photographers, musicians, and food

[TooPatient]

I'm getting a more finalized guest list together and ran into a question that I'm hoping someone here can answer.

What did you (or will you) do for photographers and musicians at your wedding? Do they count as guests and get charged as such by the venue? Do you provide a meal for them? Do you discuss it with the photographer/musician and include it in contracts?

The winery we're looking at (they are holding the date for us until we can go visit them next Tuesday) is 2 to 2-1/2 hours away from the photographers we're talking to and the musicians we hope to work with. Photographers will be busy starting at probably noon or so and going until 10pm. Musicians wouldn't be needed until 6pm or so and then maybe part of the reception (any live music likely done by 8 or so).

So what would you (or did you) do?


If it matters dinner will be about $72/plate with drinks extra, pre-wedding wine tasting is $15/person, and any sort of lunch would run about $50/person.

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

While my wedding was a little less formal (we did all the food ourselves), we did feed the photographers, dj's and wait staff. That said, we didn't include them in our final number of guests. We made a TON of food and knew we would definitely have enough for everyone, even if another 50 people came.

I would ask your venue about how they handle that situation. Since they are pretty much always on the go, it's not like they're having a sit down dinner with the rest of your guests, so maybe they allow for a little plate of finger food to be available for them?

 

[vc10um]

I am nearly positive your photographer's contract will have a section stating that for services more than X amount of hours, either you must provide them a meal, or must provide them with a suitable break for them to obtain their own meal.

Whether or not the musicians/DJ do is another story, because it appears it would matter if they counted their travel time as part of the service time.

We included the Photog, the Second Shooter, the DJ, and his assistant in our headcount and paid for them to eat the same meal as everyone else. We set them up at a table out of the way so they could sit and enjoy while everyone else was stuffing their faces and generally not needing pictures taken or specific music/MC-ing happening. But our regular meal was less than $30/person, so it wasn't a huge deal.

I would ask your venue if they provide vendor meals. If not, you will most likely need to feed your photographer (sounds like your wedding is somewhere where other food options don't necessarily abound) and possibly the musicians. Is outside food allowed to be brought in? If so, I'd look at getting a deli platter and whatnot for them to nosh on if feeding them the full regular meal is out of budget.

Hope that helps!

 

[TooPatient]

Thanks for the advice Stacey and VC!

I talked to the event coordinator at the winery today. (I love that she took the time to call to see if we had any more questions before our visit next week!) They do have "vendor meals" as an option. The restaurant will also be open all day so if they prefer, they'll be able to have whatever they want during breaks. We also have the option of including them in the guest count and then they'd have the same meal as all the guests.

I think I'm going to talk with each person as we work out contracts and let them decide what they'd prefer.

 

[distracts]

I am paying for a regular meal (we're having a buffet, so adding the head count to the buffet) for them. Many caterers have "vendor meals" that are cheaper but from what I've heard from people in the biz, they are usually like PB&J sandwiches and chips, which seems kind of lame to feed someone who is working for me 8 hours or whatever that day.

 

[TooPatient]

I am paying for a regular meal (we're having a buffet, so adding the head count to the buffet) for them. Many caterers have "vendor meals" that are cheaper but from what I've heard from people in the biz, they are usually like PB&J sandwiches and chips, which seems kind of lame to feed someone who is working for me 8 hours or whatever that day.

Ick!
That would be awful. Thanks for passing this along. I'll make sure to find out what is in the "vendor meal" at the winery before even offering it as a possibility. If they'd like something not vegetarian, I'd happily pay for their meal at the restaurant and they can choose what they have from there.

 

[vc10um]

I've heard vendor meals are hit and miss as well. Usually they are sandwiches of some type, but I've never heard of PB&J! My one of my friends got vendor meals for her photog/planner/etc. and they got a grilled chicken sandwich on a gorgeous artisan bun with what looked like a really awesome potato salad and a cup of the same chocolate mousse the guests were served since the cake cutting was a bit later in the evening. So sometimes they're not a bad option, and a bit of a "quicker" meal for those on the go, since I'm sure you want them to enjoy their meal, but also get back to shooting/playing as quickly as possible!

I think the restaurant option is a great idea as well. If you can just have them charge it to your room or something, that would work out really great!

 

[4ever]

My photographer specified that if she stayed through the reception shed order an entree and we'd pay for it.