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The way I see it...vendors seem to up their prices by 20% once the word "wedding" is spoken anyways! I didn't know it was common to tip DJ's, photographers, etc. Looking forward to seeing more responses.
That looks good. Regarding the independant food contractor, I'd consider tipping depending on the format used. If they're a sub contractor with a bigger company that you're using I'd consider 15%.
Thanks---the independent contractor is totally independent (we're paying them directly). However, the person there will be a staff person, not one of the company owners (it's a small family company). So I'm thinking he should still get tipped, but a little unclear on that...
My photographers were the owners of their company, we gave them a $300 tip on our (before discounts) $5200 package. There was no way we could do 10-20% but $300 was very generous.
DJ we tipped 10%, hair and makeup owned her own business but we tipped her 20%.
Caterer - gratuity was included in bill (and verified that staff received it, as many places dont give the service charge or gratuity to servers) but we gave the captain a $100 tip and the Catering Sales Manager a $100 gift card.
Valet the tip was included in the bill.
We did not tip the bakery, rental company or the florist as they just delivered and set up. I think all your tips looks great, is there a service charge for the independent contractor? If not, I think a small amount would be nice for the tip.
I'm interested in the responses to this. I don't know what the etiquette is . . .
Yiiikes. We didn't tip anyone. I honestly didn't know it was customary. Starting to feel like Steve Buscemi in Resevoir Dogs! Whoops.
That seems about right. I am probably going to be tipping around those same numbers. You could also try google-ing it. That always helps :)
So if the vendor is the owner of the company than no tip is expected, is that correct? If my vendors are like this:
Caterer - tip included in contract
Bartender - tip inlcuded in contract
Photographer (owner) - no tip required
Videographer (ownder) - no tip required
Florist (owner) - no tip required
DJ (owner) - no tip required?
DoC (ownder) - no tip required?
Hair (salon owner coming to my hotel) - Do I need to tip her if she's the salon owner? If she brings an assistant, do I only need to tip the assistant? Ahhhh!
Makeup (owner/independent artist) - Do I need to tip her?
Dessert - special dessert will be brought in and served. Do I tip here since they're not the owners?
Tipping is so confusing!
Here's a good guide.
http://www.hudsonvalleyweddings.com/guide/tipping.htm
Also. never tip the owner of a company.
My planner told me none of my vendors (who are all owners of their own businesses) should be tipped except the hair and makeup people and, if we appreciate the service, an extra gratuity for the staff at the hotel.
My father is a musician and I asked him about tipping our guitar player who is playing the ceremony and cocktail hour. He said he usually never gets tips when playing a wedding. The guitar player is charging a very reasonable rate and is getting enough money. If it was a college student who was giving us an great deal on his price then a tip might be ok but for a regular musician it is not expected at all.
What about officiants? We are already paying her $600 as this is her fee.
If we tipped our vendors these percentages, it would literally be all the money we received in gifts for the wedding, which wasn't exactly chump change. That sounds like a little too much to me.
Our venue included tip in the price, so I think tipping the staff would be above and beyond. Our photographer, videographer, DOC, hair and makeup and florist all owned their own businesses and really jacked up the prices because of my wedding date so I felt a little uncomfortable tipping all of them. We did, however go against what you are all recommending and tipped the hair and makeup artists.
I think if any of them gave us a really good deal we might have tipped them a little as a thank-you, but we paid top dollar for everything and we were amazing to work with along the way.
@moderndaisy: Thank you! I was starting to feel like the lone "cheapo" bride here. The only person I tipped was my hairstylist because I always tip her. Everyone else charged $$$$ and there's no way they needed a tip for their service on top of that.
Most vendors include tip for their staff in the contract (i.e. catering - you don't tip the owners of the company, and staff gratuity is almost always included in the "service charge" that you pay).
Any vendor that owns their own business (i.e. photographer, florist, baker...) is not owed a tip. They set their own rates and are self-employed, so that is all factored in.
The one exception seems to be hair and makeup artists, especially if they have gone above and beyond to help you (i.e. traveled, wedding on a Sunday/super early morning, threw in "extras," etc.)
You almost always have to tip drivers/transportation services, but the tips is usually included in your contract price, so be sure to check!
If you encounter any vendors/staff that really go above and beyond to make your day special, I think tips are always a nice way to show your appreciation (i.e. especially helpful event or hotel staff, etc.)
We're not tipping anyone who works solo or owns their business. We're also not tipping the caterers, since the tip is already included in our contract. That doesn't really leave anyone much to tip with the possible exception being the members of our 4-piece band. I'll also tip our hairstylist, even though she will be working independently from her salon on the day of our wedding. I always tip her, and I sort of think she'll be expecting a tip. For our other "friendors" -- cocktail hour musician and officiant -- who have declined our offers to pay them, we are buying them generous gifts of about $100 each.
My FI clearly told me he doesn't want us to tip our vendors. We had a an agreement on the price and tha'ts what they get paid. I think I will only be tipping my hair and makeup people.
This is some great info! Question for anyone who has seen a "service charge" on their catering contract--does that count as a tip? I asked the vendor about it and he sort of dismissed it as a charge they include to cover transport and incidental expenses. He went on to say that it would be nice if I gave a tip to his staff, but he DOES pay them well...
I wish I had pushed a little more with that answer. So anyone else run into this?
@ Violet Violet - YES! Most of the caterers I spoke to were also a bit squeamish about discussing what is included in the "service charge." Basically, what it comes down it is that the service charge is their profit, and I think most caterers are hesitant to straight out tell customers that. In our case, the service charge covers breakage to rentals, tips for the servers, administrative expenses, and profit. The less of those first things the caterer has to take out of the service charge (i.e. if you tip the servers, then they don't have to), the more profit they make.
I am really not cynical about this - I respect every small business owners' need to make a profit and keep their business in the black, but I do wish that caterers were more upfront about a service charge. My friends who used to work as catering servers all say that they never received tips - just the agreed upon hourly salary.
@Edina:I am totally in agreement with you and glad you feel the same way. My MUA and Hairstylist actually own thier own businesses, but honestly they were the only ones who didn't overcharge us AND they went above and beyond by coming really early and staying all day. All the other vendors charged us absolute top dollar if not more, only provided what was contracted and yes, I count our caterer's 'service' charge as tip (our caterer also appeared to have a sock in his mouth when asked what this actually was), which also was very far from chump change.
My sister had a wedding planner, not just DOC and instead of a tip, she gave her a present which was a nice pen from Tiffany, around $100 in value. I think tipping is kind of crass and wish all vendors would just work it into the price so we don't have to feel awkward about the whole thing.
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I'm getting final envelopes ready for our wedding, and just want to be sure I've got a handle on tipping. This is how I think tips look based on common etiquette---if anything looks amiss, I'd love thoughts on this so I don't inadvertently shortchange someone who's expecting a tip. Thanks!!
Photographer (solo/owner): No tip expected, but nice; alternately, give thank you gift. [10-20%?]
DJ (solo/owner): No tip expected, but nice. [10-20%?]
Musician (solo/owner): No tip expected, but nice. [10-20%?]
Baker (solo/owner): Charging delivery/service fee, so no tip expected.
Caterer (company): Gratuity is included in contract, so no tip unless exceptional.
Independent food contractor (company): Cooking one course for us independent of caterer....no clue what to do here?!? Tip 15 percent or so?
Does this seem appropriate? Thanks!