June 2013 brides- what are you doing?

[safety75]

I have no idea what the guidelines are.... A friend that got married in January tipped as following:  

 

$50 for the coordinator, $20 or so for the hair, $100 for the waitstaff, $50 for DJ and $50 for photog

[pmkaraan]

I tipped the hair & makeup artist $40- she was really good...photographer $50...wedding coordinator $100

[agm04]

Ooh so maybe I don't need to tip the coordinator so much. But she has been so amazing I feel like I need to make her feel as loved as she is.

[agm04]

I'm leaving in 2 days!!!!!!! Let's not talk about how I haven't packed anything but OOT bag stuff. I didn't have enough luggage and had to order some, and it's not arriving until today. How's that for last minute? Haha.

[Jessica4LUXE]

Hi Safety75 and others!!

 

From our experiece, and brides feedback, we have come up with the following guidelines for tipping!

 

Makeup Artist and/or Hair Stylists: 15 to 25% of your total bill is standard – tip as you would your regular hair stylist!

 

Officiant: If the officiant is affiliated with a religious establishment, then you should plan on making a donation to that institution for at least $100. When hiring a non-denominational minister, no tip is required, however you might choose to tip $50 if the minister was above and beyond. Since you do not want to be handling money during the ceremony, if you plan on tipping the officiant, hand it to them at the Rehearsal or give it to the Best Man to handle.

 

Ceremony & Reception Musicians: Musicians & DJ tipping is really based on the quality of the performance and not always required. Standard tips depend on the type of musician:
Singer & DJ’s: $20-$80

Each member of a Band: $5-10 per hour

Solo Instrumentalist: $30-50

 

Photographer/Videographer: Tipping your photographer or videographer is entirely dependent on whether they own their own company or not. If they own their own company, he/she will be keeping most of the fee and the tip is completely optional. If he/she is the employee of a company, depending on the amount of time spent, plan on leaving a tip for $50-100.

 

Bartenders & Catering Staff: Majority of the time, service fees, gratuities or tips are included in your contract. Make sure you check this prior to allotting more money. If there is not mention in your contract, consider leaving $20-25 per bartender or 10% of the total liquor bill. The catering staff should be tipped 15-20% of your total bill. Always hand this to the head bartender or waiter to allow equal division among the staff. If you choose to add a tip, you can pay in advance to management so that you do not have to worry about this at the close of the reception.

 

Wedding Coordinator – Like your photographer/videographer, if he/she owns their own company, then leaving a tip is completely optional. If he/she is an employee, such as a coordinator assigned to you by the venue, $50.00 to $100.00 is a recommended. Remember, if your coordinator put in a lot of hours for your larger, more extravagant wedding, the tip should be adjusted and dependent on the total wedding budget.

 

Lastly, there are a number of vendors that do not typically expect a tip: wedding stationer, bridal shop, seamstress for alterations, cake baker and florist. It if always up to you whether or not to tack on an additional amount for any vendor who has done an amazing job! These fees can add up and planning ahead will make sure there are no surprises!

 

Happy Planning!

[Jamie613]

This is helpful - thank you!

 

I know I'm not really a poster - generally not something I'm super comfortable with.  But we leave tomorrow for Curacao, and I wanted to say thank you to all the ladies here and congrats!  Reading this board has both kept me sane and helped me keep track of some of the details.  Good luck to those who are just getting ready to leave, and congrats to the ladies who have already returned!
 

[kard613]

Congrats Jamie! Soak up every minute of your day! I picked up my dress today (and fell in love with it all over again), I finished clothes shopping (for real, I'm not buying another thing...I think and I made my nails, and waxing appointments for next week. Coming into the homestretch and I'm feeling good about things, only thing I forgot (so far) was table numbers but I think I may just go by wooden numbers and paint them and add glitter to them and the somehow get them to lean up against something

[Billandstina]

Well girls...today's the day and I've been completely calm but the butterflies are starting to form! Lol! Silly really...just excited! Lol! Hoping the weather stays beautiful and the day goes off without a hitch! Good luck to the rest of the brides this weekend too!

[agm04]

Originally Posted by Billandstina 

 

Well girls...today's the day and I've been completely calm but the butterflies are starting to form! Lol! Silly really...just excited! Lol! Hoping the weather stays beautiful and the day goes off without a hitch! Good luck to the rest of the brides this weekend too!

Happy wedding day!! Best of luck for a perfect-for-you day!

[Billandstina]

Best day ever!!!! Girls...it'll all be beautiful!! Destination weddings are definitely the way to go!! Everyone knew everyone and everyone had a blast!! The day FLEW by and it all still seems like a dream! All that stress for nothing...it was perfect!