How to tip event professionals
How to tip event professionals
Every time we produce an event, our clients ask us about tips and I have been wanting to write about this for long time. Please remember that tips are discretionary. When our clients want to tip, we ask them to place the tip inside a sealed envelope with the vendor’s name written on the outside. I prefer to hand these out at the beginning of the event – it seems to put a smile on everyone’s face and a add skip to their step:)
Rewarding event professionals is a thank-you for a job well done. While some of your event professionals include gratuities in their fees, many will leave that gratuity up to you. The type of service they provide can help determine the range of that fee. Gratuity can add up quickly, so we recommend doing a spreadsheet and talking with your event planner. Caterers can range from $300 to $700 – it depends on your number of guests and your type of event. I believe that your tips should be handed out by your event planner to the Captain at the early stages of your event. These tips will put a everyone in a great mood and change your event from great to off-the-charts.
Officiants
While it isn’t necessary to tip priests, ministers, rabbis, or other religious officiants (many of them, in fact, won’t accept cash tips),but you want to thank them for their services, consider making a donation to their organization or house of worship. A typical amount is $75 to $100, separate from any fee you may be charged for the officiant’s time.
Catering Staff
Many caterers include a gratuity in their contract to be divided up among the workers, but be sure to ask. If the gratuity isn’t included, plan on tipping all staff members, including the catering or banquet manager, waiters, bartenders, chefs, and other essential workers who help serve guests.
Musicians and DJs
Tipping customs vary, depending on whether you hire an independent band or DJ or book through an agency.
Stylists and Makeup Artists
Even though it’s a particularly special day, you can still tip stylists and makeup artists as you would for a regular appointment — 18 to 20 percent. For each assistant who helps with secondary tasks, such as shampooing, plan on giving a gratuity of $5 to $10.
Photographer, Videographer and Florist
We find that a tip of $50 to $75 per person is a very fair tip.
Site Staff
Wherever you have your wedding, there will likely be many behind-the-scenes workers, such as coat checkers, bathroom attendants, or valets. Make sure you do not overlook these people — while you may not have much contact with them throughout the celebration, they help keep things moving and your guests comfortable. Before the wedding, ask the valet manager to instruct workers not to accept any tips from guests. Instead, make arrangements to tip them yourself. Assign your event planner to pay the coat checkers a total of $1 to $2 per guest, which they can share. Powder-room attendants should receive $1 per guest, to be divided among them. Set aside $2 per car to give to the valet manager, who can then divide up the cash among the valets.
Delivery Staff
Though they won’t actually be at the wedding, these workers’ roles are just as important, so please be sure to thank them in some way.
The people delivering the flowers and cake should receive at least $5-10 each at the time they make their deliveries. A gratuity for your limousine driver may already be included in your bill, but if it’s not, consider giving a tip of 18 to 20 percent of the cost (you can add this to the the bill).
Seamstresses –
For your seamstress, a cash tip is appreciated. We recommend that you hire them to be onsite while you and your wedding party is getting ready and budget 15%-20% of their invoice.
