytime you're "the boss" you can pull a line and say, "You're hired to do a job," but if you continue that sort of mentality without treating your employees well all they're remember is that you're all about the work and not about a little something - you know - for the effort.

I can tell you that when I worked crazy hours in middle management and saw upper management treat themselves to parties and holiday rewards that were multiple tiers above me, it left a poor taste in my mouth.

Not providing any meal at all, or a poor-quality meal, would be "pretty awful" and disrespectful to a vendor, but while it might be pretty awful to get a soggy sandwich, vendors are not entitled to "hot meals" just because they are working at a place where other people are being served them.

Actually our band required in their contract that they all receive hot meals.

I realize that perhaps I am an exception, but our photogs were new-ish friends (less than a year), our cocktail hour band (2 guys) were folks we had known for years, I won't say friends, but friendly acquaintances and our reception band were folks that we had been following for years. They were all included in our headcount and offered the same meal choices as our guests and were welcome to the bar. In fact I think the our photog assistant actually is the one who had the bartenders crack the bottle of Crown Royale. We even told the police officer we had to hire to help himself to the food at the cocktail hour (I think we offered him dinner too) but he declined due to "on duty".

I'm sorry, treat your staff/hired vendors well and they will treat you well. I agree that vendors don't necessarily have to be served exactly the same as guests, but treating them second class is not the way to go either.

photokitty · March 2016

I'm sorry, but other than my minister, none of my vendors were drinking alcohol. It is unprofessional imho. I never drink when I'm working, why would they? You need to be on top of your game, not tipsy.

Not to mention, it was against my venues policy. They don't allow vendors to drink for insurance reasons.

As far as vendors being like friends, I don't hire friends (except the minister) it's not a great idea.

That said, mine got favors, full buffet, a table to sit and eat at in the dining room, soda, dessert, late night snacks, anything the guests did, but no alcohol. Hell, we fed photog and video lunch too. I'm paying you to be sober and professional, not drink and have fun. I would never imbibe on a shoot for that reason.

MrsMack10612 · March 2016

@photokitty - I know we are an exception. None of our vendors got drunk or even tipsy. They all enjoyed themselves. If our vendors had all been total strangers, it would have been a very different case. I think. But then, even if they were, I can't see any problem at all saying - hey help yourself to a glass of wine or a beer. It's just the way my H and I are.

As far as the friends part - the musician friends are professionals, they just also happen to be friends that played the kind of music we wanted and we knew it would provide the atmosphere we were looking for. As for the photog friends, pictures weren't that important. My H said we have to have some pics, personally I despise getting my picture taken. I'm glad we did because both my parents are gone now, but overall I wouldn't have cared if all we'd had were candids from guests. And since our friends were probably $1000+ less than the other professionals we talked to, we were fine with it. I wasn't interested in spending thousands of dollars on something I didn't really want anyway.

I'd like to think, regardless I wouldn't treat someone I'm paying like a second glass citizen just because they were hired to do a job. When we go out to eat, unless for some reason the service was really horrible, we treat our waitstaff and bartenders really well too. Hired help does not mean they should be treated like Dobby the House Elf.

STARMOON44 · March 2016

MrsMack10612 said:

@photokitty - I know we are an exception. None of our vendors got drunk or even tipsy. They all enjoyed themselves. If our vendors had all been total strangers, it would have been a very different case. I think. But then, even if they were, I can't see any problem at all saying - hey help yourself to a glass of wine or a beer. It's just the way my H and I are.

As far as the friends part - the musician friends are professionals, they just also happen to be friends that played the kind of music we wanted and we knew it would provide the atmosphere we were looking for. As for the photog friends, pictures weren't that important. My H said we have to have some pics, personally I despise getting my picture taken. I'm glad we did because both my parents are gone now, but overall I wouldn't have cared if all we'd had were candids from guests. And since our friends were probably $1000+ less than the other professionals we talked to, we were fine with it. I wasn't interested in spending thousands of dollars on something I didn't really want anyway.

I'd like to think, regardless I wouldn't treat someone I'm paying like a second glass citizen just because they were hired to do a job. When we go out to eat, unless for some reason the service was really horrible, we treat our waitstaff and bartenders really well too. Hired help does not mean they should be treated like Dobby the House Elf.

And putting them up in a moderate hotel rather than a luxury resort is not the same as making them live in rags in a kitchen cupboard.

Photographer's hotel room

Re: Photographer's hotel room

Choose Another Board

Search Boards