Should you provide refreshments to your wedding suppliers? A DJ fills us in…
As a DJ, Wedding Host & Master of Ceremonies, Anthony Winyard of Anthony Winyard Wedding Entertainment has performed for over 2000 couples, so has certainly experienced a fair few weddings as a supplier. For couples unsure if they are meant to allocate some of their catering budget to their DJ and other suppliers, Anthony offers 5 Star Wedding Directory some pearls of wisdom, and thoughts to consider.
This is a tricky question and the answer isn’t black and white. Let’s start with food: how long will the supplier be at the venue for? If it’s just for a few hours in the evening, such as the majority of DJs who will perform from 7pm to midnight then food is maybe not necessary, however if they are there for over 10 hours such as a DJ who also acts as an MC or is supplying background music and/or mood lighting then it does make sense to provide them a meal.
When they will be entertaining your guests in the evening it won’t enhance their performance if they are starving. You want their minds on your guest’s enjoyment not on their stomach.
At most of the events I’m booked for I play the music for the wedding ceremony and then don’t leave the venue until well after all the guests and so it’s not unusual to have left my house by 10 or 11am and won’t get home again until 2 or 3am. 15+ hours can be a very long day with no food. Yes of course I could bring sandwiches, packed lunch etc., but likewise, eating sandwiches doesn’t really sustain someone for that length of time.
The number of people deciding to go vegetarian is increasing every year, and this is very much reflected in the guest’s decisions on what to have for their meal at the wedding breakfast. At least 70% of the weddings I work at there are more guests requesting vegetarian meals on the day then had indicated themselves to the bride and groom on the RVSP.
Being vegetarian myself I know this because at almost every event the catering staff serve my food after the guests have been served and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told “the bride said they required 8 vegetarian meals, but there are 12 people today requesting veggie meals!” Resulting in a few guests being disappointed and also that invariably leaves the caterers putting together what’s left on a plate for me.
Alcohol or soft drinks?
The majority of entertainers will be driving so won’t want alcohol, but water and soft drinks would be necessary. Rarely is alcohol necessary although some band members might disagree! It is very important to supply at least water to the entertainment, and in the evening once the fun and dancing starts they are sometimes forgotten about because people are having such a good time. When there are a lot of guests and/or the bar is in a different room it can be difficult for the DJ to get to the bar, so if an usher or preferably one of the venue staff can be assigned to ask the entertainment during the evening if they would like a drink that can be a great help.
The Evening Buffet
Many DJs will not help themselves to the buffet even when invited and this is for a number of reasons.
1. Usually the buffet is served around 8.30/9pm and at most weddings this is when the dancefloor is either already very busy or the DJ is building the atmosphere to create that busy floor, and so does not want to walk over to the buffet and lose the momentum they’ve worked so hard to create
2. Many DJs just do not feel right walking over to the buffet at a point in the evening when they are working and so would feel uncomfortable.
3. It is often the case that the DJ is too busy at that point to be able to eat the food anyway.
There are exceptions though and some DJs have no qualms about walking over and helping themselves. Another exception is when there is both a band and a DJ, then it is completely different and the DJ will very often help themselves during the bands stage time.
Most bands perform two 45-minute sets with a break in between and so usually are able to partake in the buffet.
Speaking of exceptions. At the top of this article I stated that maybe it wouldn’t be necessary to provide a meal for a DJ only working for a 5-hour period. One thing to bear in mind with this though; Most DJs take an average of one hour to setup the equipment at the start and another hour at the end to dismantle it (with some taking even longer). It may well be the case that they’ve also had to travel for at least an hour to reach the venue and again to return home, which then means 9+ hours, which is coincidentally the length of most people’s working day, and the vast majority of people will have a meal during their working day, so no, a meal is not always necessary, but if you would like your entertainment to perform to the maximum of their ability then maybe it is a good idea?
Anthony Winyard is a London-based wedding DJ, Master of Ceremonies and wedding entertainer. With 20 years’ experience as an international club DJ, performing at exclusive venues such as Claridge’s and The Savoy, Anthony Winyard provides a unique tailor-made service to his couples ensuring a fun party for all. For more info please visit awe-dj.co.uk
