Tipping?

Jen889,
I would have to say the same cause i didn't have extra money to tip and i Personally gave all my vendors a thank you card. They had appreciated it a lot. For those tipping, 15% seems the same amount your paying for the tax on top of the service the vendors are providing. Give something than nothing.

View quoted message No I totally understand what you are coming from. I just don't want to insult them by not tipping the standard 15%. This is so difficult!

View quoted message I think that with a business with precarious hours and payment like photography or hair (services that rely on bookings), cash tips are more appropriate. I see it as they are not compensated the same way as other careers are/don’t receive the same kind of benefits, so the cash is to compensate for those kinds of things. This being said I’m not a photographer or esthetician so idk what would truly be appreciated! This is just what I know from my education in social justice I’m sure anything is appreciated.

View quoted message I am contemplating maybe a gift basket! I don't want to insult her because I don't want to tip her not enough lol so difficult!!

View quoted message Yeah I plan to tip my photographer too. Just haven't decided how much yet.

View quoted message Yes that's what I figured! I was thinking maybe a card and a gift card to a nice restaurant or something? Or a nice spa basket or something cute like that?

View quoted message Absolutely. I think anyone in an independently business with precarious hours/who is providing individualized service deserves a tip IMO. May not be a full 15% tho. I don’t think that’s totally necessary for a pricey service, but I’ll be giving some sort of token if appreciation

View quoted message Oh that sounds awesome! I'm so unsure about tipping certain services though! Like will you tip your photographer too? And would you be doing 15% or just a card with a gift card or something?

View quoted message Will you tip your photographer as well? If you don't mind me asking!! I feel like I'm already paying a lot and don't know if I can afford paying a 15% tip.

View quoted message I'm not really sure! This is hard!! Haha that's what I was thinking about for the photographer too! I was wanting to tip the cake maker I think!

I think all services should get a tip, not all should get the same amount but we definitely will be giving each of our services a tip. I'm even tipping our venue because she is doubling as a wedding planner for the whole month as well as giving us access to the venue for the whole week!

I think ALL services should be tipped, always. No ifs, ands or buts.

Only exception would probably be the venue, but we will be tipping the servers/bartenders.

Should we tip all vendors?!? I was thinking that the photographer, cake maker etc own their own businesses, so I wouldn’t tip them. Is it really that expected?!?

View quoted message Yes definitely agree! As soon as something has wedding in it, it inflates the price like crazy! And okay sounds great! Thank you cards sound like a really good idea and recommendations on social media outlets will probably be most appropriate.

View quoted message My venue is just a hall in the country so we don't really have a bunch of aspects included in them like some weddings in the city have. That's why I'm super unsure of who to tip! And okay! Glad I'm not the only one who thinks 15% is a little much! I was planning on tipping hair and makeup or giving them a gift. But I'm unsure of our photographer as we've already payed quite a bit of money for it. I definitely love the photos! But 15% for over $3000 is a tad expensive I think lol

I’d recommend speaking with whomever you booked your venue with (some venues already include tips within the price), and as for hair and makeup artists, a tip will ALWAYS be appreciated, therefore I’d say tip them.

As for the DJ and whatnot, 15% is a little steep, so I’d say tip appropriately according to what you can afford.

Good luck!

View quoted message Most clients don't as they know it's my business. People don't tip the business owner as all the profit goes to us directly. When I go to a spa for a treat I do tip the girls as I know how much they make and they rely on tips. It's all about balance. For weddings, I think it's blown out of proportion. Usually, we are already paying more as it's a wedding. Vendors tend to raise prices when they hear the word wedding.

I think a thank you card is appropriate. It's what I will be doing. Business wise, I would prefer a thank you card over a tip as it's personal, just as I would prefer a recommendation over a tip.

View quoted message People don't tip you in your business? I've always been taught etiquette when it comes to spa things. I'm very surprised that many people do not tip. But I totally understand where you are coming from in respect to pricing things accordingly! From a business perspective, would it be appropriate for me to give a thank you card thanking them for their services the day of the wedding? Or would that be weird? I just feel like I need to do something other than just booking their services, if you know what I mean? Thank you for your opinion! It is much appreciated!

The tipping etiquette in North America is insane! If the person works for themselves, they have priced their product accordingly and therefore don't need to rely on a tip. If the person is there from a company they are already getting paid to be there, why are you tipping? Do you too retail staff? No. And that's how it should be looked at. I own my own spa, I'm a solo esthetician and my prices are built that I don't need to rely on tips and most people don't.

I won't be tipping anyone except for the caterer as its included in the price and they have wait staff so the minimum wage is lower as they rely on tips. The other is the limo driver, which is also already included in the price. That being said all of our vendors run their own business. My "thank you" is the fact that I've already booked you as I found your work/food/service wonderful and I will recommend you like crazy to everyone. It spans back to pricing accordingly.

I know my view is seen as rude. But from a business owner point of view, it's the one that makes sense to me.

View quoted message No I definitely know what you mean!! It adds up quick so totally understand where you are coming from! I honestly believe tipping is great etiquette but I also don't want to have to spend an arm and a leg on tipping when that money could have gotten me a videographer and photo booth. And I agree I don't want to seem cheap either! I think I may tip the bartenders at the end of the night though (depending on the quality of their work, but it's still hard to allocate how much lol)

Following!

I'm confused on tipping for sure! When the photographer charges 1000$ and the DJ charges $600 you should tip 15% on top of this? Including the venue who supplies bar and wait staff? If I tip 15% off of 20000$ it's $3000! Even though it's a service you are paying for. I get the hair and the makeup, others I'm confused about! So any light shed would be great!

Im also not trying to cheap out or anything, just trying to budget accordingly and both family and friends weren't sure it was a thing!

View quoted message Oh okay!! What kind of gifts if you don't mind me asking? In some ways I feel like I need to tip some vendors but others not so much. But I'm not so sure! Every time I go to my nail tech I tip her or to get my hair done. So I'm thinking maybe the ones who are working physically on us (makeup, hair, and nails maybe?).

View quoted message Okay thanks!! How much does the average person tip? Around 15% or generally more? I'm just thinking like restaurant etiquette or is there a limit? I don't exactly feel comfortable tipping 15% for $3000 if you know what I mean? That might mean I need to reevaluate my budget lol

Personally I can only offer you my American perspective, where we tip just about everyone, all the time, lol!

Professionally, I can refer you to the WeddingWire ultimate tipping guide to help point you in the right direction.

My cousin works as a wedding coordinator and she said that she very rarely receives tips and never expects them, she said that all the vendors agree as well.

We wont be giving tips, however I am giving my hairdresser a small gift because she is taking a day off of work to do my hair for the wedding.