A heated debate has been sparked after a wedding photographer complained that the couple whose special day she was capturing didn’t feed her at all.
The Australian photographer, in a since-deleted video, shared a clip to herself of social media pulling an unhappy face.
“How it feels when you don’t get a vendor meal at a wedding,” the woman captioned the clip.
Like all healthy wedding etiquette debate, the photographer’s comment about the lack of food didn’t disappoint.
Some suggested the photographer was being entitled while others said it should be a given that vendors get fed while working.
“Do people do their best work when they are hungry,” asked business woman Storm Menzies, founder of ByStorm Beauty.
“No. isn’t it just being savvy to ensure that the people who are making your day special are well fed, so they perform their best? (if you don’t believe it’s just common courtesy).”
Other social media users weighed in with a counter argument.
“My boss doesn’t bring my lunch to work for me so why would I feed someone who’s already paid to do a job a meal that would cost me an extra $50 on top of my already expensive wedding? Does that mean that the bride should feed the florist for making the flowers,” someone asked.
One added: “I’m too Islander for that. What do you mean not feeding someone that’s doing an eight hour day.”
“Honestly it would never even occur to me to pay for an extra meal for vendors however I don’t have anyone that would be there all day,” another argued.
“Photographer would be there maximum four hours, band is only there a few hours. I would expect them to eat before and after their shift. I would have no issue for them to have a quick break to eat a snack that they brought with them,” one wrote.
“If a vendor is there for 8-10 hours, they should have in their contract what their break times are or if they require a meal. I think expecting a meal is crazy entitlement.”
Someone else commented: “My nan always taught us to feed whoever is at your house at meal times, so why would it be any different at a wedding? They will absolutely be getting fed at my wedding.”
“What other workplace demands the client supply lunch? Super weird! Bring your own lunch and snacks,” another added.
As this person pointed out: “I wouldn’t expect to be fed but it’s just nice to give them food if you can afford it.”
“Usually I wouldn’t care and it’s a meal but it the photographer is charging $4,000 they really should be prepared,” one said.
Another comment read: “Aussie here, supply you own food unless it’s part of your contract. Always have transparency n a contract then everyone is on the same page. Never assume someone in a business contract should or should not do something or not do something.”
“Photographers and videographers, hair and makeup artists and DJs 100 per cent should get fed vendor meals. but I had a florist request meals despite only being allowed two hours bump in,” one shared.
Someone in the know weighed in: “Used to be a wedding photographer, I never made it mandatory in my own contracts and brought my own food. However 99 per cent of the time the couple would organise my dinner.”
“Basic hospitality is a stretch for some couples and venues,” one said.
Another added: “My Macedonian and Italian family would FORCE feed them.”
Claudia Sokolova is a Sydney-based wedding planner and content creator — and even walked down the aisle herself two years ago.
Sokolova, who runs @thebigdayeventsau, didn’t create the original video but weighed in on the topic.
Speaking to news.com.au, Sokolova said for her own wedding it “wasn’t even a question” that she would feed her vendors. It was a given.
“Even throughout the day — canapes, grazing table, morning of breakfast — making sure everybody’s eaten and had something to drink and had a glass of wine,” she said.
“That was a non-negotiable for us.”
As someone who works in the wedding space — whether that is planning or capturing the day on camera — Sokolova has been part of more than 150 weddings in the last three years. She’s only not been given a meal at two of them.
“Every industry has their own standards and the wedding industry standard is that vendors get fed,” she said.
“It’s out of the norm for vendors not to be fed a meal.”
The wedding planner said she remembers that she wasn’t fed at two weddings because it was so out of the norm that it stuck with her. Sokolova said there were two distinct sides to the debate — people who couldn’t fathom not feeding their vendors and people who said they didn’t get fed at their corporate job so why should couples feed people working for them.
“I think there is a lack of understanding where people think vendors are getting fed the three course meal that the guests are — that’s just not true,” she said.
She said that vendors weren’t robots, they were human beings, adding vendors bend over backwards for the couple who is getting married and they do deserve to be treated well.
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