Your Cheat Sheet to Tipping Wedding Vendors
You've itemized your wedding budget down to the last cent. But with all the numbers tallied up you might be forgetting a costly, but necessary, expense: Tips! When you're already digging deep into your (or your parents') pockets for wedding expenses, allotting room in your budget for gratuities on top of that can be hard to handle.
Your wedding vendors are instrumental to the success of your big day, and if they meet—or exceed—your expectations you're going to want to reward them! But which vendors should you tip? And how much? And when? We know it's confusing, so we've put together a handy guide to tipping your vendors.
Some things to remember before getting started…
1. First take a good, hard look at your wedding contracts.
Read through them to see if a gratuity is included. It's pretty standard for it to be covered in your venue, catering, and even transportation contracts. If gratuity is included, no additional tipping is required.
2. A "service charge" is not necessarily a gratuity.
A "service charge" is a mandatory fee that gets added to your venue and/or catering contract. Service charges don't necessarily go directly to employees, so you'll need to ask how that money is being used. This extra fee can be applied to anything from venue maintenance to administrative costs, so unless you see the word "gratuity" spelled out on your final bill, you may still need to tip.
3. You're not required to tip business owners.
Technically you don't need to tip the owner of a business—just their employees. The thought process behind this is that you're already paying what the business owner has deemed an adequate price for their service. However, feel free to ignore this rule if they have exceeded your expectations.
4. Prep tips in advance.
Go to the bank before your wedding, pull out cash, and put each tip into a labeled envelope. Then assign your wedding planner to hand them out over the course of the event.
5. And finally, unless it's built into your contract, tipping is never mandatory.
If you simply don't have funds to spare, you can express your appreciation in other ways. Write your vendors a rave 5-star review online, let them use some stunning photos from your wedding for their portfolio, give them a big bottle of wine, or send them a handwritten thank-you note. Knowing that you thought enough of them to send a little something special means a lot.
Now what you came here for, the tipping guide organized by whether tips are expected, included, or optional.
Expected Tips:
Delivery & Setup
Yes, you may have already paid a "delivery fee", but it's customary to tip the people delivering and/or setting up your wedding cake, flowers, tent, sound system, or larger rentals.
How much? $5–$15 per person
When? Drop off cash envelopes the day before the wedding to the on-site coordinator or catering manager so the person accepting deliveries can distribute the tip.
Officiant
Even though this tip is in the "expected" category, it doesn't need to be cash. Actually, many religious officiants won't accept a cash tip. Other officiants within the government, such as a judge, may be legally prohibited from accepting one. Here's how to handle this:
How much? $50–$100 tip or a $100–$500 donation to their church, synagogue, or house of worship. Depending on how much time they've spent with you leading up to the wedding, say, in premarital counseling, for example, you may feel led to pay more.
When? At the rehearsal or rehearsal dinner have your wedding planner pass the cash envelope.
Makeup Artists / Hairstylists
Like at the salon, tip rules apply. You'll want to tip the stylist that does your hair and the bridal party's hair and makeup as well.
How much? 15–20%
When? After you get your makeup and hair did done.
Wedding Reception Staff
This group includes the on-site wedding coordinator, maître d', catering and/or banquet manager. A service charge is almost always built in to the food and drink fee, so check your contract. If the gratuity is not included, tip as follows.
How much? 15–20% of the food and drink fee or $200–$300 for the maître d'
When? If it's covered in the contract, the final bill is typically due before the reception. Otherwise, have one of your parents or an attendant hand the envelope to the maître d' at the end of the reception, since you'll need to know the final tab to calculate the percentage.
"Check Your Contract First" Tips:
Wedding Reception Attendants
When it comes to bartenders, waitstaff, parking, photo booth, bathroom and coatroom attendants, the rules of tipping are dictated by your contract. If your bartenders are a package deal with your venue, then the gratuity will most likely be included. If these services are not included in your contract, ask ahead of time how many attendants will be working your wedding and calculate on a per person basis. If you're using a bartending company, see if they require an additional gratuity for their staff.
How much? 10–20% of the alcohol and food bill (to be split among bartenders or catering staff, if a gratuity was not included). $1 per wedding guest for coatroom and $1 per car for parking attendants
When? At the beginning or end of the reception.
Transportation
Oftentimes transportation companies will include the gratuity in their contract. But if yours doesn't, here's what you can tip for an on-time arrival for the bridal party transportation, as well as any guest shuttles!
How much? 15–20%
When? Upon pickup or after the last ride.
Optional Tips:
Coordinator / Wedding Planner
Although your wedding planner doesn't expect a tip, you can always provide one if she or he went above and beyond for you! If your planner brought an assistant who did great work, be sure to send over a tip for them as well.
How much? 10–20% of their fee, up to $500 cash or a nice gift! Anywhere from $50 to $150 is appropriate for a planner’s assistant, with the higher amounts for one who really went above and beyond the call of duty.
When? At the end of the reception, or upon return from your honeymoon.
DJ / Musicians
Consider tipping your ceremony, cocktail hour, reception musicians, and/or DJ for a job well done. And don't forget about the sound technicians, if applicable.
How much? Here's a general guideline:
Ceremony Musicians: 15% of the ceremony music fee or $15–$25 per musician.
Reception Band: $25–$50 per musician.
DJ: 10–15% of the total bill or $50–$150.
When? After their performance.
Floral Designer, Cake Baker, and Stationer
These venders do bend over backwards to ensure your wedding flowers, cake, and stationary are perfect—from design to installation. A tip is a wonderful way to express your gratitude for their hard work!
How much? $50–$100 cash, or a gift
When? You have a few options- upon delivery / setup, at the end of the reception, or send them a thank-you card with the tip enclosed after the big day.
Photographer + Videographer
If the photographer/videographer owns their business, a tip isn't mandatory; but again, you may want to give one as a token of your appreciation. But if the wedding photographer or videographer doesn't own the studio, consider tipping each person.
How much? $50–$200 each or a nice gift!
When? At the end of the reception, or upon return from your honeymoon.
Remember- Even though service charges may be spelled out in your contract, tipping—although not mandatory—is always appreciated for a job well done, not to mention a kind and thoughtful gesture. So don't forget to factor in tips when making your wedding budget!