I'll bet I know exactly what's going through your mind right this very instant. TIPPING, WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY!?!
Should I Tip?
Should I Tip?
Yes, we know, you've already paid an absolute fortune for those vendors and yes, honey child, you have to tip them!!! SORRY!
Here are the generally 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 consultant, they should be responsible for delivering the tips to the related vendors, if not, then it should be your best man. He should also be responsible for making any payments that need to be made the day of the wedding. 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.
Here are the generally 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 consultant, they should be responsible for delivering the tips to the related vendors, if not, then it should be your best man. He should also be responsible for making any payments that need to be made the day of the wedding. 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.
Who you should not tip.
Who you should not tip.
Don't have bad manners --Tip Properly.
- Don't tip the 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.
- You don't have to tip the makeup artist or hairdresser if they come to you. If you go to the salon, then you should tip them. 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.
- Never tip the waiters, waitresses and table captains. Generally one tip is given to the maitre d' and/or banquet manager and then divided up amongst the staff that worked that night.
Now, the list you didn't want, THE ONES YOU SHOULD TIP!!
- Delivery People (for the florist, cake, etc.) - usually $5-$10 each, presented upon completion of the delivery at the site.
- Ceremony or Reception Musicians - $10-$20 per person depending on the size of the band/orchestra and the duration of the performance.
- Limousine Drivers - 15-20% of the limousine bill, given at the end of the evening.
- Parking Attendants/Valets - $.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.
- Maitre d', Banquet Manager and/or Caterer - To the person or person in charge of your reception food and beverages, you should plan on presenting a gratuity of anywhere between $1 to $5 per guest, or 15-20% of the total food and beverage bill.
- 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.
- Restroom and/or Coatroom Attendants - $.50 to $1.00 per guest, prearranged again based on the number of guests.
This should give you some guidelines on tipping etiquette. Please be sure to add this to your budget. We're sure that a lot of couples forget and nothing is more embarassing for you on your wedding day than bad etiquette. The amounts above are only examples and are not written in stone.
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