Who do I tip??

Following cause I have no idea either

Yep I need to brush up on this

Tip anyone, owner or not, who does a fab job for you.

Honestly, I don't get tipping the photographer or the DJ, the cake personor the officiant for that matter.....

MUA; 20%

Pianist; 20-50. depending on how long they are there.

Caterer; I'd have a discussion about how the staff is paid and then tip 20-50. per person. If the bartenders are allowed to take tips (people will tip them), 20-50 too.

Delivery people; 20.00 unless they do a massive amount of setup

Any pro will tell you that a well written review is the best tip.

My wedding is a year and a half away but this is also something I've been thinking about. Reading site after site with no consistency isn't helping. I have an extra 5k aside for tips and surprises but im wondering if thats reasonable.

So @Celia is it appropriate to tip those people or not?

I think you can definitely take officiant and cake maker off the list. Although you should tip the cake delivery person. As for the caterer, check your contract. In my contract there is a 22% gratuity that is already included in the final bill that actually goes to service staff.

eta:spelling

If someone goes over the top for you, then tip them! If your photographer led you to a hidden gem for your first look, your dj found that obscure track you never thought you'd hear, your officiant is fabulous ( ;-0) of course you can!

As far as venue staff (Jennifer and Delisa) what the venue calls a gratuity may be a salary charge. It pays to find out. Very often it is not a tip; it's their pay. I hate that shit, but many venues do that.

I've never understood the "don't tip an owner" mindset. That individual is probably a small business owner who has truly gone above and beyond to deliver perfection to the client. Why they are routinely slighted in favor of a hireling who sets up the owner's creations and heads home without worrying about word of mouth referrals or reviews (we're florists, so that's the place I'm coming from) is a mystery to me. Nobody cares more about a client's opinion than a small business owner. The more they earn, the more income they have to employ others.

We don't rely on tips. We charge the industry standard for our work and time. However, at least half of the time we receive tips -- and as I said last week -- those tips range from $40 to $1,000 plus. If you truly believe that your vendor delivered something that brought tears to your eyes or countless compliments from your guests, it's nice to let them know that you valued that kind of reaction.

Or don't. It's entirely up to the client. Some are generous beyond belief, and some are so frustratingly cheap that you know, on the day of the wedding, that the money grab is coming (an unsuccessful attempt to recoup their vendor expenses) after the couple finally realizes that their wedding expenses vs. gifts left them completely in the red.

Following.

Celia, can you explain the logic? What is the difference between [photo, DJ, cake, officiant] and [MUA, pianist, catering, delivery]?

@celia thanks!

What about a band? Do you tip them? Geeezzzz....I'm starting to feel stressed out!

So.. I'm starting to feel like tipping is not necessary (besides hair and food/bar) unless someone goes above and beyond?? I'm a huge review person, so I am for sure going to do that for all of my vendors. I'm not going to be at the reception when the cake arrives, should I have a tip set up for them?

I hope there is tip included in my catering so I don't have to worry about it.

Following. I will want to go back to this later

Yes- if you have a band- tip the band. or musician.

Standard 20% for hair/makeup, same as a salon service. If she uses assistants, you can slip them 5 or 10 bucks each if you're feeling generous (as you would a shampoo person found in some salons), though its not 100% needed.

#TipJar and I would just say the makeup artist. BUT protocol or etiquette.. who cares Anyone will accept a tip. so just decide on who you want to give it to, not what it proper.

No @Sandra M. No tip jar, sorry. Along the same lines as a cash bar, guests should not be pulling out their wallets at weddings. If a guest does that without a prompt you can't stop them, but putting out a tip jar says to you guests that they should be tipping. You are supposed to tip the workers, not your guests.

What about photobooth attendant and coat checker?

Holly.....I don't have logic, lol.....(this biz is an illogical one, in case you haven't figured that out yet!)

Some thoughts....

I think, as Niki said, MUA and hair is a service that usually includes a tip.

Bartenders, tip jar or no, will usually get tipped by the guests, but I hate seeing an obvious tip jar or a pile of bills building on the bar. Coat check, usually the same.....

I always tip delivery people, and I think that's just common courtesy.

I think (in some of these weird, gray area cases) it really comes down this; did the vendor exceed your expectations? Did they talk you off the ledge? Did they find the obscure version of that song, or make sure they had Hires root beer on ice for your dad? These are the marks of exceptional service and you may want to reward those people with a tip, though I will still tell you that a great review is the best thank you.