Weddingbee boards

Now that the wedding is over, we were wondering who among our vendors we need to tip or send a special thank you. I've read in various posts that the general guideline is that independent business such as florists and bakers need only give a thank you or small tip. After final payments we've been sending thank you e-mails and posting favorable online reviews.

At the hotel, we were charged a 18% service charge which I assume goes to people the people who set up the ballroom, serve dinner, etc. What about the hotel people I've directly worked with? Do they receive a portion of the service charge or do we give them a gift separately? The event manager and hotel sales coordinator did a fabulous job of responding to all my crazy questions and making sure all the details for guests were in order. I have a simple set of four stemless glasses with carafe or perhaps a bottle of wine that I am thinking would be a nice thank you them.  What have other people done for your hotel contacts? Thanks!

I think it depends how much work they did above and beyond what was contracted.  My hotel coordinator was an absolute god send and because she did so many little things for me I was able to get by without a Day of Coordinator.  I ended up sending her a 100 dollar tip and a really nice thank you note because she literally saved my sanity. In it I made sure she knew that the money was specifically for her and not the staff since I knew they had already gotten a nice gratuity.  I think either a gift card, money tip, or the bottle of wine would all be nice things to give her.  I woudl say avoid the glasses or things like that, which while nice, if she already has she may not be as appreciative of since it may just mean more clutter in her house.

I used to work at a Ritz-Carlton - and I can assure you that any service charge that was charged goes directly to the banquet staff into their checks.  Wedding coordinators were often tipped directly from the couple (sometimes the couple would hand the wedding coordinator a wad of cash and explain how it was to be divided up) and it was MUCH appreciated.  The coordinators did so much, and we rarely had DOC's because the coordinator was pretty much it.  These girls generally make an okay salary but for the amount of work they do, it's often nice to receive a cash tip, or a very heartfelt note - sometimes a thank you goes a long way! I like the wine set idea too. :)