Tipping at the Church

Does anyone know how much and who you're supposed to tip at the church? And when you do it?

My rehearsal is on Thursday, and while the priest, nor the musicians will be there, I am not sure if I'm supposed to tip them the day of the wedding.

Anyone have any idea??

We're having a separate Catholic ceremony the week before our actual wedding, so that my grandma can attend, and the priest that I spoke to told me you can provide the donation before. I don't think I've ever heard of people tipping the church. It would be nice if you can tip your priest though, since the money donated to the church doesn't go to them directly, and they do spend a considerable amount of time preparing for your church service, so it'd be nice to give them a little something to acknowledge that. I would ask your church secretary what your parish prefers/what is customary.

Ours said that, since the priest isn’t paid extra for doing the ceremony (he’s basically doing it as a “service” to the church), he is often given a donation in appreciation of his services after the wedding. She said the best man usually hands over the donation after the ceremony.

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Posted by msj288

We're having a separate Catholic ceremony the week before our actual wedding, so that my grandma can attend, and the priest that I spoke to told me you can provide the donation before. I don't think I've ever heard of people tipping the church. It would be nice if you can tip your priest though, since the money donated to the church doesn't go to them directly, and they do spend a considerable amount of time preparing for your church service, so it'd be nice to give them a little something to acknowledge that. I would ask your church secretary what your parish prefers/what is customary.

Ours said that, since the priest isn’t paid extra for doing the ceremony (he’s basically doing it as a “service” to the church), he is often given a donation in appreciation of his services after the wedding. She said the best man usually hands over the donation after the ceremony.

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Thank you!!!

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Posted by bkal5043

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Posted by msj288

We're having a separate Catholic ceremony the week before our actual wedding, so that my grandma can attend, and the priest that I spoke to told me you can provide the donation before. I don't think I've ever heard of people tipping the church. It would be nice if you can tip your priest though, since the money donated to the church doesn't go to them directly, and they do spend a considerable amount of time preparing for your church service, so it'd be nice to give them a little something to acknowledge that. I would ask your church secretary what your parish prefers/what is customary.

Ours said that, since the priest isn’t paid extra for doing the ceremony (he’s basically doing it as a “service” to the church), he is often given a donation in appreciation of his services after the wedding. She said the best man usually hands over the donation after the ceremony.

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Thank you!!!

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No problem! Heres a list that I found that maybe helpful:

1) Donation to the Priest/Church

2) Donation to the church coordinator. She helps you coordinate where to stand, the reading selections, order of procession, coordination of rehearsal, stuff like that.

3) Donation to the cantors/ musicians are as follows:


Church – $200 to $300

Wedding Coordinator – $100 – $150

Cantors/Musicians – $50 – $100 per person

But obviously this is just a guide line. You should tip whatever you can afford/think is fair.

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Posted by msj288

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Posted by bkal5043

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Posted by msj288

We're having a separate Catholic ceremony the week before our actual wedding, so that my grandma can attend, and the priest that I spoke to told me you can provide the donation before. I don't think I've ever heard of people tipping the church. It would be nice if you can tip your priest though, since the money donated to the church doesn't go to them directly, and they do spend a considerable amount of time preparing for your church service, so it'd be nice to give them a little something to acknowledge that. I would ask your church secretary what your parish prefers/what is customary.

Ours said that, since the priest isn’t paid extra for doing the ceremony (he’s basically doing it as a “service” to the church), he is often given a donation in appreciation of his services after the wedding. She said the best man usually hands over the donation after the ceremony.

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Thank you!!!

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No problem! Heres a list that I found that maybe helpful:

1) Donation to the Priest/Church

2) Donation to the church coordinator. She helps you coordinate where to stand, the reading selections, order of procession, coordination of rehearsal, stuff like that.

3) Donation to the cantors/ musicians are as follows:


Church – $200 to $300

Wedding Coordinator – $100 – $150

Cantors/Musicians – $50 – $100 per person

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Hmm.. our church donation is $600. So another $200-$300 for the priest? Eeeek..

I edited my post up top. Its just a guideline really to help you gauge what to tip/ what people donate to the church. Ultimately you should tip what you can afford, or what you think is fair. :)

We did not tip the priest, organist or singer.

We brought our church payment the day of the rehearsal. The priest did ask for the money for the organist & singer but we did not know we had to bring it. My husband had the envelopes the day of and paid them when the arrived.

We did not have alter servers but we would tipped them $20 each.

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Posted by Vilardi82

I only heard if tipping alter servers.

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I forgot about this!

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Posted by msj288

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Posted by Vilardi82

I only heard if tipping alter servers.

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I forgot about this!

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Lol

We ended up tipping more than we planned on...

We gave everything the day of after the mass.

Priest: $250 but I'm a teacher at the school and this has been my priest for a while.

Altar Servers: $50 each because they were my students - if not I probably would have done $25 each.

Our 'suggested donation' to the church was $500 and the music was $300, so $800 all together.

We tipped the musicians $100.

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Posted by msj288

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Posted by bkal5043

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Posted by msj288

We're having a separate Catholic ceremony the week before our actual wedding, so that my grandma can attend, and the priest that I spoke to told me you can provide the donation before. I don't think I've ever heard of people tipping the church. It would be nice if you can tip your priest though, since the money donated to the church doesn't go to them directly, and they do spend a considerable amount of time preparing for your church service, so it'd be nice to give them a little something to acknowledge that. I would ask your church secretary what your parish prefers/what is customary.

Ours said that, since the priest isn’t paid extra for doing the ceremony (he’s basically doing it as a “service” to the church), he is often given a donation in appreciation of his services after the wedding. She said the best man usually hands over the donation after the ceremony.

---

Thank you!!!

---

No problem! Heres a list that I found that maybe helpful:

1) Donation to the Priest/Church

2) Donation to the church coordinator. She helps you coordinate where to stand, the reading selections, order of procession, coordination of rehearsal, stuff like that.

3) Donation to the cantors/ musicians are as follows:


Church – $200 to $300

Wedding Coordinator – $100 – $150

Cantors/Musicians – $50 – $100 per person

But obviously this is just a guide line. You should tip whatever you can afford/think is fair.

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that seems like ALOT! our church is like $500 in total donations, which includes the organist and stuff.. i only plan on tipping the suggest amount and nothing more than that... we are only having a ceremony too so i dont think we will have altar servers

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Posted by bkal5043

I called the church today to ask if they have a guide for tips and they told me there is no need to tip. My organist and singer is $275 and the church donation is $600. I don't want to be offensive by giving the priest cash. it's a weird situation.

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I don't think you should worry too much about that. A present could serve as a tip for a priest. We're giving my priest a gift card worth a certain amount bc he's been a long family friend. And I;m kinda shocked how much some of you are paying! Long Island really is expensive! Ours is way less, which is why we're tipping more. I'm having our Catholic ceremony in my old neighborhood in Throggs Neck, Bronx. Its a very small tight knight area, and I know everyone involved so thats the only reason we're giving them extra. Everyone has their own situation, just do whats best for you guys. :)