If you haven’t, please read Part I (we just point & shoot) & Part II (weddings are easy) first as it’s a series!
Ready for Misconception number three? This one will be a bit shorter than the past two.
This post is to help inform brides why we wedding photographers (and videographers too!) need a meal during the wedding day. If you read part II of this series, you realized just how hard & stressful capturing a wedding is. Now imagine doing that for possibly 8+ hours straight with basically no breaks (sometimes we almost run to just get to go to the bathroom when there’s a 2-minute break!). Can you see why we might need a little energy to keep going & be at our very best ALL day for our clients?? We may have photography-superpowers, but we’re still humans ;)
Usually we bring protein bars (I know lots of photographer friends who love LUNA bars!) & other super-quick snacks to grab a bite & keep our energy up, a few hours into the day. But imagine just eating that in an normal 8-hour stretch, how you would feel, let alone one if you were on-duty & moving around all those hours!!
I understand that wedding meals are $40-150+. But your wedding photographer is putting their ALL into your wedding day. Giving themselves fully, and the next day they are probably going to wake up very sore & tired. Be generous and get them a delicious meal! Or at the very least, give them the time to go and grab a meal (and I mean more than 10 minutes). Think about it – corporate America gives an hour lunch break on an 8-hour work day in a desk job (as well a maybe even a mini-coffee-run break). Even minimum wage jobs & volunteer places have a lunch break! It’s just common sense that people need to eat in a long stretch of time.
Talk to your venue/catering vendor about meals, as some have specific vendor meal options. Though I have seen some not-tasteful versions (sandwiches that looked like they were made the day before, and I’d rather starve..), so inquire what it will be, on behalf of the person who is providing you the service of capturing your wedding memories forever. Some caterers simply have a less-fancy version of what the guests are getting (chicken instead of steak, etc) and that is perfectly fine. Or if you LOVE your wedding photographer, count them as a guest in your total count for your caterers! :)
Speaking of that, try and have a spot for them to eat. If every table & chair is taken, it’s quite awkward to try and eat standing on their feet in a corner. Give them their own spot at a table (with the videographers or any other vendors, or some nice friendly guests), or some venues have a small sideroom where they can go temporarily to eat (just inquire). If it’s buffet style, please tell your photographer to get in line right after the bridal party & family has gone…this is important because as a bride, you actually really don’t want them to be last & just starting to eat when everyone else is done & toasts are about to start – so then they don’t even have time to eat!! Sometimes I’ve felt bad because I am at a table that’s going to get called last for buffet & for the sake of my clients I have to go grab food before the rest of my table, in order to get a chance to even eat anything. No one likes photos of themselves eating, so this makes sense that it is by far the best time for the photographer to eat as well!! And not be sitting there waiting for their last table to be called, and then have 2 minutes to eat before the cake-cutting (and their plate is taken away while they’re photographing that-I’ve had that happen!).
Just think about it…if your wedding photographer is well-fed (and not surviving off a protein bar & some nuts they had 5 hours ago) they’ll have more energy & brainpower for everything from portraits to dance pictures! So all in all, this blog post was written to say…be sure to take good care of your wedding photographer :):)
Next up – Wedding Photographer Misconception IV – We only work weekends/We PARTY all week. Oh, I can’t wait to write this one!! ;)
PS: Picture above taken by second shooter Nikki at a recent wedding…this was an example of a beautiful venue (Casa Ybel on Sanibel Island, FL) with a great vendor meal…above meal was a quick picture grabbed of the guest versions right before being served, and the vendor meal was steak & chicken instead of steak & seafood. And it was absolutely delicious! :):)
<3 <3 <3 <3
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