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Tipping

kar45kar45 member
First Comment
in Illinois-Chicago
My wedding is next week and I am trying to figure in tips. What do you tip the band members? Also, what do you tip the photographer and videographer? Do I still tip them if they work for themselves?Thanks!!!!
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Re: Tipping

  • raeynraeyn member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Good question, I've been wondering that myself. In addition to the above questions, what do people plan on tipping ceremony musicians and DJs? And this may be a dumb question, but do people tip their florist? Best wishes for your wedding next week, Kar45!
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    BFP on Jan. 18; EDD Oct. 1
    EDD Oct. 1image
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  • chosen175chosen175 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I guess it all depends on your budget.  We're looking at a flat $50-$75 tip for everyone since that's probably all we can afford.  I don't plan on tipping the photographer or videographer until AFTER I see the finished product.  They will be well fed (same meal as our guests, not vendor meals) and I'll make sure they have (non-alcoholic) drinks all night long.  I also think it's a load of crap when people refuse to tip someone because they're the owner of a business.  A tip is meant to be an extra thank you or a bonus for great service.  If the owner is the one doing the work, they deserve the tip.  After all, they're giving up their time with their families or other things they'd rather be doing to be at your wedding.  If they have done the work, they deserve the tip.  Don't forget - licensing, insurance, advertising, etc are really expensive and if it's a small business or newer business, I highly doubt the owner is rolling in the dough after paying for all of that.  Most small business owners roll the profits back into advertising or upgrading their equipment, and it can take several years to see any huge profits.  Just my $.02 of course.
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  • kdm80kdm80
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Our wedding is in a couple of weeks, and we've been struggling with the same issue.  Honestly, I feel like tipping has gotten out of control, and I don't really think it should be expected to tip every single vendor, particularly when it's often times built into the price of the service.  Enough with my soapbox, though. ;)  We decided that we won't be tipping any of our vendors on the day of, because that would mean we would have to predetermine the tip amount before we ever see the finished product or service.  Once we get back from our honeymoon, my fiance and I will see how much we have left in our budget, and then write thank you notes to our DJ, florist, videographer, and photographer.  We'll include the tips, as appropriate, with the thank you notes.  At least then, we feel it will be an accurate reflection of their work (plus we don't have the headache of dealing with tip envelopes on the day of the wedding!!)
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  • lmb5109lmb5109 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I tipped everyone $50. Five of my vendors owned their business and were the person there on the day of the wedding. I'm not sure where it started that a person who owned their own business shouldn't be tipped. They are still doing a service.
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  • ennaerb80ennaerb80
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We only tipped our shuttle driver.  Everyone else, I figured we were already paying them for their services and a ton of money at that, so we talked about it and determined that since every other vendor was also the owner, they are getting all the money we paid for the services so they didn't need a tip. 
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  • brideinfall08brideinfall08
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    i gave my photog $100 i think....nothing for my videographer cause he sucked.....and i gave our doc $200 to give to the band but only after she spoke to me at the end of the night and i decided they deserved it...i think there were 9 pieces so she just gave it to the band leader and he decided what to do with it....i did not tip my florist because the set up and delivery were so high i figured she got enough
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  • raeynraeyn member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I was inspired to do a little searching on google, and this is the most useful information I found: [url]http://www.frugalbride.com/tipping.html[/url] Still not sure whether I should tip the photographer at the reception or after I've seen the photos, though. I want to show that I appreciate his efforts and motivate him to put a lot of effort into editing my photos, but if something happens and the photos are crappy or nonexistent I know I'll be kicking myself for having tipped before seeing the product.
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    BFP on Jan. 18; EDD Oct. 1
    EDD Oct. 1image
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  • marcikabarecmarcikabarec
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    good question, i was wondering this myself...our florist and photographer are both friends of ours...should i tip them? a friend of mine also designed our invitations...do i tip her?
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  • chosen175chosen175 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    our florist and photographer are both friends of ours...should i tip them? I would probably only tip the floral delivery person a few bucks. I would still tip the photographer AFTER I saw the final product. I don't think it matters if the person is a friend or not. a friend of mine also designed our invitations...do i tip her? I probably would not tip her, because I wouldn't tip a designer from etsy or whatever. I'd definitely spread the word about her if you feel she did a good job, though. Recommendations are awesome for someone with their own business.
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