Should You Tip Wedding Photographers & Other Wedding Vendors?
Tipping culture in the US can be confusing and a bit all over the place and when it comes to your wedding, more confusion and stress is definitely not what you want. If you are finding yourself asking questions like “Should you tip wedding photographers?” or “What vendors do you actually tip?” I’ve got you covered.
As the wedding photographer on the other end of this conversation, I can give you a peek behind the curtain as to what your wedding vendors expect when it comes to tipping. Spoiler alert, it may be a bit different than what you’re thinking.
Should You Tip Wedding Photographers?
Typically, you’re not expected to tip photographers or videographers for your wedding. Most photographers and videographers own their own studios and set their own prices. This means they are setting the prices at a rate where they don’t expect you to tip just so that they can break even or make money.
However, if you’ve hired a photographer from a larger company (like Yellowpaddle) where they’re not setting their own prices, that’s a different story. In this case, tipping is definitely more common (think about how you would tip a server at a restaurant).
Either way, tipping is a great way to show your appreciation for your photographer and all of the work that they have put into your wedding. You also don’t have to feel like you have to tip massive amounts of money.
Tipping anywhere from $50-$200 depending on the size of your wedding is a great way to say thank you without feeling like you’re breaking the bank. It also doesn’t have to be money that you tip them with. Sending your photographers or videographers a small gift after the wedding is another great way to show your appreciation for all that they have done.
And honestly, the best tip you can leave your photographer, videographer, or any other vendor at your wedding is a glowing review!
What About Other Vendors
Wedding photographers and videographers are just going to be one small part of your wedding vendor team. When it comes to all of those other vendors, do you tip them as well? How much should you tip them?
Similar to photographers, most wedding vendors aren’t going to expect you to tip them. It’s a great way to say thank you, but they’re not going to walk away with a sour taste in their mouths if you don’t tip them. The one vendor that most people will tip is going to be a wedding planner.
Wedding Planners
Wedding planners are going to have been with you through it all, helping you plan every single detail of your dream wedding. Most of them will also be there throughout your entire wedding day helping to coordinate all of the other vendors and make sure your day goes off without a hitch (or at least as close to that as you can get with the unpredictability of weddings). Because of this, it may be a good idea to work into your budget a tip for your wedding planner.
Guidelines Around Tipping Planners
This can be a flat amount or you can do a percentage of your total package with them. Anywhere from a 10%-20% tip is the average that you’re going to see when it comes to tipping them.
Again, you can also do other types of gifts for your planner and all of your other vendors. This is a great way to show your appreciation in a different way and give them something that is meaningful to them.
Hair & Make-Up Artists
To look and feel your best during your wedding, you may have a hair and make-up artist come in on your wedding day. You probably tip your hair stylist when you go and get your hair done normally so maybe you want to tip them an extra 15%-20% on your wedding day for helping you and your wedding parties look and feel their best.
Florists
Whether you go all out or keep it simple, the flower arrangements that your florists create are definitely going to be highlighted in one way or another during your wedding. So, adding a small tip on top of what you invest with your florist is a great way to show just how much you love their work.
For florists, you can tip a flat rate ranging anywhere from $50 to $100 or $200. If your florist did play a bigger part in your wedding and create not only your bouquets, but also centerpieces, floral arrangements for the ceremony, etc, you can think about tipping more on the higher end of that range!
Officiants, Caterers, DJs, and Bartenders
All of these vendors play a big role in your ceremony or reception being exactly what you imagined. Your officiant is going to control the flow of your ceremony, your DJ is going to most likely emcee and make sure your reception vibes are always on point. Your caterer and bartenders are going to make sure that you and all of your guests always have a full cup and are well-fed.
These are all such important parts of your wedding and a great vendor here can really take your wedding to the next level. So, tipping all of these vendors as a thank you is a great way to show your appreciation.
The Importance of Reading Your Contract
It is very important that before you look at tipping your vendors, you make sure to read your contract to see if gratuity is already outlined in your contract. For some vendors, like your caterers and bartenders, it is a bit more common to see something in their contract about this so be sure to keep an eye out for this.
Also take the time to understand what it is actually saying. Some contracts will actually say that the gratuity is included in your investment and others may lay out whether or not a tip is expected or not.
How to Tip with All-Inclusive Packages
When you are planning your wedding, you may find that you end up booking an all-inclusive package or one that includes multiple vendors. Most of the time you are going to see these with venues that include things like catering, bartenders, or even your cake.
If that is the case and you want to tip your vendors, the best way to do it is to have a flat rate for all of the individuals who played a part in the day. So, even if all of the food and drinks were included in your venue, you can still tip the catering team and bartending team at the venue individually based on just a flat rate!
Budgeting for Tips
If you do decide that you want to tip your wedding vendors, I would definitely recommend building that into your total budget. This way, as you hire more and more of your vendors, you know exactly what you’re going to be spending each part of your budget on and can make sure to set the tip money aside until your wedding day.
These numbers can change slightly and if one of your vendors really blows you out of the water you may want to give them a bigger tip, but having this set up beforehand can help keep you organized and on track. You can also let your wedding planner know how much you’re planning on tipping each vendor so they can make sure to account for that as they’re giving your recommendations!
When to Tip Wedding Vendors?
You now know if you’re going to tip any of your vendors and what you’re going to tip them, but when do you tip wedding vendors? The answer to this question depends on what kind of tip you’re going to give to them.
If you’re planning on giving them a gift vs a cash tip, it’s totally normal to send this after the wedding or even after you get back from your honeymoon. While you can try to bring this with you on your wedding day, with everything going on it can be hard to keep track of everything and make sure all of your vendors walk away with what you gave them.
If you’re giving a cash tip, however, this is totally okay to give on your wedding day. Odds are, all of the vendors that you want to tip are going to be at your venue at one point during the day, so you can just give them the tip there.
I will say, you’re going to have so much going on that it’s a great idea to give someone else in your wedding party the task of handing out the tips. You can separate them all into envelopes marked with who’s supposed to get them to make handing them out quick and easy and you can just focus on getting married!
If getting that to your vendors on the day of your wedding feels a bit too overwhelming, you can always send it after the wedding in a thank you card to let them know how much you appreciated them being a part of your day.
Final Thoughts on Tipping Wedding Vendors
Should you tip wedding photographers and other vendors? The answer is yes, if you want to but it’s not something that your vendors are going to expect. They’re there to make your wedding day everything you ever dreamed of and it’s a great way to show your appreciation, but is definitely not required!
If you’re still looking for that perfect photographer to be part of your wedding vendor team and capture this special day for you, I’d love to chat. You can click here to learn more about my wedding photography services or you can head over here to get in touch and chat about your plans for your big day!
