How to Tip Your Wedding Vendors

Wedding Vendor Tipping Real-Talk

Let’s be honest: there are many aspects of wedding planning that can seem overwhelming or complicated.

If you’re in the thick of organizing your big day, you most likely have a lot on your plate. You’ve budgeted for and booked your wedding vendors, but have you felt stumped when it comes to tipping? Instead of spending hours searching the internet for the best tipping practices, we’ve put together a simple guide to help you decide how you want to handle tips.

This blog post is just a sneak peek into our Wedding Vendor Tipping Guide, where we spill everything we know and you need to know about giving your vendors a little extra. I want to start this off by being completely honest with you here: I think tipping is actually pretty convoluted. My husband and I talk about this all the time because he’s from Australia where tipping really isn’t common.

Having said that, it's important to note that tipping is a huge part of our society here in the United States and is very commonly seen in the wedding industry as well. There are definitely times when giving tips may be unnecessary, but often they can be a great way to show appreciation for a job well done.

As you get closer to your wedding day and start to freak out about wedding vendor tips, you may want to take these four suggestions into account: 

Tipping Isn’t Mandatory.

The truth of the matter is that at the end of the day, a tip is an optional way to thank your vendors. If a business doesn’t meet your expectations or your bank is far past broke after paying for the rest of your wedding, you are not obligated to pay extra. Fulfilling your contract and paying the price you agreed upon is completely acceptable. In fact, the elective nature of tips is what makes it a meaningful practice when a client does decide to give a tip.

Read (and Re-Read) Your Contracts.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to go through your contracts with a fine tooth comb and really understand what you’re paying for. (Just a tip from me to you, this is especially true with catering and bar services.) Some companies will actually build in tips through service charges or another line item on your invoice. Be sure you fully agree with all the terms of any contract you sign and are aware of what services you are paying for. When in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask!

Take It One Vendor at a Time.

If you’ve booked a long list of your favorite wedding vendors and want to be sure to tip them all, make sure to track who you’re working with. We highly recommend making a list of all your vendors on a spreadsheet or document so it’s easy to see them all listed. Remember that some venues have catering and bar built into their services, so if you’re going to tip the venue managers, consider the staff that was also onsite that evening.  

Consider Tipping in Cash.

Let’s face it, the last thing you want to do after your wedding is run around making sure your vendors have been tipped. We are big fans of putting cash tips in envelopes and handing them out after your vendor’s service is completed. This will usually typically be done at the end of your wedding day (unless a vendor is only onsite for setup) and you can give them the tips personally or have your wedding planner or coordinator hand them out throughout the night. You can also add a tip to most final invoices if that ends up being the route you want to take.

Give Thanks in Other Ways.

Sometimes giving monetary tips isn’t something you want or can afford to do, and that’s totally fine! There are other thoughtful ways you can thank your vendors, like a small gift, a handwritten note, or a meaningful review. Take it from a wedding vendor: client reviews are truly the backbone of our success as small businesses. They provide brand awareness and showcase our strengths to potential clients in a way that nothing else can. A kind review is priceless. 

I sincerely hope these ideas were helpful to you! If you are in need of a specific breakdown of how to tip your wedding vendors, check out our Wedding Vendor Tipping Guide. You can find it here. In the two page guide, we walk through each vendor type, recommended tipping amounts, some general tipping protocols, and other valuable notes to help you prep for your wedding day celebrations.

xoxo,

Amanda