Sharon Naylor
Sharon Naylor is the author of over 30 wedding books, including 1000 Best Secrets For Your Perfect Wedding, 1000 Best Wedding Bargains, Your Special Wedding Vows, Your Special Wedding Toasts, The Mother of the Bride Book, Mother of the Groom, The Groom's Guide, The Essential Guide to Wedding Etiquette, The Complete Outdoor Wedding Planner, and more. She has appeared as a wedding expert on Nightline, Lifetime, Inside Edition, ABC News, Fox 5 News, and on hundreds of radio stations nationally and internationally. Read more about Sharon Naylor here. Sharon is also happy to asnwer your wedding-related questions in her forum.
View all articles by Sharon Naylor
One of the most common questions about wedding budgets and etiquette is the going rate for tipping experts. It’s a must to tip your experts well, since they play such a big part of your day’s success. The following amounts are merely guiding suggestions; you’re free to give more to professionals who exceeded your expectations and really made your day special. Amounts vary by region, so be aware that these are the going rates in the Northeast.
And of course, we suggest that you include a beautiful thank-you note that you’ve designed using our software and paper to reflect the wonderful job that each professional did for you.
Event planner: 10 to 20 percent of your bill, depending on the terms of contract
Officiants: $50 to $100 on top of any set fees
Ceremony site staff: $20 to $30 per person, depending on amount of service
Organists and ceremony musicians: $20 to $40, depending on length of service
Reception site manager: 15 to 20 percent of entire bill for the reception
Valets: $1-$2 per car
Waiters: $20 to $40 each, depending upon quality of service. If you saw that there were only a few waiters who worked their tails off, give them more.
Bartenders: 15 percent of liquor bill
Coat check: $1 per coat
Limousine drivers: 15 to 20 percent of transportation bill (Check to see if tip is already included in the contract first! If so, then on-the-day tip may be smaller as a token for great service, or left out altogether)
Photographer and Videographer: $30-$100 or more
Delivery workers: $10 each if just dropping items off, $20 each if dropping off and setting up to great extent; even more if they're transporting a LOT of items
Tent assemblers and rental agency assemblers: $20 each, even more if the tent is extremely large or complicated, or parquet flooring is set down as well
Entertainers: $25 to $30 each, more if they really exceeded expectations. Again, check your contract to see if gratuity is already included.
Beauticians and barbers, manicurists and makeup artists: 15 to 20 percent of beauty salon bill – don’t forget the shampoo person!
Cleanup crew: $20 each
Baby-sitters: $30 to $40 each, plus a gift, in addition to their hourly wages; more if baby-sitter is putting in extra hours or caring for several children
