Dear wedding photographers:

I'm putting together a blog/site with the following goals-

1) educate couples on why photographers need to eat when guests eat, and not last.
2) educate engaged couples what sh*tty food looks like and why it's insulting
3) flame the venues that provide said sh*tty food late to photographers
4) reward the venues that provide good food early to photographers

So here's what I'm asking for: SEND ME YOUR SH*TTY VENDOR MEAL PHOTOS along with
the venue information that served it to you. The entire thing is going to be anonymous (except that
I might actually attach my name to this thing... depending on how ballsy I'm feeling) I figure this is
a public forum anyways so it would come out sooner or later.

My hopes? Eventually, the venues will get tired of being kicked around the blog as scum and will
perform their due diligence to tell their couples that when they say "do you want to order vendor
meals for your photographers?" they're actually using the words "vendor meals" and "crap in a can"
interchangeably.

You can send the following to: photographerseatfirst (at) gmail (dot) com

- image of meal
- description of meal if you so dare
- venue name
- length of day worked

I will not post the date of the event just to make it harder to identify when
the photo was taken.

If I missed anything or you have suggestions, please let me know!

Thanks and bon appétit

______________

p.s - I realize that not all of you get vendor meals, and some of you always get fed really well. I'm super
happy for you. If you don't want to participate, then don't. I'm not trying to start a war
between photographers.

I get the worst vender meal. SMH.

I wish caterers realize that if they feed the photographers while the guest are eating is better than giving us food after everyone is done eating.

That's a great additional point Ari. There will be a section at the top of the site to explain what it is and list the goals
in a nice way. That will be one of the main points made.

XPO239 wrote:
I wish caterers realize that if they feed the photographers while the guest are eating is better than giving us food after everyone is done eating.

I have to explain this at every wedding. Makes no sense.

I agree with Ari that the meal timing is more important than the content.

- the photographer needs to eat at the same time as the guests because if we're fed later then we miss shots

I'm always happy to get fed at all; in most occupations people don't get fed by their employers, and it's a bit rough to expect couples to pay $100/head catering as well as the $$$ they're paying for photography.

That said, I'm always happy if they do include me, and it gives us an opportunity to get shots of the food, which couples appreciate

scott- like I said, some of us get fed well, some don't. That's not the debate. In fact, I have sort of
lost track of my initial goal. Not the email address

photographerseatfirst

The content was just a side note that I sort of got carried away with while writing this post.

I'm not sure if its a regional thing but where I'm from there is no such thing as a vendor meal. I've never eaten anything but what guests eat. Do the clients pay less or what's the deal?

as far as I know, yes the clients pay significantly less. the problem is that they're not educated by the venue. It
probably goes something like this (if anyone knows differently please chime in)

Venue: will you be needing meals for your photographers?
client: yes
venue: how many?
client: 2
venue: those are $30 each
client: ok


where this is how it should go

venue: will you be wanting meals for you photographers?
client: yes
venue: there are two options, you can either pay $30 for a vendor meal which will be a
cold sandwich or mac n' cheese, or you can just add two more meals so your
photographers can have a hot meal.
client: wow, a sandwich after working for 8 hours? that sounds horrible. lets get those
pour souls some real food!
venue: very good.

I dont quibble about vendor meals or not...to me, hey whatever works....the things i DON'T like, are being asked to eat in a different room (not b/c i think i deserve better, but b/c you miss shots that way in case a fight breaks out....or if someone wants to make an impromptu toast....), and obviously being told i have to wait till after everyone else is done....Alessandro once said something about that fact last year some time, and i remember my very next wedding i made sure to ask early if i could eat, and sure enough they gave me crap about it....the venue, not the couple, of course....honestly i never gave it a thought before he brought it up, but it makes total sense, and it's helped me a lot...

I'm educating my clients at every chance I have. Also lately if I'm being asked what I want to eat (full meal, not a vendors crap), I'm going with the 4th option (usually you have 3 - chicken, beef, fish) - kids meal. If they dare to serve it to kids, then it's safe to eat. I've been sick way too many times from the venue's food, or at least couldn't touch it because it tasted like crap.

Food is tasty.

- trr

or maybe venues could get their heads out of their but cracks and do the logical thing and serve us not last? I
guess that really is asking a lot.


TRR- I will rephrase the focus of this then. If I'm being served a meal, then I don't want to be served last. Additionally I know that you're not really in this business to be super best friends with your clients and you're very business focussed. But for me, I want to feel welcome. And packing my own lunch makes me feel like crap. As does being served last and stuck into a different room.

I have yet to have a "vendor meal". All of my clients have been gracious enough to feed me the same as everyone else. The problem I have run into is being given a seat way back in the corner in a tiny little cramped room. It creates a few problems.
1. If glasses start clinking, I better start running or I will miss the shot. And probably take out a couple guests with my camera bag in the process.
2. Those tables usually get served last. So I am scarfing down whatever I can, as quick as I can before the speeches start.
3. As I'm shooting the speeches my plate gets cleared.

If I there isn't assigned setting I will sit as close as I can to the head table without being in the way/obvious.

I'm a Canadian and I find that vendor meals are uncommon. I have had weddings where there are no meals provided(they forgot, whatever) and honestly it made me feel like I wasn't welcome. I am more than a vendor to them, at least they are more than just clients to me. I spend hours of coffees, meals and just hanging out as well as their engagement shoot and I see them as friends. I wouldn't leave my friends with a ham and cheese sandwich after working a long long day. I was at a wedding with Jason Prezant a few weeks ago and we were given a vendor meal. It was my first experience and we ordered pizza. It's in my contract to be provided a meal although I would never enforce that at a wedding but is mentioned just so they consider it. If I lived near wherever you are I would totally participate.

seriously.

I just want to be loved too. I take partial fault in all of this and have now started to educate my clients about the
food we get served via 'vendor meals'. But honestly, I might just start saying that we want to be seated with the
guests.

G-Gore wrote:
Also lately if I'm being asked what I want to eat (full meal, not a vendors crap), I'm going with the 4th option (usually you have 3 - chicken, beef, fish) - kids meal.

I have been to weddings where it was a "served buffet" of both adult meals and the "kids meals". (The guests would get in line but not serve themselves; there were serving personneI.) I actually saw it with my own eyes that a surprising number of adults actually preferred the kids meal! The adults got in line and tried to get kids items on their plate but were told they were not allowed to: "kids only", they were told. They were disappointed. Interestingly, the kids items were nothing like the "gourmet" adult antrees with fancy names. The kids items were "finger food" like chicken strips and french fries!

Tradition wrote:
I want to feel welcome. And packing my own lunch makes me feel like crap.

+1

That Photog wrote:
As I'm shooting the speeches my plate gets cleared.

You know it.

Wedding I shot on Sunday the waiters gave the meals assigned to the photographers/videographer and band - to the bar staff. As the shooters had been working since 9:30am makeup till a 12pm finish we were rather annoyed about it, especially as the bar staff were employed by the hotel not the couple.