Tipping etiquette?

I cant answer your question properly as we did our own hair and makeup, but after the meal by stepdad tipped the service staff £20, there were 3 of them altogether

I've been wondering about tipping too... I'm getting married abroad and I pay all the costs to the wedding planner rather than to each supplier directly. Should I tip my hairdresser etc, or the wedding planners, or noone?! I havent budgeted for tips tbh.

I havent budgeted for tips either! and prob like you cant eek the budget out anymore! good idea about the service staff TWF hadnt thought about them! *raids piggy bank*

neither had i - good old stepdaddy!!

I've absolutely no intention on tipping the hair and make up lady, she's costing £320 to do just two of us anyway so no way!

We did have a random service charge on our invoice from the venue which was optional, we will be paying it but only because it was a lot less than what we thought we would tip them... more fool them for asking for it!

We tipped;

Hairdresser

Video

Photographer

Band

DJ

Banquetting manager - with cash to distribute to his wait/bar staff too

I believe its the done thing to leave a large donation if its a church service aswell? Someone else will surely be able to advise here.

Our Best Man told us that it is apparently the BMs job to tip everyone out of their own money - but then 'claim' it back from the B&G?!! We just gave him a bundle of cash to do the honors...

Everyone we tipped was very appreciative and came to thank us personally - I'm not sure that everyone does it but I'm glad we did. The amount we paid for the service often doesn't go to the individual directly and we wanted to thank people personally.

It's upto you (& ur budget) wether you give tips or not. (however, most people give favours to guests for coming when you've already paid out to feed them, so why not five a small thank you to the people that have made your day what it is?)

I see tips as a "thank you" gift for a good service, and people don't expect them, but are really grateful to recieve then Maybe you could give the hairdressers, beautician, florist a small box of chocolates, buy the DJ some drinks on the night & make sure he helps himself to sum buffet. It doesn't have to be much, just a small think to show your appreciation

Also, see how your budget plans out, & if you spend less than budgeted for then you could be abit more generous on thank-you's.

I hope this isn't too much off topic but what I value greatly is a thank you card, or an email of thanks, both of which I use on my website and have proved invaluable. I love the ones that go into detail and mention the part of my service that they appreciated the most......this helps me to know which of the little things I do have gone down well whether its the prompt correspondence, attention to detail on the day (ie always using their names as opposed to 'bride &groom', or the personalised request cards), including all their requests, making an effort to get some obscure tracks etc

Personally, any gesture of thanks is greatly appreciated whether its in the form of a tip or letter of thanks.

PS.....I once received a poem of thanks from the father of the bride....I was like a puppy dog with 6 tails and regularly pick it up and have a read

I think that most suppliers (planners, photographers, hair and make up people) would much prefer a lovely thank you letter that they can use within their portfolio or better still a direct referal to any tip - particularly as you have already paid them for their services.

In reference to wait staff, I think that tipping should be directly proportional to the service you receive on the day - if you were in a restaurant and really blown away, you would tip well so why not on your wedding day? Staff at most venues won't expect it but will love it of course! When I was hotel based, I, as a planner, only got tipped once but the waiting staff/chef etc got tipped most times.

I think that most suppliers (planners, photographers, hair and make up people) would much prefer a lovely thank you letter that they can use within their portfolio or better still a direct referal to any tip - particularly as you have already paid them for their services.

In reference to wait staff, I think that tipping should be directly proportional to the service you receive on the day - if you were in a restaurant and really blown away, you would tip well so why not on your wedding day? Staff at most venues won't expect it but will love it of course! When I was hotel based, I, as a planner, only got tipped once but the waiting staff/chef etc got tipped most times.