Please Feed Us

Dinner!

Famed wedding planner, Sasha Souza, recently wrote a blog entry about feeding vendors that I thought hit the nail squarely on the head. In addition to the points she made, I thought I’d add my 2 cents.

• My assistants could all attest that we work at a non-stop pace throughout your entire wedding. Usually by dinner time, we’ve gone several hours without even taking a potty break or even drinking a glass of water, so sitting down for 10-15 minutes to eat a real meal is a welcomed break, especially for our completely numbed feet. I’m not whining but honestly, I need some substantial food because chances are, we have many more hours to go and we need the energy to lift heavy things at the end of the night when we are cleaning up, long after the guests have left.
• Let me beat this one into your head a little more – please ask your caterer to feed your photographers and videographers before or at the same time you eat. Usually, brides and grooms like to visit the guests once they have eaten a few bites of your meal. Your photographers and videographers would love to capture all those expressive conversations. They don’t want to have to answer why they didn’t capture those moments from you later!
• Dear Caterers, please don’t look at us like we have 4 heads if we ask you to feed the vendors before or at the same time you feed the bride and groom. Now, I totally understand that your first priority is feeding the hundreds of guests. But actually, shouldn’t your first priority be making the bride and groom happy? By feeding the vendors early, they can do their jobs properly and not miss anything, which makes the bride and groom happy. If you feed them after all the guests have eaten, then the photographers will miss photos of the couple visiting their guests. Feeding the band before the reception starts means they get to take shorter breaks later, which means more music, which means more dancing, which makes the bride and groom happy.