Tipping wedding vendors can be a tricky subject, and one I get asked about regularly. There is a lot of mixed information on the main wedding blogs. theknot.com, weddingwire.com, loverly.com, all of them have articles on the subject, but nearly all of them contradict each other. And that’s what is confusing! Actually tipping your vendors does not have to be that complicated! So here’s an honest, straight forward approach from someone who has seen all sides of the issue!
My general rule with the “who do I tip?” question is -Anyone who has provided you a service. The service based industry differs greatly from retail. So if you are simply purchasing a product from someone, that product is priced accordingly. However, services require a variable level of effort, commitment, and skill (especially with weddings) that are not always accounted for in the up front pricing. So if you feel that your service provider did an above and beyond job with your event (including the hours they put in before the actual wedding date), you should make sure that they know that you appreciate their extra effort to make your day awesome!
Here’s a list of vendors with an estimated amount that should be given. (Just like going out to dinner, if you think their service sucked, then tip them less. If you felt like (metaphorically speaking) your glass was always full and your table was constantly cleaned appropriately, then tip them more!)
Hair/Makeup Artists
Should you: Expected.
Tip your hair and makeup artists as you would if you were getting yourself done up at the salon. Tip them More if they came to you and didn’t charge a travel fee!
Photographer/Videographer
Should you: Not required, but always appreciated!
These vendors don’t expect a tip, but thanking them with a monetary gift or some other present is a nice way to show your gratitude if the service provided exceeded your expectations.
Delivery/Set-Up Staff
Caterer/ Venue Banquet Staff
Band/DJ
Wedding Planner
Officiant
Should you: Expected
Thanking your officiant with a tip or gift for performing one of the most important jobs of the day is customary. Especially if it is a friend or family member that knows you personally. If this is the case, and they needed to travel to the wedding to do it, you should offer to pay for their travel. It’s the least you can do, they are marrying you!
Driver
Should you: Expected
A couple things to remember:
- Remember when tipping a team of people, use cash so that it can be easily split up at the end of the evening.
- If you are getting married at a community hall/center, where your contract is with a City or County, the venue coordinator or manager of the facility can not be tipped or given a gift since they are a government employee.
- Unless you feel strongly about handing these things to the vendors personally, it is perfectly acceptable to pass on the task to someone else on the day of the wedding. Your coordinator, best man, mom or dad, are all people that should take this on, so you don’t have to worry about it! Make sure the person you leave this to is responsible, even when drunk (because if they are waiting to hand things out after the party, they need to remember to actually do it!) This being said, most vendors expect the tips to be coming from the coordinator, and will find us to ask for them after clean up. Place the tips/gifts in sealed envelopes with the name of the recipient on the front, so that they are easy to hand out, and will get to the correct people when the time comes.
That’s all the advise I can give on the subject! Now you know as much as I do 😉
Happy Planning!
-Juliette
All about the BAR
How much Alcohol should I buy for my Wedding???
A fellow wedding planner from Massachusetts, Tanya Costigan Events, came up with the following formula! With her permission, I’m sharing it with all of you wonderful Brides/Grooms-to-be.
How much of each type of Beverage?
To this I say, you know your guests best. If you’re family primarily sticks to wine, stock up on that. If you live in San Diego, our Craft Brew scene has exploded, and if you are part of the following- make sure to have more than your typical amount of Stone and Ballast Point on hand for you and your buddies to share!
Typically though:
If it is a full bar (beer, wine, and hard liquor): 50% should be wine servings, 20% should be beer servings, and 30% should be hard liquor
If it is only Beer and Wine: 60% should be wine servings, 40% should be beer servings
You know your guests best though! So if their mostly beer drinkers at parties, adjust accordingly!
If you are having “signature drinks” in addition to the above: estimate that each guest will have just one. Very rarely to people go back to order a second sig. cocktail. And not everyone will be as adventurous to try even one. But don’t stock up on the fixings, because unless it is pre-mixed, it will just turn into shots later in the evening.
At the end of the day, people will drink whatever is behind the bar because it’s free (to them at least)! In my personal opinion, having been to SO many weddings, Beer and Wine bars get everybody happy and almost nobody sloshy! It is a very easy way to keep your guests tamed and have the elegance of your wedding last until the very end of the night! Full bars are, of course, FUN! But there is always at least one person who is a little too ambitious with the amount they consume and they become a burden on the other guests/vendors.
Free Printable!!!!!
For a fun way to help your guests remember to finish their drinks from earlier, and help conserve some of your rented glassware, use these handy little cards!
I print these on colored card stock to match the color scheme of the wedding, usually 4 per 8.5×11 page, then cut. Cut 1 per guest, and place one at each place setting under one of the glasses or at the bar in a stack by the napkins!
Happy Planning!!!
Find this helpful??? Please leave a comment so I know that what I do isn’t unnoticed 😉