Dos Goats here with some more wedding planning advice, this one has been one of our most asked questions lately, so we thought we would write a blog on it! Over the years, we have updated this, as weddings are always evolving, the topic is a fun one… Tipping your vendors!

We get it, weddings are hella expensive (We are in the middle of planning ours, so we feel the pain!) When you have already spent so much money, it is hard to believe you are expected to shelve out even more! So we want to get into this and say, you are not required to give any of your vendors a tip, but there are some vendors where it is pretty standard, as well as some, that you can decide on later.

It takes a village to pull off a wedding, and that village is a team of professional wedding vendors who put their hearts into their work, so we thought we would give a little run down on what is customary when it comes to tipping your wedding vendors!

For starters, gratuities doesn’t always have to mean cash money… There are other ways to show your appreciation. Reviews on Google, and other wedding websites is the best, and if you are tight on money towards the end of planning, don’t feel bad if that is your form or gratitude.

Small gifts are a great way to show your appreciation, when couples get us crystals, it is so kind hearted! Find out what your vendor loves and get them something nice!

The best way to hand out gratuities to your vendors, put it in envelopes, labeled, and make sure your coordinator has them at the beginning of the day!

People you should always tip!

Delivery set-up and tear-down crews

Chairs, tables, linens, decor, lounge furniture, lighting, arches - If someone is coming out and delivering these items to you, you typically would want to leave them a tip.

How much?

$25-$50 For them to divvy up is standard.

Floral delivery that includes set-up / tear-down

If your florist is delivering, setting up your ceremony space, reception space, as well as coming back at the end of the night, you would typically leave them something.

How much?

$35 - $75 per person

Note - If they are charging you extra to do the set up and tear down, you might want to opt out of giving them cash, and give them a gift card or small gift instead?

Officiant

If you are getting married in a church, it is custom to leave a donation to the church, we typically see it around $350 - $500.

If it is a friend or if you hired and they need to get ordained, pay for those fees. If it is a professional service, it is custom to give them a cash tip.

How much?

$75 - $100 is standard

Dessert delivery & set-up

If you have your dessert company coming out and setting up the stands, and desserts, it is always nice to leave them a little tip!

How much?

$25 is standard

Hair & Makeup

Always tip your hair and makeup team! They are keeping you looking freshy fresh through out your wedding day! P.S. check to make sure it’s not already built into their invoice!

Photo https://esterknowlen.com/ | Hair http://hair-by-theresa.com/ | Makeup https://www.makeupbymindie.com/

How much?

$25-$30 per person is standard

Bartender

Tipping your bartender will depend on the type of bar you envision having. If you have an open bar, but they have tip jars, then you don’t have to worry about an extra tip, but if they do not have a tip jar, then it is standard to tip $150 per bartender.

Optional Tips

We call these optional because they tend to be the more expensive vendors, but again, if you had a wonderful experience with them and they went above and beyond to make your day special, you might want to give them something!

Band or DJ

If they kept your party high vibe and hopping, consider leaving them a small tip - $30-50 per person is standard for a band… DJ’s we would say $150-$200 is standard!

If you have a band and they have a sound guy or someone that works the Emceeing for you, you should leave that person a small tip, typically $50 - $75

Photographer & Videographer

This section is a total edit because over the years, we have seen a shift in what people consider standard and we feel it’s important to keep things up to date.

We think that a small gift or Cash is great for your photographer, especially if they kept the timeline on track in terms of photos, and were a joy to work with… We also think it’s ok to save the tip until after you get your photos back, so keep that in mind.

$100-$150 per photographer

If your photographer comes with a second shooter, it is always nice to leave them something. - $75 - $100 is standard for a second shooter.

Photobooth Attendant

If your photobooth person is awesome, lively, and is able to get people over to take photos, you should definitely consider giving them something.

Photographer https://alexandrarobyn.com/ | Photo booth https://thesnapshotphotocamper.com/

How Much?

$25

Coordinator / Planner

As planners, we don’t like to boast that tips are standard, we have seen some companies have a set gratuity that they build in… We don’t believe in built in tips, we are all about working for them, so if you loved working with your planner, they made the planning process easy and stress free, and you just loved us, then we are always so dang grateful to get a tip from you! Standard is $100-$125 per person.

Catering staff

This is a hard one because every catering company is different. Some use the service charge and part of that goes to the serving staff as a built in gratuity… We always say that it’s never a bad idea to make envelopes with catering staff in mind, and if they went above and beyond, leave them one to divvy up between the staff. - Typically $25 per staff member, or just give it to the ones that stood out the most to you.

Venue coordinator

We again leave this up to you, if you feel like your venue coordinator went above and beyond, a small gift is nice!

We hope this list brought you a sense of calmness and answered some of your big tipping questions! We are always here to help as well, so if you have any questions about who you should be tipping, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Stay Weird!

Dos Goats Plans