TIPS

Am I supposed to tip the people are the reception hall more besides the 20% they are already getting? I mean the BM, MD, bridal attendant, valet parking, coat check people, bathroom people??? Thats a lot of people. Plus what about the limo drivers who are already getting a 20% fee? And then the DJ, MC, photographer, videographer? This is going to be a whole extra $5000 in the end. I mean somethings got to give. Why do they include 20% tip and then expect more tips? If so how much am I supposed to give each?

yes, it sure does add up!
there are people you tip and people you dont or are not necessary

for example, if the photographer is the OWNER, he does not get tipped

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Posted by blu6385

i think its absolutley ridiculous ... i plan on tipping these people but not that much ... i am sorry but that is thier job ... do i get tipped for doing my job NO so why should i tip them ... i believe in tipping waiters and waitresses at resturants cause i know that they make less than min. rage but everyone who makes a regular salary above min. range why do i need to tip them ... my RH says the 20% is for the waiters so I am NOT tipping them anything extar if they dont see that then they should take it up with the RH ... like i said i willbe giving tips but not that much ...

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i agree with your perspective, i just dont think i couldnt tip.

I know we will def be tipping the waiters/waitreses seperately because they never see the tip if you dont, but it does suck to have to tip some of the others.

heres something my mom sent me ... i think i will be following these rules HTH :


I'll bet I know exactly what's going through your mind right this very instant. TIPPING, WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY!?! Yes, we know, you've already paid an absolute fortune for those vendors and now you have to shell out some more. Sorry.

Here are the general rules for tipping. Although it is generally thought to be a voluntary thing (I'd like to know who said that), there are still areas of your wedding that require tipping, but you can still use your discretion. Firstly, you may want to find out from your vendors if tipping is allowed. There are several vendors, caterers for example, that include the wages of their staff in their price. They sometimes discourage tipping. (Bet you hope to hear that a lot!) And some vendors will add gratuities to their bills. Be sure not to double tip.

If you are using a wedding coordinator, they should be responsible for delivering the tips and payments to the related vendors. If not, then it should be your best man. If you don't feel comfortable asking the best man, ask one of the fathers. All tips should be calculated and prepared in separate envelopes ahead of time, thereby making it much easier for the individual responsible to deliver the tips.

FB TIPS ON TIPPING:

All tips should be given in cash. If the person serving you is an employee of the company, their tip should be in a separate envelope.
No one/single person should get more then $150.00. For example: Let’s say your limo bus is $2000.00. 10 or 15% of that total is 200 or 300 dollars, not necessary.
Tips should be given just before your vendor leaves. That way you can judge how much to give, according to the job they did for you.
All vendors would love a thank you card. It is a great reminder of happy clients and let's face it, it'll help them book future clients.
Giving vendors a favour/bomboniere is totally up to the couple and how many they can spare.
THE ONES YOU SHOULD TIP

Altar boys or girls - $10-15.00 each

Limousine Drivers – 10-15% of the limousine bill, given at the end of the evening. See 'FB Tip' above.

Valet Parking Attendants - $.50 to $1.00 per car, prearrange this amount with the supervisor based on an estimate of how many cars will be arriving and a sign should be posted to guests that the gratuity has been taken care of.

Wait staff - If the tip is not on the contract already, 15% of the total catering bill is tipped. Wait staff do the hardest physical labour on your wedding day.

Bartenders - 10% of the total liquor bill, presented to the head bartender or divided equally among the total number of bartenders who worked the full evening. Make sure that a tip hasn't been added to your contract already.

Restroom and/or Coatroom Attendants - $.50 to $1.00 per guest, prearranged again based on the number of guests.

Makeup artist or Hair Stylists - You don't have to tip them if they come to you. If you go to the salon, then you should tip them 15%. Why you ask, well the salon makes the money, not the individual. If you have received a good job, and you would tip normally, then go ahead.

DJ - If your DJ owns the company then the tip is optional but if the DJ is an employee $50-100.00. If you have 2 DJs (DJ & MC), give each person $50.00 in separate envelopes. When your guests rave about your reception later, it's the DJ that had everything to do with the fun.

OPTIONAL TIPPING (amounts reflect optional tips)

Business Owners - You don’t have to tip the owner of a business, unless you feel that they have gone beyond the call of duty and you want to give them a token of your appreciation.

Ceremony or Reception Musicians - $5-10/hr per person, in one lump sum given to the person in charge.

Banquet or catering manager - doesn’t need to be tipped unless they’ve thrown in extras or saved you a few hundred dollars on your bill. The tip would be between $50-$100.

Photographer and Videographer - If these vendors own the company, then the tip is optional. If they are employees $50.00 goes to the main photographer and he/she can give a split to the assistant.

Officiant - To tip them is to trivialize their profession and extremely bad etiquette. Generally you pay your fee and that's it. If you wish to make a financial contribution to the church, you can do that separately.

Florist - You don't need to tip the florist for making your arrangements but you can tip them an extra $5.00 per delivery location (3 locations=$15.00) or $10-20.00 per staff member in one lump sum, for set-up and delivery.

Wedding Cake Baker - You don't have to tip for the baking of the cake but if you are at your reception venue at time of delivery and set-up = $10.00

Wedding Coordinator or Room Manager- This is the person managing the reception venues staff and facility the night of your wedding = $50.00

Your Wedding Coordinator - If this vendor owns the company, then the tip is optional. If they are an employee = $50.00

Your Wedding Planner - This person has planned your wedding from start to finish. An appropriate tip would be 10% of their total commission or bill.

This should give you some guidelines on tipping etiquette. Tipping etiquette is different in different provinces, cities and towns. Please be sure to add this to your budget. The amounts above are only examples and are not written in stone.

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Posted by perfectpair

For vendors that aren't the owners, ex Limo driver,DJ, videographer, photographer, what percentage would you tip, 20%? 15%? and if tip is included in cost of limos do you tip?

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according to the above article 50 each should be good ...

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Posted by perfectpair

Photo/video would you tip after depending on their work, or now tip on wedding day?

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i would tip a small amount ont he wedding and then maybe ( i will not see previous posts on why) tip more when you see the results ...

i have to say that i don't agree too much with that list above. 'no one person should receive more than $150' doesn't apply in the instance of maitre'd

most halls recommend that you give $3-$5 a person for the maitre d'. we gave about $400 to ours.

it's true that the 20% is a 'gratuity' for your hall, andyou shouldn't HAVE to tip more. but the reality, especially if you ask ppl who have worked in a catering hall, is that most of the money is not given out as 'tips' to waitstaff, bar staff, valet, etc. it's a 'service charge' for the hall.

we gave tips to all the following at the hall alone:
Waitstaff
Bartenders
matire d'
bridal attendant
captain
valet

not to metion alllll the other vendors that day!

Thanks so much for posting blu saved to notebook

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Posted by MJDoc12

i have to say that i don't agree too much with that list above. 'no one person should receive more than $150' doesn't apply in the instance of maitre'd

most halls recommend that you give $3-$5 a person for the maitre d'. we gave about $400 to ours.

it's true that the 20% is a 'gratuity' for your hall, andyou shouldn't HAVE to tip more. but the reality, especially if you ask ppl who have worked in a catering hall, is that most of the money is not given out as 'tips' to waitstaff, bar staff, valet, etc. it's a 'service charge' for the hall.

we gave tips to all the following at the hall alone:
Waitstaff
Bartenders
matire d'
bridal attendant
captain
valet

not to metion alllll the other vendors that day!

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my hall charges me a maitre d tip alraedy and since i know he splits it i know how much he will get i will tip him still on top of that ... again i am sorry but the waiters need to say something to the hall ... i specifcally asked my hall if the 20% charge goes the wait staff and they told me yes if this is untrue i'm sorry but thats not my problem ... again i really feel tipping is ridculous ...i say if everyone got tipped for any job they do then i wouldnt mind tipping ... but everyone doesnt so i am really against this whole tipping thing (again excpect for waiters who make less than min. wage believe i always over ttip at resturantS!!)

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Posted by blu6385
my hall charges me a maitre d tip alraedy and since i know he splits it i know how much he will get i will tip him still on top of that ... again i am sorry but the waiters need to say something to the hall ... i specifcally asked my hall if the 20% charge goes the wait staff and they told me yes if this is untrue i'm sorry but thats not my problem ... again i really feel tipping is ridculous ...i say if everyone got tipped for any job they do then i wouldnt mind tipping ... but everyone doesnt so i am really against this whole tipping thing (again excpect for waiters who make less than min. wage believe i always over ttip at resturantS!!)

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i totally understand where you are coming from. for DH and i, we just felt like we wanted to take care of those ppl a little more. i was a waitress for years, and i know what its like for them. so shelling out an extra $20 a waiter or $50 a bartender...for us...was something we wanted to do. that's just us.

but you're right, tipping can get a little crazy, especially when you reach the home stretch and you have to budget like $1500-2K extra for tips alone! it can be quite a headache

i am fine tipping people 10- 20 maybe 30 or even maybe 50 for some things ( like i said at resturants i always over over tip) but i find it ridiculous that its expected to pay a total of 1000+ in tip money ... and jsut because its a wedding everything is a lot more money so i should still have to tip on top of the ridculous amount of money they cahrge me ... are you kidding ... sorry i am very mad about this whole tipping thing!!

also i know some people feel tipping is important so i am knocking people who do i just dont care for it

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Posted by tiff940

Am I supposed to tip the people are the reception hall more besides the 20% they are already getting? I mean the BM, MD, bridal attendant, valet parking, coat check people, bathroom people??? Thats a lot of people. Plus what about the limo drivers who are already getting a 20% fee? And then the DJ, MC, photographer, videographer? This is going to be a whole extra $5000 in the end. I mean somethings got to give. Why do they include 20% tip and then expect more tips? If so how much am I supposed to give each?

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yes you do tip...the 20% just covers salary and certain services thats it. So yes all those people do get tipped.

I know they want the bridal attendant and matred tipped extra which i am fine with that BUT I AM NOT tipping valet, coat check, bar tender (maybe give them a few bucks but not really TIPPING).

I have always tipped these people when I was a guest at a wedding so how many tips do you need???? guests tip those people not the people throwing the party. I disagree with that completely on that list.

For the dj, photo, limo, etc i plan to give them a tip.

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Posted by SeaMaiden

when i signed my contract, i knew about the 20% gratuity. to pay additional tips??? no way, unless the service really is exeptional. maybe i will prepare envelopes and decide at the end of the night if it is deserved. i know i sound cold, but this whole tipping thing is a rip off. the gratuity is the tip to me. period. im referring to the RH only though, other services i would consider tipping.

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unfortunately the staff never gets the 20% as gratuity. Well I actually have 18% but yeah still either one you have

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Posted by nifheim

I know they want the bridal attendant and matred tipped extra which i am fine with that BUT I AM NOT tipping valet, coat check, bar tender (maybe give them a few bucks but not really TIPPING).

I have always tipped these people when I was a guest at a wedding so how many tips do you need???? guests tip those people not the people throwing the party. I disagree with that completely on that list.

For the dj, photo, limo, etc i plan to give them a tip.

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i dont agree with the whole list either when it comes valet, coat check, bar tender but the rest i do ... i am not planning on tipping these people either my BM said not to worry about them people usually tip them ... i also may trhow them a little bit ...