Corey Talks: Vendor Meals, The Real Skinny

Vendor meals.  They’re a pesky thing.  Sometimes as photographers we view the “vendor meal” warily as we’re never sure what it will entail.  Sometimes we get the same meal the guests have.  Sometimes we get a cheaper version.  Sometimes we get a boxed lunch and sometimes the promised meal never comes.  I’ve addressed this issue before but I feel that I need to expand on my thoughts from before in a new blog as things have changed and meals have evolved.  In talking with my couples, I’ve realized that they often don’t quite know what exactly their vendor meal is or what it even entails so here’s the meals that we usually get and what they mean.  Hopefully this helps clear some of the mystery surrounding those pesky meals!

Same Meal Guests Have

As photographers, we’re elated when we get the same meal that guests have.  The first thing this ensures is that we will be able to photograph the meal that you have chosen to have served to guests.  If we aren’t served the same meal, it’s often something we cannot photograph as most people aren’t friendly to strange people taking aside their plate of food.  This also usually means we are seated with guests.  Some photographers don’t like this but I always enjoy getting to meet someone new.  It also means that if we’re in the same room, we’re around to know when anything spontaneous happens during dinner that need photographed.  The final perk to this option is that we are also served with guests, so that we are able to eat while everyone is eating and are able to get back to our jobs before events start to happen.  The only downside that I’ve encountered while being seated with guests is that often since we’re not in the seat until dinner is about to start, someone moves to our seats assuming we’re not there or we’ll find somewhere else to sit and there isn’t always a place for us to move to resulting in us not having a meal.

Stepped Down Guest Meal

Usually if we are placed in an ante room to the reception for our meal, we are served a vendor meal which is a lighter version of the guest meal (chicken/pasta is typically the option).  Sometimes it is really nice to have a room to go to and completely relax and not worry about our stuff being messed with and just talk about the day so far.  The food is usually the most economical version of the guest choices (pasta or chicken) and still quite good and nourishing.  The downfall to this option is that we do not have a full guest plate to shoot (often ours aren’t dressed up like the served plates are or have the side dishes the guests do).  We also are usually pretty far off from the main reception area to know what is going on unless someone keys us in to an event taking place.  Since we’re often far off from the main floor, we’re the last to be served since the guests are the priority.  I totally understand that but usually by the time we get our meals in the room, the bridal party is already finished with theirs and circling the room – moments we would like to be there to capture.  Finally it’s becoming a reality that most of the time, these meals never come – or they come too late for the vendors serving you to enjoy them because your reception is already swinging back into gear.  I feel SO badly for my couples when this happens because they pay for a meal that never is enjoyed and I hate to see people loose money!

Boxed Lunch/Sandwich Tray

This option is the most popular with guests that also have to feed a band but has been used a bit more lately.  This meal is usually a boxed lunch consisting of a sandwich (baloney and PB&J being the most popular versions) a bag of chips and sometimes water.  If it’s a sandwich tray, it’s usually a ring or mini subs from a sub shop.  These are usually served in either a back room of the kitchen or in a room that is off to the side of the reception.  I’m not a picky eater so I’m usually fine with this but I do get upset when I have to battle the band for a meal.  Bands are notorious for eating all of the food in a vendor room.  I thought this was a tall tale when starting in the business but I quickly found out that generally bands eat up everything assuming it’s all for them and the rest of the vendors are left without meals.  The Sellouts will forever have my heart for insisting we eat first because we’d been working hard all day.  The first and only band to ever do this!  I’ve found that a great solution to this issue is to have the caterers have one box/bag/ring for the band and another for the other vendors that isn’t brought out until we are there.  That way the band can tear through their food but there’s still some left over when we and the videographers, wedding planners etc. come back for our quick bite.

Hopefully this helps solve some of the mystery around Vendor Meals and what exactly they are and what each scenario means behind the scenes!