Tips on Tipping Your Wedding Vendors
Tipping seems to be one of the wedding planning pieces that feels unclear to lots of couples. Every contract looks different and sometimes you’ll see service charges or banquet fees and aren’t sure if that means gratuity. It’s often forgotten until right before the wedding day but it can add up quickly. I like to advise couples to think about it when creating their budget so they aren’t sticker shocked later on in planning.
While tipping is never mandatory, it’s certainly appreciated, especially if you had a great experience working with your vendors. Here’s a full breakdown of how you can tip for your wedding:
Officiant
Officiants come in all different forms. If you have a friend officiating and they are doing so as a favor, consider giving them a gift in non-cash form. Do they love music? A gift card to Ticketmaster is a great idea! Maybe they enjoy cooking. Gift them a cooking class. For friends or family, it’s nice to get a little creative and personal with your thank you.
If a member of a religious institution is performing your wedding ceremony, it’s more custom to make a donation to their congregation.
For non-clergy folks, you can tip around $50.
Photographers and Videographers
Generally, it’s not expected that you tip the owner of a company. That said, lots of companies send freelance employees or assistants for the wedding day. $75-$100 per person is generous.
Catering and Bartenders
Read your contracts carefully before you put together gratuity for these vendors. Often, gratuity is included. Of all the vendors, it is standard protocol to tip caterers and bartenders.
For caterers, I recommend $15-$25 per server plus $100 for the chef and catering manager.
You have two options with bartenders. You can apply a 10-15% tip to the total bill (pre-tax), or allow them to put out a tip jar. If you’re covering their gratuity, you should ask them not to put out a jar for tips and let guests know the host is covering!
Hair and Makeup
Similar to a salon, 20% is standard.
Musicians and DJs
Take into account AV techs and all members of a band! Between $25-$50 per person is customary.
Transportation
You can plan on 15-20% of the total bill for bus or shuttle drivers. If you’re going to pay in cash that evening and you have multiple vehicles, make sure you split your cash up ahead of time.
Florist
While florists don’t typically expect a tip, if they created something super custom for you, or provided some extras on the day at no cost, it’s a nice gesture to give them something extra. 5% - 10% of the total is a good rule of thumb.
Baker
Usually, a delivery person will provide the cake on the day. $5 or $10 for that person is sufficient.
Wedding Planner
If a wedding planner owns her company, a tip isn’t expected but again, it’s always appreciated. Wedding planners work hard to make your day happen. Lots of times. the wedding planner is the person you work most closely with through the process and might know on a more personal level. If cash doesn’t feel right, consider a gift instead.
If you have a wedding planner or day-of coordinator who will be present on your wedding day, you can give cash in labeled envelopes to that person. She’ll make sure it’s all distributed at the end of the evening.
For vendors with multiple employees, include smaller bills so they don’t have to worry about getting change.
Finally, if you forget or just aren’t sure ahead of time if you want to tip, sending thank you cards in the mail is always an option!