tipping vendors?

caiandcullen

hi ladies, out of curiosity, how are you guys deciding to tip your vendors? if they own the company are you still giving tip? if say the photog comes with a lighting assistant, do you give just the assistant? i heard that if they own the company you don't need to (unless you really feel they went above and beyond) ....... but is that rude not to? thanks!

Angelshann

Good question!! I'm curious too!

jaymers99

i've heard that too, but i don't know...i might feel weird giving a tip to the assistant and not to the photographer.  on a related note, would you give the customary 15-20%?  If your flowers are $2000, that's like $400!  do you tip florists?  haha, sorry, i am no help...just adding more questions!

bulin

I am wondering the same thing!  Most of my vendors are the owners...so I really don't know what to do.  Yah, tipping a florist $400..that's nuts! 

MrsNFB

The rule about not tipping someone that owns their own business is crap. It's something that someone made up on The Knot and it keeps going around but it's not standard business practice. Tip any vendor that you feel went above and beyond. How much you tip is up to you, there are no rules for how much and who you tip. No, it's not typical to tip a florist 20% on the total bill (unless you really want to) - that's a bit excessive

destiny1108

We tipped the hair and make-up stylist, minister, Hawaiian guitarist, DJ, photographer and our coordinator.     Whether they owned a company or not didn't make a difference as we tipped based on the great service they provided

kaesha

I hate tipping. HATE it. It doesn't happen in my husband's culture and frankly the concept of mandatory tipping drives me nuts.I tipped the people who went above & beyond - my coordinator at my caterer's & my photographer and then h&m. And, I gave 100$ to each 'cause that's all I could afford.MrsNFB - how does tipping work in your area? Because all my dealings in Toronto have held to the "owning a business" rule. Is tipping a regional thing?

lissamarie30

As far as tipping goes... I kinda think tipping everyone is silly.. You should only tip the ones who you felt went above and beyond and from my experience $100 is normal..  I have a friend and they set their prices to what they expect to be paid, they are not counting on or expecting tips.  I feel this is normal when dealing with a professional company.

MrsNFB

Tipping is definintely a regional thing, it's different all around the world. I also think it's an industry thing...I work on corporate and private events all over the country and as a company, we don't always tip. We usually always tip catering captains and stewards (the person in charge of a union crew) at least $100 each (how much depends on how big the event is). Other vendors get tipped if they go above an beyond regardless if they own their own company or not. Just a couple months ago, I worked with a vendor for sound/lighting/video that owned his own business and he bent over backwards for us in every possble way so not only did we send him a gift when his wife had a baby but we tipped him $500 (the total bill for this particular vendor was over $80K so we obviously didn't tip a certain percentage). For our wedding, we tipped or gifted whom we felt went above and beyond: wedding coordinator and her two assistants, resort coordinator and her two assistants, musicians, hula dancer, catering captain, pastry chef and beverage manager. I also tipped the glam squad (hair, nails & make-up). All the vendors got nice, handwritten thank-you notes.

pbkmom

I am out of touch here.. I really thought you would only tip service people like waiters,  bartenders, hair and make up. I guess maybe musicians too. Never heard of Photographers and Florists, I thought their prices are based on their service. Coordinators typically charge 20% of the cost for everything they arrange. Isn't that tip enough ? I was thinking of who would I tip at home normally. Look forward to hearing other responses

jaymers99

If you are having your event at a hotel that already charges a "service fee", does that include the tips for the waitstaff/catering captain/bartender?  Also, what are your thoughts on your guests tipping the bartenders at your wedding?

MrsNFB

I always tip the catering captain provided everything went smoothly. They orchestrate the entire reception so even if they get gratuity through the hotel or caterer, I give them a little extra. Bartenders I like to tip because I won't ever allow a tip jar on the bar at any of my events. Since I take care of the tip, the bartenders are told not to accept any tips (they can say, "Thank you but the gratuity has been taken care of by the host."). This is, of course, up to you - it's not industry standard or anything - it's just something I do as an extra step to take care of the guests. As for the other vendors (florist, coordinator, photographer, DJ, band, etc), it's all at your discretion. Again, there are no rules to tipping - it's up to each individual if they choose to tip/gift and if so, how much.

lindasuk

I was curious about this as well. We are leaving on Saturday for Kauai!I was going to tip all the vendors (officiant, guitarist, h&m) only $50. Is that not enough?? I don't have a coordinator but i've been working with the resturant's event coordinator. Do I tip her?

destiny1108

pbkmom:  Wow, what coordinator did you have that marked up everything 20%?   Our coordinator helped us arrange everything, sent us their invoice and we called and paid the vendors directly.     She saved us in so many ways.

pbkmom

Kaesha may have a better perspective on this as she used Celebrations as well. Celebrations adds 20% service charge to everything they arrange.. which will be the food, servers,  bartender, rentals and lighting. I am arranging the location, dj, musician, officiant and flowers so i do not pay them for that. I do not pay them a coordination fee (unless I have them do day of coordination). You paid your coordinator a fee for her services instead of a per item fee.

Samaralynn23

Wow i guess I'm just a major cheapy. To me they get paid what they want its not like i tell them what i'm going to pay. I mean I don't tip the cashier leaving the store or the clerk that helped me find that special gift i couldnt find at sears or the guy who rotates my tires. I mean even though i consider our wedding to be minimal compared to other knotties on here I can't imagine giving them addiotional on top of what they are already charging, maybe I'm just crazy. I am a huge tipper when it comes to food though, not sure why i feel it's different. ??? I am however making sure I include all parties like video, dj & chaplin staff (whom i also invited their families) to eat. Is that enough of a thank you, considering it's like almost $60 a head

diorgrl8

i'm gonna chime in here...do you guys plan on carrying cash on you during the day of or having someone in charge of tipping everyone? I feel like i'm going to forget to tip if i don't give that responsibility to someone else... too much to think of!

simmy89

Being Australian where tipping is out of the ordinary, I am more confussed than ever now with this discussion. I am really concerned about this issue as I dont know who to tip and how much? I wish it was cut and dry!!! I do however think Hannah that I will give thank you cards with a tip to a good family friend and ask him to take care of giving them out.. The day before the wedding I am going to a salon with all my family girls and getting our nails done, should I be tipping these people for doing our nails? If I should be doing that how much should I be tipping for that type of service? I have mine done at home all the time and would never think to tip the girl that does them, but I would tip the waiter in a resturant?So many things to think of that I have not budgeted for...

destiny1108

wow, paying 20% on everything Celebrations arranged would come out alot more than what I paid for coordination.For tips, we gave our WC envelopes with names on them and she distributed them for us.

enteringparadise

ensure your caterer's mandatory gratuity actually goes to the servers. most of the time it doesn't. also dont feel like you have to tip unless the vendor has really gone above and beyond, regardless if he owns his own business.