Guide to Tipping Your Wedding Vendors

One of the questions we receive the most is who and what to tip on your wedding day. We hope this guide is helpful! A few important things to note from the jump:

• Gratuity may be included in your catering contract already, so start there.

• Tipping is never mandatory. You don’t have to feel obligated to tip at all.

• Tipping is showing gratitude for a great service, to whomever provides it, and is always appreciated and never expected.

• If someone went above and beyond, tip accordingly! This is just a guide, not a rulebook.

• Cash is the best way to tip, but if you know the vendors full name, a check is fine too (especially for larger tips).

• We know this conversation can get awkward, so let’s all take a deep breath and barrel on through!

So, who to tip and how much?

Hair + MakeuP: 20-25%

What you would give in a salon is appropriate for your stylists.

Catering: Usually included in the contract

Check your contract first! If there is no gratuity added, 10-20% of the food and drink total is appropriate. Alternatively, you may want to tip one envelope to your catering manager, and one to the chefs, servers, bartenders, bussers, etc. to be divided up between them.

Photographer / Videographer: $100-200

If they have assistants, $25-50 is generous as well.

Florist: $25-50

There is generally a team on your wedding day, but feel free to tip the person you’ve been working with during planning.

DJ : $50-100

They’re making the party happen!

Band: $25-50 each

Or 15% of the service cost. You can give a little more to the band leader/emcee.

Transportation: $20-50 per driver

Navigating traffic in the Loop on Air & Water Show weekend? Yeah, these folks definitely deserve a tip!

Officiant: it depends!

If this person is your pal or a family member, as we most often see, a nice gift and card is appropriate. If they are affiliated with a religion, a donation to that institution. Or, if you’re just paying them to perform your ceremony, $25-50.

Venue Staff: $20-50 per person

This is a person who’s been there for you from the beginning, so it’s always a nice acknowledgement.

Wedding Coordinator: Ooo, awkward. This is us.

But getting a tip is very nice. And we thank you very, very much for your generosity.

We hope this guide has helped!

Keep in mind: tipping is a personal choice. Vendors love making your day go smoothly and watching the joy on your faces. Any acknowledgement of excellent service, even just a thank you card, is vastly appreciated by your vendors.

7 Reasons Why You Need a Day of Wedding Coordinator

7 Reasons Why You Need a Day of Wedding Coordinator

Your wedding day is a few short months away! Your vendors are booked, your invitations went out, the menu is set and your playlist is finalized. You’ve spent countless hours planning and preparing to perfection. You did it!

Now - how do you make sure that what you have in your spreadsheet actually happens on your wedding day? What if it rains? What if the trolley you booked doesn’t show up to the hotel on time? What if the bartenders forget to put those customized swizzle sticks you ordered from Etsy in your signature cocktail? What if your crazy soon-to-be sister-in-law gets too drunk and starts making inappropriate comments like she did at Christmas?? Yikes.

When the what-ifs keep you up at night…

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You need a Day of Coordinator. Someone to manage your carefully planned fête with grace and efficiency. Sure, you could save a few bucks, skip this vendor and hope for the best, but why risk it? The peace of mind from having someone else in charge is absolutely priceless.

Here are 7 reasons why hiring An Event Less Ordinary to coordinate your day is essential to having a fun, flawless wedding day!  

1. Your Personal Advocate

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-The venue coordinator works for the venue. The catering coordinator works for the caterer. The photographer is busy…taking photos. A Day of Coordinator (or DOC) works just for you, advocating for what you want behind the scenes. 

-Sometimes vendors can disagree about how and when things should be done; it’s good to have a Day-of-Coordinator to call the shots on your behalf so you’re not constantly bombarded with questions throughout the day.

2. Preparation and Communication Prior to the Wedding

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-With An Event Less Ordinary’s DOC package, you get:

• At least a month and a half of professional wedding prep work, plus a knowledgeable ally. If you have ideas or logistical questions, ask us! 

• Guidance through the end of the planning process. We’ll make sure you’ve crossed every “T” and dotted every “I” when it comes to planning.

• Vendor communications: we’ll handle that! You can enjoy the special time in the days before your wedding with your family and friends. We’ll handle the rest. 

3. Vendor/People Management

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-A SCENARIO: 

“It’s time to cut the cake”, says the catering coordinator. You and your partner approach the cake, but wait! The DJ isn’t playing the cake-cutting song you specifically requested…and where is the photographer?? “Cousin Mike, put your drink down and go see if he’s in the bathroom,” you shout out while you stand awkwardly in front of your giant pastry. And gah, no one thought to make sure that your parents were in the room so they missed the moment too! This aggravating scenario would have been avoided if you had a Day of Coordinator to make sure all the players are in place before action is called.

-We love to be bossy, (i.e. get shit done). We know your WHOLE vision, not just one aspect of it, and will make sure everyone does what you want them to do to accomplish it.

4. Timeline Management

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-Sometimes a photographer will write up a timeline for you. Sometimes a catering coordinator will give you an BEO with service times and food and beverage details. These are very useful tools, but they’re separate documents that don’t talk to each other and do not encompass every tiny detail that needs to be accounted for. We work with you AND your other vendors to create an extensive, painstakingly detailed Master Timeline for your run of show. You’ll get one organized timeline that all of the vendors will have, not a hodgepodge of photography and catering timelines.

-To create this document, your AELO DOC will meet with you in person (or via Zoom if that’s not possible). Over coffee or drinks, we’ll ask you and your partner to talk through your vision and ask you lots of questions. We’ll then confirm details with your vendor team so that everyone is on the same page well in advance of the wedding day. An experienced coordinator has seen it all and knows how to plan in advance to ensure the best outcome.

5. Venue, Catering Managers Don’t Do What We Do

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-We love venue and catering coordinators and work really well with them as part of your vendor team. But they don’t do what we do. AELO is by your side throughout the wedding day. We don’t have to stop to answer the office phone or give tours when new prospective clients walk through the doors. We’re neither executing dinner nor filling the toilet paper in the bathrooms; we’re just there for you, beholden to no one but you and your needs. 

-And when the party is over we don’t just wrap up and head home. We will pack up your wedding stuff and drop it by your hotel room. We’ll wait outside to ensure the shuttle doesn’t leave without the last party goers (yourself included). We’ve got your back when you’re tired and tipsy and don’t want to think about clean up logistics.

6. When Things Go Wrong, We Will Fix Them

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-Our emergency wedding kits are filled with essential tools we’ve cultivated over the years. When someone spills on the groom’s crisp white shirt or your bridesmaids can’t quite seem to get your bustle right? You’re covered. Zip ties, scissors, glue gun, tampons—you name it, we’ve got it.

-We have the answers, and if we don’t, we will find them. With more than a decade of wedding experience, we’re familiar with things that go wrong and know how to fix them. We’ve put out literal and figurative fires all over Chicago.

-Best of all, we handle sticky situations quickly and discreetly so chances are if something does go wrong at your wedding, we will correct it right away. We won’t make a scene, and your guests have absolutely no idea anything unusual happened. 

7. So You Can Actually Enjoy Your Wedding

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-It’s your wedding day. Your only job is to get married and have fun! You don’t have to worry about all the little things–you’ve done the work, you’ve hired the vendors, we will take the stress off your shoulders.

-You may be a great planner, a type-A personality who is perfectly capable of running your own show, but why would you want to? The star of the musical does not stage manage the musical. Relax and enjoy the wedding day you’ve worked so hard to create.