Gratuity for Caterer??

sarahsaurus-2

First of all- sorry if this is in the wrong section, I wasn't sure where to post it.

So my wedding is in less than 2 weeks, and I've gotta pay my final catering bill. I'm kinda struggling here trying to figure out how much to pay for gratuity. I had read some stuff online that sounded like it would be okay to do 20% off of just the food costs- but then I looked at my invoice.

Basically, they have a "Gratuity (0%)" line right next to my subtotal. Now, my caterer runs the venue, so my subtotal includes venue fees, tables, chairs, etc. I don't really think it's necessary for me to tip on top of all of these things, but is it going to look bad if I tip 20% on the food, and then in my invoice it looks like a smaller % tip?

Should I just do that anyway? Or should I just bring an envelope with cash to be divided up? My reception will be a buffet with like, 2 waiters, a bartender, and the coordinator (not sure how many chefs).  

ILoveBeachMusic

Yes, just tip on the food. I would still bring cash to put in envelopes though so that the wait staff and bartenders get cash. We tipped our DD's coordinator separately, but if she is employed by the venue I guess you could include it in with the food gratuity.

ernursej

Just tip on the food but I would not do it prior to the wedding. A tip is the appreciation for service. You will not know how the service was until after. Have envelopes with cash for wait staff/bartenders and then pay the gratuity for the food at the end of the night or ask for an option to pay the next day.

ILoveBeachMusic

ernursej said:

Just tip on the food but I would not do it prior to the wedding. A tip is the appreciation for service. You will not know how the service was until after. Have envelopes with cash for wait staff/bartenders and then pay the gratuity for the food at the end of the night or ask for an option to pay the next day.

IMO, the gratuity isn't for the food but for the serving/preparing of the food/drinks. We didn't tip on the food that we paid for but tipped the servers, cooks and bartenders based on the cost of the food. Just like in a restaurant - you are tipping the server based on the cost of the meal. 

ernursej

ILoveBeachMusic said:

ernursej said:

Just tip on the food but I would not do it prior to the wedding. A tip is the appreciation for service. You will not know how the service was until after. Have envelopes with cash for wait staff/bartenders and then pay the gratuity for the food at the end of the night or ask for an option to pay the next day.

IMO, the gratuity isn't for the food but for the serving/preparing of the food/drinks. We didn't tip on the food that we paid for but tipped the servers, cooks and bartenders based on the cost of the food. Just like in a restaurant - you are tipping the server based on the cost of the meal. 

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I'm advocating for paying the tip 15%+ on the price of the food. The tip is in appreciation of the service to prepare and serve the food/drink. Often, you can't tip the cooks directly so you may need to tip directly to the restaurant (with directions for it to go to the cooks) and then have envelopes that you can hand to waiters/bartenders. For our wedding, we were just able to tip on the bill the next day and we know that it was split among all the staff. We loved the restaurant and tipped closer to 30% because they just did a fantastic job.

MairePoppy

You should ask your venue manager how the gratuities are divided. If the waiters and bartenders are tipped from the gratuities, add 20% to the food and bar total.