What to Put on the Sign for the Tip Jar for Our Bartender

You could do something like "drink responsibly, tip recklessly"? There is also "drinks are on the house, please tip your bartender" and similar alternatives though it would be tricky as most of the verbiage would be more suggestive.

With that said, I know you don't want opinions on this, but how would your bartender friend feel if the tip jar were empty at the end of the night? Personally I never have cash on me these days and probably wouldn't tip at a wedding even if I had it on me because I would expect the marrying couple to have taken care of all bills and tips (which yes, you are doing) and I feel like if I was a vendor I'd be a bit more let down by an empty tip jar than not having one at all.

Every wedding I’ve attended with a tip jar, there was just the jar and no sign. There was no confusion as to what the jar was for.


In my circles, where open bars are the norm and we know the hosts pay 20% service fee/tip, no one ever goes to a wedding with an empty wallet. People always bring low denomination bills to tip with. My husband and I prefer the tip $20 at the beginning of the night approach—we’ve always been rewarded with fast service and strong pours when the bartender sees us approaching!

Not sure if your friend has Venmo, but at my wedding the bartender had a QR code with his Venmo for tips. A lot of guests actually liked it because people rarely have cash on them for weddings and the actual tip jar was barely filled. I wasn’t aware of it beforehand since it was through the venue so I didn’t come up with any verbiage for it, but this may help you guys!

I’ve been to weddings where there is just a jar with 💰and everyone gets the hint. We always tip the bartenders.

I've never been to a wedding with a tip jar, and would not allow them at our wedding. But, we know our guests and had 1 bar per 45 persons. We all tip heavy in the beginning with at least a $20 for an enjoyable night of fast service. I would say you know your guests. A sign may not be necessary because everyone makes friends with the bartender.

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This is what I would do! I never carry cash. We went to a friends 30th birthday and the bartender had a sign with venmo and people actually tended to tip more than they would have with cash, bc they didn't want to just venmo $1-2 everytime they drank. My FH sent $20 with his first drink and only had 3 drinks so it ended up more than he normally would tip in cash.