Who do you tip at a wedding? It’s a good question and below you’ll find a free resource for who to tip what.
Please note: By this point in wedding planning, you’ve likely spent a whole lot of money so if tips don't make sense, they don't make sense. A glowing online review is also a great way to say thank you to your vendor team.
If anyone on this list has an assistant, typically you tip the lead contact and they distribute the tip accordingly unless you prefer to tip each person separately.
Want to download this for free? Here’s the Google Doc. You might also get value from my book.
Bar (only do if gratuity isn’t already included with catering, if a caterer is doing the bartending) — $15 to $20 per person (or OK any tip jar that the bar puts out)
Hair and/or makeup (highly recommended) — 15 to 20 percent of total balance
Florist (nice if they’ve been awesome and/or are coming early and/or staying late but not required) — 10 to 15 percent
Food (only do if gratuity isn’t already included) — 15 to 20 percent OR $30 to $50 per chef and $15 to $20 per server
Music (highly recommended because they’ve lugged so much equipment around) — band: $25 to $50 per band member and DJ: 10 to 15 percent
Officiant (nice if they’ve been awesome and aren’t a loved one but not required) — 10 to 15 percent or $100 donation to the institution where they’re ordained
If your officiant is a loved one, try a nice thank-you note and/or a $10 to $15 gift card
Photographer and/or Videographer (highly recommended because they herd a lot of cats) — 10 to 15 percent
Rental delivery (highly recommend if setup and/or teardown is involved though I’ve found folks rarely tip rental delivery people, unfortunately) — $10 to $15 per person (usually two to four people)
Transportation (only do if gratuity isn’t already included) — 10 to 15 percent
Venue staff (nice if they’ve been awesome but rarely expected) — $15 to $20 per person
Wedding planner or coordinator (nice if they’ve been awesome but not required) — 10 to 15 percent
Note: I always tell my clients that I’m free to dole out the actual tips (sometimes the couple, their VIPs, etc. would prefer to do this). When I’m put in charge of tipping, the couple usually gives me cash and tells me how much to tip each vendor when we meet for a rehearsal or early on the wedding day. Then, I tip each vendor as they wrap up service at the actual wedding.