Open Letter to Venues and Caterers

You know what, something needs to be said about this. And what I am about to say is shifting from the exception and becoming the expectation. 

Most wedding photo/ video shooters know to bring a few muesli bars and bananas. These snack would be enough to tie us over, but the schedule for this particular wedding had repeatedly been pushed back by the venue with nothing but vague "oh we are running behind we will let you know" from the venue managers.  

A typical schedule run down for us lowly documenters could look like this: 
 
1pm - Start prep with the bride and groom 
3pm - Ceremony starts 
3.40pm - Family photos 
4pm - Bridal party photos 
6pm - Reception entry  
7pm – Entrees for guests are served 
7.20pm - Speeches 
7.45pm – Dinner for guests are served 
8pm - More speeches 
8.10pm - Vendors meals are served in a back room. No one tells us.  
8.30pm – Cake cut & First dance  
8.40 pm – Dance floor opens  

Venues almost always serve the bridal table first and vendors last, which makes sense unless you’ve ever worked a wedding, or have any semblance of understanding for the above schedule and what visuals need to be captured. The speeches, cake cutting, first dance, and the most exciting time on the dance floor all follow each other in quick succession for almost an hour. If you’ve talked to any married couple at the end of the night, they’ll tell you what a whirlwind it was.  

So, serving meals to vendors after everyone else means we won’t be able to get to it until it’s cold or already eaten by one of the band members. The only time that makes sense for photographers and videographers to eat is at the start with or before the bridal table. That’s the only time we’re not shooting because no one wants photos of them eating.  

I wish venues/ catering feeding us at the wrong time was the only problem.  
 
Too often has catering forgot to feed us at all 
Too often does the venue manager forget to inform us of the schedule changes 
Too often has the venue put us in a back room or we have been told to sit out in the cold where we can’t tell what stage the schedule is up to  
Too often the kitchen has hasn’t bothered cater to dietary requirements 
Too often we find ourselves chasing up our meals, only to be met with "when I get it to you" 
Too often has catering served us as speeches start (speeches can run from 15- 45 min, and are usually immediately followed by the first dance, and the opening of the dance floor) 
Too often has catering fed us some sad leftovers. "supplier meal" is the term they use on their internal documents. Prison food is more accurate. It’s a good day if we get a side of bread and vegetables.  

Trying to find the actual meat between what is obviously the fat offcuts

 
After spending the best day of their lives with us, couples often ask if we’ve been well fed and looked after. Telling us to load up on drinks and join them on the dance floor. We are professionals and we don't let the poor form of others ruin the experience we deliver to the bride and groom. So we lie. But we’ll be running into the other vendors at the nearest maccas, 40 minutes away on the drive home.  
 
I don't know a single photographer / videographer who has not had a shit attitude from venues.  
We all work together to make the couples wedding the best day of their lives and too often the venue / catering puts themselves at the top of the totem pole disregarding everyone else, instead of thinking about what would make the couple’s day better.  
 
To what feels like the few venues/ caterers who seek us out to ask us the best time to be served, those who give us a table anywhere but a dirty supply room. 
We love you & thank you.