Reception Vendor Tipping

[Amber818]

I have always been curious as to what is "proper" when tipping out the vendors and also who am I tipping? Bartender, waitors, photographer, dj, wedding coordinators...?? For all who know or for all that have been there done that...please inform me. Thank you!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Check your contract with your venues. Some of them will include the tip in there. As far as who else you should tip, that's really up to you and if you feel they deserve a tip. We tipped only our reception venue. (It was included in the contract.) And sent a nice thank you letter to our photographer. Our DJ screwed up so they got nothing but what we owed them. The bartender put out a tip jar after it was stated in the contract that we were to be tipping her, so in the end she only got the ten or fifteen dollars in the jar instead of the $250 or so she should have gotten for the night.(We thought it was rude for her to have put out that jar when she was already getting a tip from us!! I also felt she should not have asked our guests for a tip when we were paying her!) We tipped the hotel and all their staff (except bar tender) because gratuities were included, but we would have probably done a little extra for them even if they weren't. There was a great tipping article on here a while ago, I'm sure someone will dig it up, I have no idea what the name of the thread was, but it said who you can and who you should tip! ;)

[Amber818]

Our contract has nothing about tipping on it : (

Thanks, Shawna!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Our contract has nothing about tipping on it : (

Thanks, Shawna!

Really? Hmmmm that's weird. Not even with the caterer. Wow! I hope someone remembers the name of that other thread, it would really come in handy for you!! I'll take a look and see if I can dig anything up! ;)

Seek and ye shall find!! lol. Here is the article I was talking about. it turned into the great debate but the first page is still basically waht you are looking for! ;)

http://forums.onewed.com/showthread.php?t=888

[MOB Karen]

I have always been curious as to what is "proper" when tipping out the vendors and also who am I tipping? Bartender, waitors, photographer, dj, wedding coordinators...?? For all who know or for all that have been there done that...please inform me. Thank you!

I found this article, I think it's helpful.

Do You Know Whom to Tip at Your Wedding?
One of the areas that couples (http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/who_to_tip.asp#) tend to neglect when planning their wedding (http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/who_to_tip.asp#) budget is the subject of tipping. From caterers to waiters to clergy members, it is customary to provide an additional tip on top of the regular costs and rates.
When planning out your budget, be sure to allow an additional amount to the quoted price, so that you aren't caught unaware
and short of cash. Following, is a general idea (http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/who_to_tip.asp#) on the amounts you should set aside for different wedding suppliers. Remember,
these amounts are not set in stone. Plan according to your budget and the type of service you receive from each.
* Caterer and/or Banquet Manager - 15% for extra special service. Usually, the gratuity is already included into
the set fee. Be sure to check on this. If it hasn't been, add 15% to the price.
* Bartenders - 15% to 20% of the liquor bill.
* Bridal (http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/who_to_tip.asp#) Consultant - 15% for extra special service.
* Powder (http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/who_to_tip.asp#) Room and Coat (http://www.wedalert.com/content/articles/who_to_tip.asp#) Room Attendants - 50¢ per guest. You could also arrange to pay a flat tipping fee instead.
* Clergy members - $20 or more donation, depending on the length of the ceremony.
* Civil Ceremony Officials - $10 and up. However, look into this first. Some judges cannot accept money.
* Florist - 15% directly to the driver who delivers the flowers. (Don't include it when paying the bill, the driver will never see it.)
* Photographer - 10% to 15% for extra special service.
* Videographer - 10% to 15% for extra special service.
* Cake Decorator - 10% to 15% for extra special service, or for a difficult/very large cake.
* Musicians or D.J. - 15% for extra special service.
* Limousine Driver - 10% to 15% paid directly to the driver.

[Amber818]

All this is great information, thank you.

[LaceyinPgh]

I tipped my hairdresser $30 for mine and my mom's hair. I don't know what the other girls gave him and his staff since they all paid seperately. We tipped our minister $100 since he drove over an hour to perform our ceremony. Sean tipped the limo driver an additional $50 for just driving slowly and letting us relax in peace and quiet.

As for the reception, there was a 15% gratuity added onto the total bill that covered the wait staff, bartenders, chocolate fountain attendant, ect. It was written into our contract. Plus, our club offers special incentives to all of it's employees like extra paid vacation days and such after they get so many "service points" from good m recomendations from members. So, I sent the wedding coordinator there an email requesting that everyong get some service points because they all did such a fabulous job.

[WebLady]

Well I made some comments about this in the earlier thread that Shawna posted ;)

As for me with my wedding, as many of you know we didn't have a traditional wedding, so we didn't have all the typical vendors to worry with.

We tipped the minister $50 (on top of the $150 we paid him :bbconfused:)

We tipped the photographer (a friend of mine) by buying him dinner.

We tipped the venue we had our reception/party ... well sort of, we tipped the bartender and some of the staff that helped with the food and clean up.

I didn't tip the lady that did my hair (she made me mad and I wasn't happy with my hair either) and up until that day, she had been doing my hair for years!

I think that was all we had to deal with ;)

All in all I don't think most vendors expect to be tipped, but it is a nice thing to consider. Like a little bonus for them doing an exceptional job and/or going out of their way for you.

[Kacie_bride]

I haven't thought about his until now. I pretty much know what I am doing.

1. The officiant-This is our former pastor from our church. He has just retired and moved back to California, but is flying in to do our wedding. He will not take any money, but we are going to pay for his hotel room. (He gets to fly for free because his wife works for the airline.)

2. Photographer-This is her own business so she will get all the money anyway.

3. DJ-same thing