Photographers and the feeding thereof

Just got an email from Jemma whose wedding we couldn't photograph 'cos we were already booked on her date, asking what the etiquette is about feeding her photographer.

The short answer is that you ask your photographer, who will be expecting you to ask and will certainly appreciate your consideration!

We actually deal with this issue by stating in our literature that we don't expect you to feed us, although we'd appreciate it if some bottled water could be made available to us. Despite that, some couples do still kindly offer us food, and sometimes we actually get to eat it, but for us it always works best if we make our own arrangements. Why? Well ...

For a start we're not your guests, we're your photographers. Operationally, it's a nonsense if we have to eat whenever and wherever your caterers feel like serving us something, which, incidentally, might well be very different from what you paid for. And besides, we're both vegetarian, upon hearing which caterers invariably ask "Do you eat fish?", I start twitching and Ann shuts me up before I have chance to say "No, the clue is in the word".

Which reminds me of the time I was in Waitrose and happened to see a shelf-stuffer putting tuna and cucumber sandwiches in the veggie section of the chiller, so I said to her "How long has tuna been vegetarian then?"

She thought for a moment then said "Well I suppose it depends on what they eat". And to this day I am convinced that she wasn't joking.

Best wishes for a super day on July 15th Jemma!