Tipping Guideline

I met with my DOC yesterday and she gave me this tipping list.. she said that its all our discretion depending on wether they were great or not, so its ultimately up to us, but I thought I would share the list with you girls!


This is a guideline for tipping your vendors for the day of your event. Keep in mind that this is a guideline and you should give a gratuity based on performance of their services. If you feel that a vendor has gone above and beyond, then feel free to give more and vice versa. Also, check your contracts to see if a gratuity was already included. A general guideline is 15%-20% of fees paid.

Hair- $40-$50

Makeup- $40-$50

Photographer- $100-$150

Photog Asst.- $40-$50

Videographer- $100-$150

Video Asst. $40-$50

Limo- $25-$50 (each driver)

Floral Delivery- $20-$40

DJ/MC- $100-$150

DJ asst. $40-$50

Officiant- $25-$50 (not priest or church official)

Altar persons- $10-$20 each

Ceremony/ Cocktail Hour Music- $25-$50 (each musician)

Bridal Attendant- $75-$125

Maitre-D’- $3-$5 per person

Valet- $1-$2 per car

Bartender- $50-$100 per person

Coordinator- Your discretion

*It is always a good idea to keep an envelope with some extra money (small bills) for the unexpected assistant or if a vendors services are extraordinary.

What if you have a band? How much do you tip each person in that?

Thanks!

For some of the vendors, it can also be 10%-15% of the bill especially if you are working with the company.
For the hair & make-up, if you are working with a hair salon, then it is the normal etiquette to tip the hairstylist or make-up artist. If they are an independent vendor and they are traveling to your home, you do not have to tip them unless you feel they did a phenomenal job! The reason is b/c you are already paying for the traveling fees. Most vendors are already charging more if they are traveling to your location on your wedding day. For the photographer/videographer, it is normally $50-$100 especially with a company. $100-$150 sounds like a higher range than norm. I guess, this depends since they are doing the editing for your photos and video. You might not want to skimp out when it comes to your precious memories. For the limo, the gratuity is 15% of the bill, sometimes it depends on the company you are working with which can also range to 20% of the bill. For the musicians, it is $25 pp (esp if it's a large band). If you feel that they've done an amazing job, then you can certainly tip them more. For the bridal attendants, I think the norm is to give them a present or gift card. Everything else sounds about right. For the DOC, it's def customary to tip them since they will assisting throughout your wedding for the whole day. Unless it was a major disaster, it would be wrong not to tip them at the end of the night for their service.

Thanks for this!!

Im sorry did that say tip the bartender $50-$100 per person or is that meant to say per bartender, its late and im alittle slow right now

I think bridal attendant means the one that comes with your RH, not your actual BM attendants, so I would give them cash, not a gift.

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!

Thank U... I needed this.. I was just discussing this with my FH!!

---

Posted by kbond06

what happens if the hair and make-up women are doing about 7 of us and each girl is paying???

---

I would assume that everyone tips her individually, Thats what I wouldo.. but being the bride I would still tip her between 75-100 just for me

---

Posted by Sweeteey51

Im sorry did that say tip the bartender $50-$100 per person or is that meant to say per bartender, its late and im alittle slow right now

---

I dont know.. but we arent tipping him per person.. We are actually going to throw him a tip at the beginning of CH and tell him there should never be a line for drinks

Ok I didnt know you tip the valet and the bartender. I thought the guests usually give them tips??

Ugggg more money to spend...

---

Posted by dazies1011

Here is my question I keep hearing that if your vendor for the day is the owner you dont tip them, is this true?

---

If your vendor is the owner of the company you should not tip them and they shouldn't expect a tip.

Thank you for posting! FH will have a heart attack looking at this.

This is so confusing, I *think* my RH told us that we could either give the tip up front to the valet, coat check, bartenders, and put out a sign to the guests saying not to tip them because it's been taken care of, or we can just let the guests give them a dollar or whatever they would do anyways. I don't know...I kinda feel that it's tacky to put out a sign saying don't tip the bartender or the valet! I know as a guest I always tip the bartender and valet and coat check regardless if the bride and groom has taken care of it. I think I'm going to ignore that and just let my guests do what they want. You can't please everyone.

thanks so much