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J
Just Said Yes September 2019

Tipping Question

Jennifer, on September 19, 2019 at 1:36 PM Posted in Planning 0 11
I was hoping I could get some feedback about something I experienced with my wedding two weeks ago. A few days before the wedding our wedding planner (who is the Manager of the venue we got married at as well) handed us roughly 13 different tipping envelopes all with "suggested" tipping amounts written in the corner. I did extensive research about tipping etiquette before the wedding and budgeted to tip the catering staff, the hair stylist and my makeup artist. I assumed when he said he would be giving tipping envelopes that day, it would be for those individuals. Instead, it included venue staff such as the groundskeepers, the front desk check-in (we got married at a Bed & Breakfast style location), the managers (day and night shift since we were staying overnight), the chef & assistant chef (we had breakfast the next day in their dining room), the caterer, the wedding planner himself, and his assistant (no envelopes for make or hair, but I tipped them directly myself). There are more people he suggested, but it is not important. I had overlooked a few staff so I was grateful to have been made aware: the maids, the parking attendants, and the waiters for breakfast. In total, the tips he "suggested" equaled close to $3,000. His tip as my wedding planner was suggested at $800 - I paid him $2,500 for his services. That is a 32% tip and he said that was the minimum he is usually tipped, but he is given more oftentimes. Everything online said wedding planners do not get tipped and if they do, its a couple hundred bucks. Anyways, it upset me because I got the impression these were not optional in his mind. When I handed him the envelopes, I handed him four envelopes back for the people I felt were owed and deserved tips - caterer, parking attendants, maids, and servers. He confronted me about it and reminded me he gave me 13 envelopes and listed the various people that included. I told him I unfortunately could not afford to tip all those people to which he said and I quote "what do you want me to tell [his assistant]?" I already felt guilty enough not meeting an obvious financial expectation of the staff that worked there, but then basically saying "how could you not tip my assistant?" I I felt so guilty I told him that when I got back from my honeymoon I would send her a tip in the envelope he gave me b/c I literally did not have any extra money at that moment to tip his assistant - I was completely tapped out and heading to my honeymoon. In my opinion, he should have never asked me what to tell his assistant because tipping is 100% OPTIONAL therefore if she gets one great, but if she doesn't then it is what it is. I don't feel like they should have given me tipping envelopes to begin with and it's awful they put me in that situation. Anyways, the point of this post was to ask if anyone else had been given tipping envelopes for their wedding with suggested values written on them, or was my wedding planner/venue unique in doing so? A list of individuals to potentially tip would have been great, but setting up an expectation by writing in amounts put unnecessary pressure on me and has really left me quite jaded with my experience. Thanks in advance for your feedback.


11 Comments

Latest activity by Harmony, on September 21, 2019 at 2:21 AM
  • C
    Dedicated September 2019
    Cardioqueen ·
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    Omg I am getting hives reading this — that is so stressful and awkward!!
    Maybe write a strongly worded letter to this man suggesting he pay his assistant a living wage...
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  • Destiny
    VIP May 2020
    Destiny ·
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    I would have lold at him and gave him 50 bucks n be like the rest of you "tipping ammont" went to everyone else. He had no right to try and guilt trip u
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  • MOB So Cal
    January 2019
    MOB So Cal ·
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    This is awful. Unless those "suggested tips" were part of your contract, they would be completely voluntary. If this person is not the owner of the venue, I would contact the owner directly just to make them aware of what happened to you and how it made you feel about your experience using the venue. I'd also leave clear, descriptive reviews regarding your experience. The charges for daughter's venue were right around $20,000, and WE created tip envelopes, and decided on the amounts, after asking for input from the venue coordinator on specific amounts and to whom (e.g., valets, bartenders [we had specified NO tip jars, so these were an absolute requirement], daughter's bridal attendant [who basically followed her around all day trying to predict any little thing she might need or want], the wait staff, AND, with absolutely NO prompting from the coordinator, what we wanted to tip her and her assistant). In total, we gave her envelopes containing about $1000 in cash, so 5% of the total bill -- all of which (except the valets & bartenders) was completely voluntary on our part as far as the venue was concerned.

    PS -- I've never heard of tipping groundskeepers! Daughter's wedding was at a golf resort, no one ever suggested we should tip the gardeners and/or greenskeepers! That's ridiculous. When we check in to a hotel, we don't tip the person at the check-in desk (unless they go out of their way for us with a major room upgrade or something like that). As far as the housekeepers, did you pay for all the guest rooms? If so, then maybe you needed to cover their tips, but we never stay in a hotel room/B&B without leaving a tip each morning. Especially since the "manager" is attempting to collect all these tips from you, I'd be concerned about whether tips you did pay actually got passed on to the intended recipient. This could all just be a huge scam on the part of the manager/coordinator.... Again, I'd contact the property owner directly to confirm if this is approved policy for the property.


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  • I_Do_Too
    Devoted September 2020
    I_Do_Too ·
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    That is ridiculous. It makes me think that he pocketed some of the money.
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  • Mary
    Expert July 2019
    Mary ·
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    No, just no. A few days leading up to the wedding, our month-of coordinator politely sent an e-mail with a third-party link that she said she felt was quite accurate in regards to tipping etiquette. She offered to take any envelopes the morning of if we would like her to distribute them to the vendors, but we opted to send most of the tips after the wedding with our thank you cards. There was so requirement or pressure at all. 🙄
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  • Mcskipper
    Master July 2018
    Mcskipper ·
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    If he is concerned about his assistant, he should tip her directly out from his tips!!!

    This is outrageous. If they want to tip out all these periphery characters, they should have included the tip and delivered it directly themselves. There is no standard for a couple tipping the groundskeepers. I could see the company might want to tip them, but that is THEIR responsibility. It’s rude as all h e l l to WRITE the suggested value on the envelope itself ...so what then the individual gets this tip envelope and feels short changed if they didn’t get the right amount ? This is a very shady business practice. It does make me wonder if they don’t pay their employees appropriately (i of course tipped my catering staff but the company made it clear there was no pressure as they pay their employees well!). If there is someone higher up , id reach out and ask if it was the norm. But more over I would include it in EVERY review— other brides should know! If they’re going to have a mandatory tipping amount, that should be included in the initial invoice.
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  • Nicole
    Devoted April 2021
    Nicole ·
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    I am with Cardioqueen, I'm stressing seeing this. That is awful and so very awkward. It's a TIP, you already paid for his services. Usually a tip or gratuity:

    Definition: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service.So the way the vendor handled that was disrespectful. Assistants are usually paid by the vendor and do not receive the tip. Usually the MAIN person gives them a portion. Now I am going to have to plan accordingly
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  • Keri
    Expert November 2019
    Keri ·
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    Oh my word. That is completely unprofessional. I would have felt so uncomfortable. The groundskeeper? No. Writing the suggested amount is just beyond rude and in poor taste.

    I would definitely tell him that after the wedding you had time to think and think his behavior is completely uncalled for! How dare he shame you in not tipping his assistant. HIS assistant. Wow. I'm livid for you.

    I'd definitely leave that in any online reviews as well.
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  • earias
    Champion December 2017
    earias ·
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    Exactly this. Great point about it sounding like a scam for him to make money.

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  • Fmv
    Super October 2020
    Fmv ·
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    Omg this is awful. I would have given him back the envelopes and said im sorry but we will tip what we think is appropriate. Omgg this gives me anxiety just reading your post
    For us personally, we arent tipped anyone at our venue, we arent tipping the staff or dj or bartenders. are all included in the wedding package and in our contract we are forced to pay a generous 18% already on everything. So now more tipping for them.
    We WILL be tipping hair/makeup and our photographer
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  • Harmony
    Dedicated June 2021
    Harmony ·
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    The sense of entitlement is what is most infuriating.


    You are a kind woman and that is very clear with how you responded so politely. I genuinely feel like this man was out of line and it was not his place to pressure you about tips. The groundskeeper and the check in person?!? 😂😂😂


    Jennifer, you paid for your services and you should not feel pressured to go above and beyond what is customary and you definitely should not do some ridiculous thing like tip a groundskeeper...

    Are we allowed to cuss on this site? Probably not.... but this warrants a couple of choice words in my mind LOL


    I am sorry you had this experience and I am sure it was uncomfortable, but he was a ________________ *fill in your choice of expletives here* ☺️

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