Tipping reception venue for food

elizabeth121985 · January 2012

How much is customary to tip a reception venue who is also providing the food? We are having a rather large wedding and our estimate for the food right now is $42,000.

15% of that is $6,300!! ah!!

Is that normal to tip that much?? If we tip everyone 15% it could add an astronomical amount to the total bill

Bubbalub · January 2012

Check your contract. Many venues include gratuity for staff in the total cost.

chumlee7478 · January 2012

Gratuity is included in my contract automatically, so check your contract first. Every place we looked at included it right off the bat.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · January 2012

Yes, 15-20% is customary.

But like Bubba said, if you have a "service charge" on top of the bill, that might include gratuity. Check your contract or ask your venue.

elizabeth121985 · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_tipping-reception-venue-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:aca58077-6fb8-4345-bc27-dab4f4507795Post:03312e18-ddb0-4f8d-9ddd-b15cc8486ca6">Re: Tipping reception venue for food</a>:
[QUOTE]Gratuity is included in my contract automatically, so check your contract first. Every place we looked at included it right off the bat.
Posted by chumlee7478[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>I already checked, and unfortunately it's not included :(

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LittleMissCutiePie · January 2012

Rule number one of wedding planning: Always consider tipping when creating a budget.

Now that that's over, yes you have to tip. Do you have to tip 15%? Not necessarily. Like Bubbalub said, just check if there's a mandatory gratuity fee. If there is, you don't have to tip above that. If there isn't tip at the END of the night, with what you feel is appropriate. One way or another, tip something.

Bubbalub · January 2012

Ok, then if gratuity or service charge is not included in the contract cost you need to add it on at the end of the night. 15%-20% is standard, most times you will see an included gratuity of 18%. You could always consult your vendor to find out how other couples have tipped in the past. Also, if alcohol/drinks are not included in the per plate cost, you should add in gratuity for the bartending staff as well.

lyndausvi · January 2012

I would tip 15-20%.

It kind of annoys me when people starting saying $6300 is too much for $42K in food and it's a "large wedding" It's not like the money is divided by 2 people. If you are having a large wedding they might have 20+ people in the tip pool.

bmoruzzi · January 2012

Holy cow! Who the hell pays that much for their wedding on food alone?

bmoruzzi · January 2012

Duds, I don't really give a crap what others chose to spend on their weddings. I just think that's pretty extravagant for one day. I served filet mignon and had open bar and it was under $20k total for everything including dj, florist, photographer, etc.

lyndausvi · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_tipping-reception-venue-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:aca58077-6fb8-4345-bc27-dab4f4507795Post:3863ada2-9788-4e28-8281-27dafc2cf3c0">Re: Tipping reception venue for food</a>:
[QUOTE]Holy cow! Who the hell pays that much for their wedding on food alone?
Posted by bmoruzzi@hotmail.com[/QUOTE]

<div>My DH does weddings like this some-what often. Every week? No, but once a month, yep. </div><div>
</div><div>And why do you care? My DH just signed a deal (not a wedding) where the guest will pay up to $6k PER PERSON for dinner. Just dinner. There are people out there with money. You might not know them, but yeah, they are out there.</div><div>
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Bubbalub · January 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_tipping-reception-venue-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:aca58077-6fb8-4345-bc27-dab4f4507795Post:59e51b00-ef38-4ca6-b793-30c037619cbc">Re: Tipping reception venue for food</a>:
[QUOTE]Duds, I don't really give a crap what others chose to spend on their weddings. I just think that's pretty extravagant for one day. I served filet mignon and had open bar and it was under $20k total for everything including dj, florist, photographer, etc.
Posted by bmoruzzi@hotmail.com[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Well goodie for you. OP might not find the cost extravagent at all. She might have twice as many people invited as you did. She could live in a HCOL area. What does it matter what it's costing as long as OP is willing to pay it?</div><div>
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Tipping reception venue for food

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