Wedding Wisdom
Who to tip, how much, and when — so you head into your wedding day feeling prepared instead of scrambling at the end of the night.
There is SO much conflicting information out there about tipping — but I really believe being prepared ahead of time is the best way to avoid scrambling at the end of the night.
From a budgeting standpoint, too: if you know ahead of time, you can plan for it instead of being caught off guard. Here's how I walk my couples through it.
Honestly? Whoever you want. But here's the general lay of the land, vendor by vendor.
More often than not this is already built into your contract — because it's expected. Worth double-checking your paperwork so you don't tip twice.
They're still doing work for you after the wedding — building your galleries, editing photos and video. Any quality vendor will do a great job because that's what they're contracted to do, but they've still got hours ahead of them. If I were going to tip anyone, it'd be them.
For the most part this is expected — the same way you'd tip your stylist at the salon.
Not expected — but greatly appreciated. It's an extremely long, physically demanding day, and my team and I put our all into making sure everything runs smoothly and your day is wonderful. If you've pre-planned and have the ability, it's a lovely gesture.
People often say "tip anyone who stays," which can accidentally leave out your florist or limo driver. Depending on your décor, your florist may be doing a huge amount of setup work beyond just creating your pieces — so if you're in a tipping mood, don't forget about them!
100% your call. These folks are usually in and out quickly, and sometimes several things are happening at once so it's hard to even hand them an envelope. Always a nice gesture if you're tipping people anyway.
If you have it, 20% is lovely — but sometimes that turns into a really huge amount that just isn't realistic, especially if you've stretched your budget and some contracts are $5,000 or higher. Twenty percent of that is… a lot. So here's what I actually see most often:
$100 per person working is what I see most often tucked into envelopes — so a team of two might get $200.Or split it by role: $100 for the lead and $50 for their assistant or second. That's the lower-ish end depending on your original contracts.Really happy with a service? Go as high as you're comfortable — there's no ceiling on gratitude.Day-of deliveries (like cake) are a lower amount — tip like you would any delivery driver, since the person dropping off is almost never the one who made your items.All of this is a bit case by case, and some vendors feel differently than others. If you have questions about what's reasonable, what's too little, or what's too much, reach out to your planner/coordinator (that's me!) and we'll happily help you build a tipping plan that's appropriate for your vendors and reasonable for you.
Ask Maddie