Don't Let Your Vendors Starve on Your Wedding Day

Let's talk about our wedding vendors for a minute, shall we?

You know, all of those super talented people you've hired to document your day, play the perfect song to get everyone on their feet, and make sure *everything* runs as smoothly as possibly. The people you researched and religiously stalked their blogs to decide whether or not you liked their work. The professionals you anxiously waited to receive an e-mail from, letting you know whether or not they had your wedding date available. The ones who are really going to make your day exactly what you've always wanted to be.

Photo by: Suzy Clement on Snippet and Ink via Lover.ly

So, these vendors (I really kind of hate that word, but it's the easiest way to group them together) will be "working" for you for the majority of the day. I know our videographer will be filming for about 10 hours, and our photographer will probably be there even longer. They're going to do their best to document as much of the day as they possibly can, including the time it takes for my bridesmaids and I to get ready, aaaaall the way until we make our grand exit, and everything in between. Now, at some point during the day, my bridesmaids and I will get hungry. We'll grab a snack, or Momma Coach will pick up some lunch for us and bring it to the hotel suite. Later on, after the ceremony, we'll enjoy a nice cocktail hour and some yummy hors d'ouvres. Finally, that evening, we'll get to taste the  menu that Mr. C and I "worked" so hard on.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

All of the bridal party, family and guests will have a chance to grab some grub, but when/where/how are our vendors, specifically those who are there 8+ hours, going to eat something?

Photo by: Katie Stoops on Snippet and Ink via Lover.ly

Y'all, I have been pondering this for weeks now. I finally got smart and just Googled it, which provided a little help through the way of wedding boards and whatnot, but it seems to be pretty up in the air. I always knew our vendors would eat at some point, in fact one of them even included a meal in their contract, but I guess I just never took the thought any further than that? Now that I'm working on final numbers and seating assignments, I realized, Oh hey, we actually need to provide a meal for them, and they might actually want to sit down to eat it!

So, the question is not so much what - we will include them in our head count for the catering - but when and where?

Deciding when they should eat was a little more difficult, because of course we want them to be photographing, filming, or being a part of everysinglemomentofthewholeentireday. But let's be real here, how exciting is Aunt Sue going to be while she's chomping on her fresh mixed greens salad?

Photo by: Kristen Loken on Snippet and Ink via Lover.ly

The time frame while we and our guests are eating dinner is obviously the best choice for the vendors to eat as well. It's a nice break in the evening, and more than likely the least exciting time for photo ops. (I think the only exception to this would be if you wanted pictures taken of each table, and if that's the case, maybe you could work out some sort of overlapping schedule, like the photographer takes pictures of the tables during the first 15 minutes of dinner, but won't get pictures of the first few people who make it on to the dance floor after everyone is done eating? Just a thought.)

Finally, where are you going to seat these important people? This is where my Google search (sort of) came in. Most folks said they either a) sat the vendors at a guest table, b) set up an alternate space/other room for the vendors to eat in, or c) gave them their own table to eat at, but kept them in the reception area with the guests.

I liked the idea of the vendors getting to eat in another room, because I feel like they would get to "relax" the most, i.e. set down their cameras, step away from the guests for a bit. However, our ballroom is not connected to any other rooms, and there's not really and secluded space they could be put in. I also worried that they might miss an unexpected moment because they were out of sight. Seating the vendors with some of the guests was something I really wanted to avoid, if at all possible. I just didn't feel like it would be a good experience for the vendors or the people we've invited to our wedding. That leaves us with the vendors having their own table in the reception ballroom. I was  100% okay with that IF we had enough space after we got all of the RSVP's back. Luckily, that seems to be the case, as we have had a good bit of people tell us they won't be able to make it (Boo!/Yay! - such is the contradiction that comes with planning a wedding).

BUT. (Of course you knew there had to be more.) Which table do we seat them at? The table in the corner, where their equipment can "hide" a little easier? Or the table closest to the edge where they have the most accessibility to get up if needed? These are the things that a bride-to-be must ponder. As of right now, I'm thinking not completely tucked away in the corner, but not in a super visible, million dollar view seat, either.

Are your vendors getting a quick dinner break at some point during the big day? Where are you going to seat them? And who thinks we could make a drinking game out of the number of times I said "vendors" in this post?