Tips on Tipping of Wedding

In her book Weddings, Emily Post introduced some tips on tipping of wedding.
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Many wedding professionals, from bridal consultants to photographers, are tipped only for extra-special service. If your florist arrived to decorate the ceremony site only to find a locked door, which caused him to wait an extra hour, a tip would be an extra thank-you for his professionalism, patience, and diligence. While you might set aside an extra 15 percent as an unexpected tip fund, you needn't anticipate tips for the consultant, club manager or caterer, florist, photographer or videographer. Often a caterer's gratuities are included in the total costs; many hotels include a service charge for the wait staff. Always ask whether gratuities are included before signing any contract.

You should plan a gratuity budget for the following:

• valet parking
• coat check
• powder-room attendants
• delivery truck drivers
• chauffeurs
• wait staff
• bartenders
• table captains

You should tip parking lot, coat check, and powder-room attendants ahead of time so that your guests have no obligation to do so. A general guideline is to give the site manager a flat fee based on 50 cents to a dollar per guest, to be distributed among the staff. Ask a friend to make sure that there are no tip dishes or baskets (which might make guests feel obligated to tip) sitting on the coat-check counter or the powder-room shelf.

In the case of limousine drivers and the catering staff, you can request that gratuities be included in the total bill; you don't want to be pulling out your calculator to figure out what you should give the bartender at the end of the reception. (Make sure there are no tip receptacles on the bar making guests wonder whether they should leave a tip.)  Some reception sites request that all tips be paid in cash in advance. Check your contract and take care of this detail before-hand so that no one has to settle a bill during or after the event. If gratuities are to be given after the wedding or are not included in the final bill, they should still be counted out and put in sealed envelopes beforehand so that they can be distributed easily at the end of the reception.

When a tip is spontaneous and given to a vendor who has done an extraordinary service, it can be given at the end of the reception or the next day, with a note of thanks included.
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