In the final weeks leading up to your wedding day, there are a lot of final decisions and tasks to take care of and in the middle of the 'chaos' it's important to not forget the village of wedding vendors that are coming together to bring your wedding to life.
We get a lot of questions in those final weeks like this:
"Am I supposed to tip my wedding vendors?"
"How much should I be tipping my vendors?"
"When should I tip my vendors?"
Although tipping all your vendors (unless contracted otherwise!) is not required, its a really nice gesture to show your appreciation for all of their hard work. We work with a lot of other wedding vendors who are small businesses with small teams and even a small amount of gratuity goes a really long way.
If you're working with our team, we recommend planning your vendor tips ahead of time, putting cash in sealed envelopes labeled with each vendors names. This takes the pressure off you (while you're having fun and possibly drunk!) to make sure these tips get to vendors at the end of the day or before they leave.
Here is a quick guide on what to tip your wedding vendors:
Hair/Makeup Artists: 15-25% -- some artists are starting to require this in packages so its already being included in their rates so check your contracts!
Musician: $25-$35 -- on average, I recommend a small tip to each musician
Officiant $50-$100 -- this is a pretty standard donation to a minister/officiant unless they are a family member or friend. In that case, we recommend a gift of equal value!
DJ: 10-15% - this percentage is pretty standard for your DJ. They are the ones who keep the party going so you want to make sure you get a good one!
Bartender 10-20% or $150-$200 (per bartender-- depending on the complexity of your bar package (full bar vs beer & wine), we recommend one of these options!
Catering Manager: $100-$200 - we recommend a flat fee as a 'thank you' to the catering manager who helped you through the entire process and $25-$35/wait staff that are there serving at the wedding.
Venue Coordinator $200-$300 - your venue coordinator works closely with you and your planner through the entire process so planning a little gratuity for them is always appreciated.
Wedding Planner: Up to $500 or a personal gift - Your planner is THE ONE VENDOR that will be there for you for literally anything. They've helped you plan and possibly design your entire wedding, they've guided you through the process, been your shoulder to cry on, and will make sure you have the best day of your life. A tip or personal gift is huge to show your appreciation for all their hard work!
Transportation 10-15% - this is standard for any transportation services to make sure your drivers are taken care of.
Valet $1-$2/car - if you are using a venue that allows for valet or if this is something that you set up for yourself, we recommend a tip per car!
Photographer/Videographer 10-15% -- while tipping is not required for these vendors, they are another BIG ONE that play a pretty big part in your wedding celebration and all of the memories that you will be able to keep from that day. A tip for the vendors that were especially awesome or went above and beyond for you is always appreciated!
Florist 10-15% - Again, tipping not required but a florists has a lot of hard costs and flowers are PRICEY right now. They are also a huge part of the design and these florists are beautiful artists so if you love their work, a tip is a great way to say "thank you so much for sharing your talent for my wedding celebration"
Baker 10-15% - Again, tipping is not required for your baker but always appreciated!
Specialty Vendors (bar carts, cigar bar, coffee cart, photobooth, etc.) 10-20% and $15-$25 per attendant -- Based on the service, we recommend either of these options to show your appreciation for any specialty vendors that fall outside other categories!
We totally understand that you're on a budget and that these gratuities do add up but thats why we want to make sure you have this information as soon as possible. Keeping these standard tip amounts in mind early in the planning process will help keep your budget realistic!
Looking for additional FREE WAYS to thank your vendors?
Like I said, most wedding vendors are small businesses so any of these are SUPER APPRECIATED by your vendors and will also mean the absolute world to them:
Google Reviews -- these go SUCH a long way for your vendors and helps their business to grow and encourages other couples to book them. This is one of the best things that you can do!
Refer Your Friends -- have friends or colleagues getting married soon? Referring your favorite wedding vendors is a free easy way to support their business and you're helping out your friend because you know and have already had a great experience working with the vendor!
Tag them on social media / Share their work -- social media is the name of the game and the algorithm is TOUGH so any time you share your wedding photos and tag your vendors OR share their posts.... it helps soooooo much. We tear up a little every time we get a shout out on social media.
Tipping is a tricky subject that isn't talked about very often which is exactly why we created this guide for you. We want you to have all the information and be fully informed as you're putting together your wedding budget so that there aren't any financial surprises down the road!
Need a little help planning your wedding? Cereating your wedding budget? Creating a check-list so that nothing falls through the cracks? We've got you covered!
We are the premier wedding and elopement planning company with teams based in St. George, Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada. We specialize in bold vibrant designs full of personality and FUN! Our couples value experiences and their main priority is making sure that they have the best celebration of their life.
Sound like you?! LETS FREAKING DO THIS!! We cannot wait to get to know your unique love story. <3
HAPPY PLANNING, LOVERS!
Jacqueline
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