Feed Us!
“Tonight, we eat something's flesh! I WANT MEAT!!!” —Ron Swanson
So it’s your wedding day. Everything is proceeding as you’ve foreseen and the vendors are all arriving and getting setup. Pictures are being taken, moments are being captured on video, guests are arriving and the next thing you know, you’re doing the 20-meter dash down the aisle just like your videographer told you not to. Things couldn’t be going better.
The ceremony wraps up and your face starts to hurt from smiling so much but all of a sudden, a great rumble from the depths awakens something within you.
Hunger.
Many of your guests—maybe even your new significant other—have never seen you in the state of what’s affectionately known as being hangry. You begin to sweat but have no fear, your caterer is here!
You do a fantastic grand entrance for your reception. You hug your brand spankin’ new significant other and rock side to side in a dance-like motion on the dance floor. Nothing fancy. You’re hangry after all.
Someone who’s probably just as hangry as you says a quick prayer and finally, the bridal party is unleashed upon the unsuspecting food. It’s perfect. An open buffet, multiple types of food, side dishes, salad for those folks who think they’re rabbits and plenty of food for everyone to even have seconds.
As you get your plate, you notice some of your vendors like your coordinator, photographer and videographer are being ushered to the back room where you have a special meal for them.
They get a tiny ol’ slab of fish, a scoop of dry rice and a small dinner roll. That’ll fill ‘em up. The good stuff is for your guests, after all!
All jokes aside, this isn’t a funny story I suddenly came up with. Sadly, this is a true story. I was working an eight hour wedding and, after getting there hours before the guests, running up and down stairs as it was in a hotel and elevators take forever, filming all the special getting ready moments, first looks, the ceremony, the family portrait session, the grand entrance to the reception and the first dance, the vendors and I were shuffled into an unoccupied conference room which was being used for storage away from the reception and given a small plate of food. And yes, it was indeed a plate with just a small piece of fish, a scoop of rice and a dinner roll.
After we finished, you can picture my disgust when I saw that the guests were being served a full two-course meal which was completely different than what we’d been given.
Given that we all still had about three hours left at the wedding, I could tell we were all pretty hungry. By the end of the night (which was close to midnight), I was exhausted and starving.
Brides, it’s very disrespectful to your vendors to give them a special meal that’s less than what your guests are receiving. If you’re getting enough food for your guests, make sure to have enough for your vendors as well. We work very hard to make sure your wedding day goes on schedule and according to plan. Many times, we’re on our feet for several hours at a time.
It’s a general guideline that photographers and videographers eat at the same time the bridal party eats. That way, we’re finished at or before you are and we can get back to work. We’re not stopping to kick back and relax but we do need to eat as we are indeed human.
Some brides elect to have a table set aside just for their vendors which is awesome. It beats us having to find a seat at a random table we think is empty only to be joined by Uncle Ralph who wants to share your entire life story with us including how you once set your Barbie doll’s head on fire.
Having a table for your vendors is a great idea because it allows us to be where everything is going on. There have been multiple occasions when I’ve been eating but something happens which I’d like to capture. Because I was out there with everyone else, I was able to put the food shovel down and pickup my camera to capture said moment.
In closing, please remember to give thought to the vendors who work so hard to make sure your wedding runs smoothly. There are many long hours that go into getting things setup and at the end of the day, we need to eat just like your guests do.