Tipping

jaymers99

I know it's been discussed a million times, but none of my bookmarks to old posts work anymore...

If you don't mind sharing, who did you tip and how much?

Hair & Makeup
Officiant
Florist
Musicians
DJ
Waitstaff
Banquet Captain
Photographer
Videographer

Am I missing anyone?

Sorry to post and run.  I'm at work, but I have a million wedding things on my mind right now...almost at the one month mark!  Eeeeeek!  TIA!

kaesha

You know, I didn't tip based on the 15% rule. I think that's crazy - especially when you consider how much money you're spending! Phil doesn't come from a country where tipping is common, so he really has issues with the concept - as do I.

At the end of the day we tipped Hair (75$), Make-up (75$, Photographer (150$) and our catering coordinator (because she was AMAZING - otherwise I wouldn't have). Our officient was my uncle, and my parents paid for his condo for a couple of nights - otherwise a donation to their church is the norm.

I refuse to tip people for doing what they're supposed to do. Above and beyond, yes, but for doing the job they're getting paid for? Absolutely not.

akbride09

That is kind of a tough one, so I'll just tell you what I did:

Hair - $20 tip (I went to a salon, and the updo was $50)

Officiant - $100 tip ($50 more than we originally planned, but he spent so much time with us on the phone, plus met with us before the wedding, PLUS came to our wedding place the day before - all things he did out of the goodness of his heart)

Photographers - $100 total tip + dinner for each (they are married and own their photography business, so I didn't get too carried away)

Chef - $200 tip (she was AWESOME! I didn't know how in the world she was making a profit, considering her time before and during, and the cost of the food)

Samaralynn23

Well I kinda feel bad but after everything was said and done then again I don't cause we didn't tip anyone. 

To me they charge a certain amount to cover the cost of those who are working with them  i.e. the bar tender which btw was a seperate cost added on if we wanted him (we supplied everything but coolers & ice).  However the DJ, Videographer Crew & Photographers were told ahead of time that their meal was covered and please take time to enjoy themselves and eat.  Our Videographers didn't and they happened to be close friends of the bridal group so i plan on sending them a nice thank you gift.  To me praising and suggesting someone bassed on their performance is a tip in itself.  Maybe I'm just cheap but we definitely weren't cheap on our wedding where it counted. 

jaymers99

Thanks!  This is such a tough subject...and probably different in each situation.  I feel cheap because I don't really want to tip unless, like PPs said, they go above and beyond what I am already paying them an exhorbitant amount of money to do.

carrieoz_76

I think I'm going to let FI worry about this stuff.  And he's cheap.  But fair.  So... we'll see. 

I've heard that you don't need to tip folks who own their own company since they benefit from the full amount that you're paying them already, and will benefit more from a good recommendation (in the form of a thank you letter) that they can then use to gain more business.  We're doing the reception at a restaurant, so gratuity is already included there, but we could tip if a server is particularly good, I suppose.