Food for Thought

Believe it or not, most brides planning their weddings don't think of this one detail: feeding the vendors. Your vendors are a vital part of your day and you want to make sure they are kept at their best, and this means not making them go HUNGRY. I only mean the ones who are actually in attendance at the wedding reception, so someone like your florist or limo driver is not included. You don't want anybody leaving early, not giving their all or slacking off because they can't hear anything past the rumbling of their stomach. Keep in mind most of these vendors will be with you the entire day, especially your photographer. We are only human and we WILL be hungry too. It seems like such an insignificant detail and can be overlooked, but believe me, we appreciate it. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• First, it would be appreciated if we ate the same food as the guests as opposed to something like sandwiches. Many banquet facilities or caterers will offer vendor meals to you at a discounted price, or maybe even for free. They may just include it in their "overage".

• Ask your caterer or the banquet manager to bring out the vendors' meals first. If they eat first then they can get back to work quickly and won't miss anything while the rest of the guests are eating dinner.

• Your vendors should have their meals in the same room as the wedding reception, even if it is in the corner of the room. This is important for every single vendor. Here are a few scenarios:

1 - Your parent's wedding song begins to play during dinner. They're the only ones dancing on the dance floor. What a beautiful moment. But, WAIT! Your photographer was forced to eat her meal in another room, so she is not there to capture this wonderful moment. By the time someone goes to get her, the moment is over.

2 - The DJ leaves his station unattended during dinner so he can eat his meal. It will be fine on auto-play, right? Wrong. Something goes wrong and the iPod gets stuck, repeating the same word in the song over and over and over...The DJ doesn't hear it in time because he is in another room, and doesn't get back in the reception room quickly enough to fix it and prevent your guests from becoming annoyed. 

3 - You spill red wine on your wedding dress during dinner! Oh no!! Thankfully, your trusty wedding planner is eating dinner close by and has a stain wipe in her bridal emergency kit! Problem solved. 

Bottom line: hungry vendors = BAD, fed and close by vendors = GOOD.