2010-03-31 08:00:00 by SMARTBRIDE
Wedding Advice: Food for thought: Should you feed your vendors?
Any couple planning a wedding knows that expenses can add up quickly. First it's $100 here, then $1000 there, and in no time at all your big day becomes very expensive. That said, what's the value of a vendor to you on your big day?
I'm not trying to bully you into doing things one way or another, but my role as a Wedding Planner is to guide you through the process. So, consider the time, energy, and effort your vendors are putting into making your big day run as smoothly as possible. They work countless hours before, during, and after your wedding to ensure that you have the experience of a lifetime.
Vendors Can Make Or Break Your Day
For a moment imagine what it's like to be a wedding vendor. Photographers take hundreds or even thousands of images on your big day. They worry about weather, lighting and temperature, getting great shots, and being artistic or edgy enough for you.
DJ's control the party’s vibe and can either energize or bore your crowd with their music choices, song transitions (mixes), and their unique MC-ability.
Florists create your overall look, theme, and atmosphere and greatly affect your guest’s perception of your big day.
Whether your event ends up being princess perfection or more suited for a paper-bag princess rests in your decorator’s hands.
The Wedding Planner is charged with making sure everyone, and I do mean everyone, enjoys your big day! We have a lot of responsibilities, from keeping vendors on task and on time to ensuring the food is hot, fresh, and even better than it was during the tasting. We're your eyes and ears on the floor and we’re there to handle emergencies, discrepancies and disputes, and to ensure the party feels like smooth sailing.
What’s This Worth To You?
Vendors (obviously) charge a fee for their services which you clearly think they’re worth if you signed for them. There is however one more piece to the puzzle and that’s the vendor’s meal. It may sound trite or trivial to you when you’re dealing with planning your big day but serving vendors a hot and nutritious meal on your big day is important for keeping up your vendor’s morale and energy.
Working a wedding isn’t a typical job with regular breaks (especially meal breaks). Most vendors are on their feet for 8 - 14 hours on a wedding day and special considerations should be taken for them. Will you serve your vendors a regular meal or a vendor meal? Ask your venue! Some venues will serve vendors your regular meal, but charge you a vendor meal price (usually 24-50% less than a regular meal). Other venues make a separate full meal for vendors for a special price and quite frankly, the meal is usually not very good. Being served cold turkey sandwiches in a room full of hot prime rib lowers morale and makes you look bad!
Here's my advice to you; if it's hot, plentiful, nutritious and filling then serve away! Always seek to have your vendors served the same meal as guests (this includes all of the courses) because it will make you look better (you won't look stodgy or cheap) and your vendors will be well fed, happy and able to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. Often, if you ask your catering department nicely, vendor meals can be negotiated. Most couples don’t know that they should negotiate this!
*Food for Thought*: We're all at our best when we're calm, comfortable and fed.
Bon Appetit!
Happy Planning,
Crystal Adair-Benning
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About our Guest Blogger: Crystal Adair-Benning
Distinct Occasions is a proud boutique Wedding Planning firm based in Toronto, Canada, but with satellite offices in Glasgow, Scotland and soon Perth, Western Australia! Providing worldly inspired, creative, detailed, luxurious and intimate weddings, Crystal and her team will help you get the "ohhh" and "awww" for your special day.
More Distinct Occasions Wedding Advice from Crystal:
- How can I personalize my wedding without it looking like everyone else's "personalized wedding"?
- What are the upcoming trends in colour? Should I look to them or avoid them?
- My bridal party is all different shapes & sizes. How can I find a look that flatters them all?
- How can we save during the recession without looking cheap?
- Combining different cultural traditions for your wedding
- Opinion Management
- Is it possible to find a meal that meets everyone's needs?
- Preferred Vendor Lists - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
