A Guide to Wedding Tipping

Which vendors you should tip―along with how, how much, and when.

Put Someone in Charge

Assign someone you can rely on―one of the fathers, the best man, your super-organized maid of honor―to hand out envelopes with the non-contract tips in cash, either at the time of service (hair and makeup people), at the end of the wedding (which allows you to adjust the size of the tips to reflect the service), or at the beginning. “If you hand out your gratuity envelopes before your wedding, the vendors will be more likely to go above and beyond for you on your special day,” says David Tutera, an event planner.

Decide How Much to Tip

For specific suggestions, see this “Tipper’s Table,” excerpted from event planner Mindy Weiss’s The Wedding Book ($23, amazon.com):

Bartenders: 10 percent of the total liquor bill (to be split among them)
Bathroom attendants: $1 to $2 per guest
Catering manager: $200+ or a personal gift
Chef: $100+
Coat check attendants: $1 to $2 per guest
Hairstylist: 15 to 20 percent
Hotel chambermaids: $2 to $5 per room; $10 to $15 if you used a suite as your dressing room
Limo or bus drivers: 15 percent
Maitre d’hotel or headwaiter: 1 to 3 percent of food and beverage fees
Makeup artist: 15 to 20 percent
Musicians: 15 percent of fee for ceremony musicians; $25 to $50 per musician for reception
Photographer/videographer: If you’re paying a flat fee with no overtime, $100
Valet or parking attendants: $1 to $2 per car; 15 percent for valet parking
Waiters: $20 and up each (distributed by the catering manager or maitre d’)
Wedding planner: 15 percent of fee or a personal gift