Gratuity for wedding vendors is a subject that has various opinions, from various people. If you’re planning a wedding, quinceanera, or event, in our market (Austin & central Texas), or anywhere, then you’re likely wondering about gratuity for all your vendors.
Of all the tips and best practices, the most important thing is to be sure to read every contract, thoroughly. Many vendors actually require a certain percentage for gratuity, and it’s stated right in their contracts. We often see 18% – 25% added on to the total bill.
Should Gratuity be Required?
Is this fair? Depending on who you’re asking, the answers will vary. What if you’re not happy with your service? Are you still required to tip wedding/event vendors? That part doesn’t seem fair to us. Tipping should be completely optional, and it is with us.
We are certainly always happy to receive gratuity, but it’s never a requirement. Although, we do encourage our clients to tip if they feel like the service deserves it.
We are aware that many companies are owned and managed by completely different people than those who will actually work your event. So this is a way for those companies to offer a nice incentive to their employees, as part of working with the company.
The people who actually work your event usually get paid a small fraction of what your total cost is, in most cases. So any gratuity for wedding vendors is certainly appreciated by those staff members, of course.
ABDJs’ Gratuity Policy
I won’t take a side on whether a company should pay their staff more, to avoid the staff from depending on tips, but for us, this is what we choose to do. As a business, we want our staff and our clients to be happy.
We pay our DJ and photo booth staff very well, in order to keep them happy and so that they don’t have to depend on a tip. If they do get a tip, it’s a nice bonus, but never expected. So if you book with us, gratuity for wedding/event vendors is optional.
Who Should Give the Gratuity for Wedding Vendors?
One suggestion is for brides, grooms, parents, or whoever hired the staff, to actually be the ones to give the tips. It’s much more meaningful and appreciated when the client(s) directly give(s) a tip and mentions how happy they were with the service.
After a long night, we know that people are busy and tired, at the end of the night. However, it’s certainly a nice gesture and is always appreciated! I’m 100% confident in saying that gratuity for wedding vendors will never be a problem for the vendor you give it to. haha
Another reason we encourage clients to give the gratuity for wedding vendors directly to the vendors is to consider the possibility of the planner or coordinator losing the tips. This has actually happened at one of our events. The coordinator came up to us at the end of the night and asked if we saw any money on the floor. We didn’t.
She said, “well, I had the tips, but I think they fell out of my pocket.” She then proceeded to give us a crinkled up $20 bill and said, “here’s your tip. I didn’t lose your tip, I lost mine.”
We thought it was odd, but just said: “thank you.” We then helped her look around but didn’t find anything. We’re not saying that this will happen, but know that it can; it only happened to us, once.
Lost or Missing Tips?
Additionally, we’ve also had a few brides and grooms come up to us, at the end of the night, thank us, and say, “I left your tip with the coordinator.” We, of course, said thank you, but never actually received a tip from the coordinator. When we mentioned it, the coordinator said: “they never gave me a tip, sorry.”
We left it alone, but this has happened a few times. We’re not suggesting that anyone was lying, but we thought it was strange that this happened. The good thing is, we set our rates so that we don’t depend on tips. So if we get a tip, great. If not, that’s fine, too. 🙂
Read the Fine Print
Overall, be sure to thoroughly read your contracts and find out exactly what is required. Ask questions about the requirements and be sure to ask “what happens if I’m not happy with the service or product?” If you’re completely happy with your service, sure, feel free to tip.
In lieu of a tip, it’s always nice to leave a review for your vendor. For us, great reviews are just as appreciated as gratuity! We hope this gratuity for wedding vendors article has been helpful!
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