Hi ladies,
I did a quick search but the threads I found are old and scattered on a bunch of different boards. Just wondering what people are doing about this. Honestly I hadn't even considered it until today, and I googled it - I was surprised to find that it is apparently expected that you feed your photographers, DJ/band, coordinator, etc. Um. So far I love all the vendors I'm working with, but we are spending a LOT of money on them and I'm a little surprised that we're supposed to tack an $80+ dinner on top of the fees and tips we're paying them! We're not at an all inclusive.
I've read that some venues provide a "vendor meal" option, which is different/cheaper food, or they offer the same meal you are serving guests at a reduced rate. Apparently some places also have a separate room so the vendors don't have to sit with the guests. (If I were them I probably wouldn't want to sit with the guests and vice versa.) I'm inquiring about this with my venue but it doesn't seem like the kind of place that will have another place for them to sit, and we can't very well have them eating cheeseburgers while sitting amongst the guests who are eating surf and turf. Haha. So...what's everyone doing?