The Wedding Vendor world is in a hot debate right now…should you feed your vendors or not? And which vendors should you feed?
It started with an article written on brides.com HERE
It has photographers and vendors alike debating on whether or not the advice given in this article should be taken seriously, and many are upset over it!
Not only that, but what it looks like is that brides out there are more than willing to feed their vendors, they just don’t know what all they need to do to make sure that is accomplished!
So for my brides, I wanted to speak up about this, and how to prevent your vendors from getting #hangry (had to!).
For myself and those that shoot with me, we require a meal if we are working for 4 hours or longer. It is in my contract. But even though I have it in my contract, I have had a couple of weddings where things got crazy… We aren’t about to bother the bride on her day, and we end up making a food run or eating granola bars to get us thru the evening.
Here are a few tips on how you can make sure that your vendors, who are working tirelessly to provide you with your dream day, don’t go hungry!!
1. Communicate with your vendors beforehand, and make sure you ask them if they need to be fed or if they provide their own meal. Some of them may have already talked to you about this, but anyone who is there for more than 4 hours should be offered some sort of food to get them thru so that they can provide the best service to you possible!
2. Communicate with your caterer and/or coordinator! I have heard horror stories of caterers and/or coordinators being unaware of needing to feed photographers and it can cause friction with the vendors…thats the last thing you want on your special day!!! We should all be concentrating on making your day perfect, not on what should or shouldn’t be done!
3. Make sure your caterers and coordinators know, meaning talk to them specifically about this, that you want your photographer to eat with the bridal party. Why? Because if we have to go to the back of the line and wait, more than likely we won’t get to eat before something important is happening and then we don’t get to eat!
4. Make sure there is a spot for your photographer/vendors to sit and eat. It does so much good for us to have even 15-30min to recharge, refuel and sit down! It helps us have the energy still needed to finish out the evening with a bang!! You do not have to provide a spot at the table with everyone else, however if you could talk to your venue or just work out where would be the best place for your photographer to sit down for those few moments to eat it takes a load off of us trying to scramble for a spot!
Working on Sneak Peaks in my little corner, while eating!
5. Bonus if I am your photographer, because I not only ask for a break to eat, but during this time I upload my images and prepare 30-50 sneak peaks from the day already! We then put them on iPads and display them around the reception for you and your guests to enjoy! Without that time, you wouldn’t get your sneaks!! And you may have a #hangryphotographer and/or I may faint…
6. Why can’t we bring our own dinner you ask?? Most of the time we park fairly far away from the reception so we don’t take up the good spots for your guests, so leaving it in the car is difficult and takes up precious time for us to go get. We normally try to carry in as little as possible so that we don’t have to carry so much with us, and having to pack a lunch is just one more thing waiting to get lost or stepped on… If we have to run to get something, that takes up the entire break usually and we want to be available if something awesome happens!!
Sometimes we do things like climb on a chair while 8 months pregnant, while your friend (who happens to also be my friend in this shot!) holds you up so you don’t fall, in the boiling Texas heat!
7. We take a break during this time no matter what, because who wants their picture taken while eating?? Not me!!! 😉 And more than likely we just got done creating beautiful images like this one for you anyway!!
I hope this helps you when planning your evening, for things that most brides don’t even think about!
Imani Photography is booking weddings for 2016/2017! We would LOVE to talk to you about your big day!!!
info@imaniphotog.com
www.facebook.com/imaniphotography
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