- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
We didnt give any extra tips, just don't have the money everything is expensive as is.. but with that being said I think the bartender had a tip cup out, I really didn't care, I am not even sure if he did.
It's true you don't need to tip the owner of a salon, but if your hairstylist does a great job, tip her after the real deal. The amount is up to you, but I think 15-20 Percent is good.
As far as the rest, we didn't have delivery professionals so I'm not sure about that.
Heres my opinion -
For the bartenders, if you are hosting the bar for your guests I would say NO TIP JARS. You are paying for your guests and they should not feel obligated to tip. If you are doing a non-hosted bar then the bartenders have the right to put out a tip jar. I dont think you need to put up a sign, but if someone tips the bartender, the bartender should say thank you and put it behind the bar unseen. They should not leave the dollar bill on the bar to "bait" tips from other guests.
Hair and Makeup - my girls owned their own business but I still tipped them. I dont think its required but if you have it in your budget to do so, it is a nice gesture. I totally forgot to give them a tip for the trial and I meant to, so I added more to the tip for the day of.
Florist - I would not tip. They come and deliver the flowers they dont stay and work the event. If you are overly happy with them and they exceed your expectations, maybe you can get them a gift card.
Catering - tip if you want. Keep in mind that most service charges for catering DO NOT get distributed to the wait staff. The service charge covers their actual labor costs but the staff does not usually get a cut of that. If you tip on top of the service charge, then your tip should be evenly distrubuted among the staff. If you have worked with your manager the entire time and everything has gone smoothly and they have been a big help, I would get them a small gift card as appreciation. I gave a $50 gift card to my catering manager and a $50 cash tip to the banquet captain because he was excellent. If your budget allows for it, I think it is very generous to tip the wait staff but its definitely not expected.
Delivery service - I would not tip them, its their job to deliver it and you are probably paying delivery fees already.
Photobooth attendant - I did not tip mine but there was a tip already added in the contract. I would at least provide them with dinner.
Hope this helps!!!
If guests want to tip a bartender, they do not need a tip jar to do it. Putting up a sign against tipping also seems inappropriate and unnecessary.
If there's a gratuity included in the contract, you do not need to tip any more. I swear, tipping is getting out of control sometimes. If a vendor is already putting a 20% surcharge on everything you do, you are not obligated to give them another 20% because of etiquette. They have already presumed the etiquette by charging you the 20% surcharge.
Based on experience from our own wedding, here's my opinion:
Bartenders: We let our guests tip the bartenders. We had a 20 percent service charge added to our catering bill at the venue, so we did not feel it was necessary that we tipped the bartenders on top of that.
Make-up and Hair: Even if they own the business, I would still tip them. I feel like stylists and make-up artists go a little further to please clients when they do it for their wedding day, and a tip during your trial would keep him/her happy for your actual day :)
Florist: No tip, even if service charge wasn't included. You're basically paying them to make the flowers and deliver them (ours just charged a small delivery fee and called it a day).
Caterer: Our service charge was included, like I said before, and I didn't feel it was necessary to tip extra on top of that. I asked my sister this, who works in this industry (working weddings and such) and she said that the norm is if there's a service charge, the wait staff doesn't expect a tip on top of that. Our venue also had a catering manager, we didn't feel it necessary to tip him.
Shuttle/bus drivers: We didn't use them, so I'm not sure.
Deliveries: No tip. For our vendors where we ordered chairs and such from, the delivery charges also were included in our contract, and part of tehir service is to deliver the goods.
Photobooth guy: A vendor meal is sufficient. If you feel he goes above and beyond, a flat tip of $20-$50 would be nice, but not necessary, in my opinion.
If there is a service charge included, I definitely do not tip. In fact I didn't tip anyone except for my hairdresser who did my hair for free as a wedding present. I paid enough for everyone's services and saw no need to fork over additional money.
I've been wondering about this too! I love my catering manager so far, but the service charge is a whopping 21% so I wasn't planning on tipping at all. But I do like the gift card idea!
What about ceremony musicians and reception band? Especially if they are being hired through an agency?
I wish I knew the answer, but it was interesting to see that one of the caterers we're looking at (almost all of whom charge "service charges" of 15-20%) had a specific note that, as someone noted above, the service charge covers labor/overhead/etc. and is not distributed to staff as a tip. They follow with a note that they welcome gratuities if you feel they perform well, but don't require it.
I don't know if that's the subtext to all of the others who just call it a service charge and don't explain. But it was interesting nonetheless...
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| LammChop | 17 |
| fivemonthsnotice | 17 |
| Lyndzo | 15 |
| Mrs. Chai | 14 |
| ticatica | 14 |
| MissPumpkinPie | 12 |
| BellaDee | 12 |
| MrsOliveBird | 11 |
| garden_bride | 11 |
| aussiebee | 11 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| simpleandchic | 2 |
| TwoCityBride | 2 |
| AlliRae | 1 |
| pinkandsparkly | 1 |
| MrsOliveBird | 1 |
| abbie017 | 1 |
| les105 | 1 |
| his chippymunk | 1 |
 Myrnac13 |
1 |
| rangersbride | 1 |
I have scoured the internet for guidelines about tipping your wedding vendors. There seems to be no "bible" - you get many differing opinions on the subject.
For example, back in the day you didn't tip an owner of a business (ie-hair salon) because they keep the entire fee and some may consider it insulting to tip them as the owner. I have read opinions saying otherwise saying that gratuities are always welcome.
I know as a general rule if any vendor goes above and beyond the call of duty then it's a no brainer to tip more. I'm just trying to get a baseline of the minimum requirement/expectation......
Please weigh in on the following:
1) Bartender(s) - do you allow a "tip jar" even if service charge is in the contract? Guests might give a dollar per trip without a jar anyway - I know I feel guilty when I attend weddings and get a drink without tipping. Plus putting up a sign that says "no tips please" might anger the bartenders.
2) Makeup & Hair - both own their own businesses, gratuity for trial and actual wedding?
3) Florist - Service charge already in the contract
4) Caterer - Service charge already in the contract but I heard it is standard to tip an additional 10-15% over the service charge plus catering manager gets something on top of that
5) Shuttle bus drivers - We know we have to tip but do you tip on the total contract (in our case this will translate to over $400)? I have read that $75-100 per driver is enough but don't want to offend.
6) All delivery services - We are getting our liquor, tables, chairs, linens, every fork/knife/utensil brought in but we won't be at the venue for delivery. Do we need to give our venue owner "tip money" to tip these delivery folks (delivery charge is already in our contract).
7) Photobooth attendant - Paid for the service, any gratuity needed based on contract amount, this will translate to another couple hundred dollars.
Also, are people tipping in cash? I was thinking of getting pre-paid credit cards but there is a cost associated with getting that - just nervous to give either my DOC or a groomsmen a couple grand in cash to hand out the night of the wedding.