What Wedding Vendors Should You Tip?
With it being the 21st century and living in a capitalist gig economy, tipping has become the norm in the States, and it provides a livable wage for a lot of people. But who should you tip out of all of your wedding vendors? This is a very common question that I hear from a lot of different couples!
Tipping your wedding vendors is a relatively new concept, and it didn’t start becoming more common (in my experience) until after 2017. For me, I never expect tips. It may be nice, sure, but it’s not something I expect like a bartender would. Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome when a couple thinks I did work that’s worthy of tipping! But I know what kind of value I provide to my couples and what livable wage I need to feed my fat cats, and I charge accordingly.
You probably heard the idea that if a vendor owns their own business, you don't have to tip them, but you should probably tip their employees. I don't really know where that idea came from, but I don't necessarily disagree with it – and I’m someone who owns their own business! But personally? I’d rather have a 5-star review from you, singing my praises. Those kinds of reviews will help me book future amazing couples! I also pay my second photographers and assistants very well, so there should never be any pressure from my client to tip. However, if my clients feel like anyone from my team went above and beyond, I would never want to stop them from tipping as they’d like to!
I always think that you should tip bartenders and caterers of course, but usually there's a service fee included in your final bill. The service industry in the wedding-world is just like the service industry in the non-wedding world, so they may have tip jars out for your guests to fill as well. This is normal and should be expected! The same goes for live musicians, too.
Ultimately, tipping comes down to who you as the couple felt earned it. Nine times out of ten, you’ll automatically pay a service fee, like a gratuity, for your bar and catering vendors. Most other service vendors, like photo, video, planning, and florals, won’t expect you to tip, but also won’t refuse it if you do.
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