How Much to Tip Wedding Vendors: A Table by Vendor, and When Not to Tip

Tip hair and makeup artists, catering staff and drivers 15 to 20% unless the contract already includes gratuity, and give servers, bartenders and musicians a flat $20 to $50 each. Owner-operators such as photographers, planners and florists are usually optional. Before you budget anything, read your contracts, because the biggest tip on your list may already be there.

Published guides disagree on several vendors, so the table below shows the range from Zola and WeddingWire and flags the disagreement. To total yours, use the wedding vendor tip calculator.

Wedding vendor tipping table

Note that WeddingWire's guide dates from 2020, so treat its amounts as a floor, not a ceiling.

Check every contract first

This step can save or cost you more than anything else on the list, and it takes twenty minutes.

Search each contract for the words "gratuity", "staff gratuity" and "service charge". Zola's guide says caterers, transportation providers, all-inclusive venues and hotel room-block services often include gratuity.

Three outcomes are possible.

• It says gratuity is included. You do not owe a tip. You may add more for great service, but it is a choice.
• It says service charge. Do not assume anything. Zola notes that service charges usually go to the business for overhead rather than the staff.
• It says nothing. Budget the tip yourself.

If the wording is vague, send your venue or caterer this:

Quick question on our contract. Does the service charge on our invoice go to the staff working our event as a gratuity, or does it go to the company? We want to make sure the team is looked after properly.

Get the answer in writing, then file it with the contract.

Worked example: a real tip budget

Here is a mid-size wedding using the Zola Wedding Cost Index average of $982 for hair and makeup. Assume the catering contract already includes gratuity, and that the shuttle is $800.

Now change one thing. If catering averages $6,927 and gratuity is not included, an 18% tip adds $1,247, and the total more than doubles to $2,122. That is why the contract check comes first.

Zola suggests setting aside 5 to 10% of your total budget for extras, including tips. Give tips their own line now, alongside the categories in our wedding budget breakdown.

How to decide on the optional tips

The table leaves room for judgment on owners and creative vendors. This rule keeps it simple:

• An employee working for someone else: tip. They do not set the price and they do not keep it.
• An owner setting their own rates: tip only if they went beyond what the contract says. Staying late without charging overtime, fixing a problem you never heard about or rescuing the timeline all qualify.
• Someone you only dealt with by email: a tip is not expected. A florist or stationer who did their job has been paid for it.

Zola puts it plainly: planners, photographers and other owners do not expect tips, and it notes nearly half of couples do not tip a planner. You are not being stingy if you skip one.

The logistics of tipping

Tips usually go wrong on the day itself, and an organized half hour the week before prevents that.

1. Build your list. Use the table above, cross out anything your contracts cover, and put the rest in the tip calculator.
2. Get cash about two weeks early. Zola suggests mostly $20s and $50s, with some $10s. Ask vendors if they would rather take a digital payment.
3. Use labeled envelopes. Write the vendor name and amount on each one. Add a short note if you can.
4. Pick one person to hand them out. Your planner, a member of the wedding party or a family member. It should not be you.
5. Give that person a sheet. List vendor, amount, timing, and a phone number for each. Add the handoff moments to your wedding day timeline.
6. Keep a spare stack of $20s. Someone will always turn up who was not on your list.
7. Hold back what can wait. Zola notes a photographer's tip can go when the final photos arrive, so you can decide then.

Destination wedding? WeddingWire suggests tipping in the local currency where you can, and checking local custom with your coordinator.

Awkward tipping situations

The vendor is a friend or relative. If they gave you a discount or did the job as a gift, skip the cash and give a real present or a generous note instead. If they charged full price and have staff working for them, tip the staff.

Service was poor. Tips are for good service, so you can reduce or skip a discretionary one. Do raise the problem with the vendor first, and keep the conversation separate from the envelope. A server should not lose out because the kitchen ran late.

You had a trial run. Zola says to tip for the hair and makeup trial too. Pay it at the trial, at the same percentage.

Someone on the list did not show up. Take the envelope back. Your point person should return any unused cash to you with the list, so nothing goes missing.

The budget has run out. Prioritize people who work for hourly wages or for someone else: servers, bartenders, drivers and delivery crews. Owners can receive a thank you note and a review.

Appreciation that costs nothing

Many small vendors value these as much as cash, and Zola lists several: reviews, referrals, tagging them on social media, thank you notes and paying invoices on time.

A specific review that names the person and what they did can bring a small business real work for years. If you are already writing thank you cards, add your vendors to the list. A short note to the coordinator who fixed the seating chart is cheap and remembered.