Vendor Tipping Cheat Sheet

Hello All! 

It is time to answer that all too common wedding question: Who do I tip and how much? Okay, that was two questions but it is one of the most frequent questions I get as a wedding coordinator! 

Honestly, the answer is: it depends. You’re welcome. Blog post over. Have a great day! 

That’s the truth though, tipping is a hard subject but the bottom line is that unless it is in the contract, tipping is always optional. Giving a tip is a great way to show your appreciation and let your vendors know you appreciate them and all the hard work they put into making your day special. I have reached out to a bunch of my frendors (friends that are vendors) and asked what the average gratuity for their service is. Below are the results, I hope this helps! 

• Delivery/Setup: $10-20 per person 
• Hair and Makeup: 20% of your total service (generally when the bridal party or family members are paying for this individually they all should tip individually; let them know this ahead of time so they have enough cash)
• Coordinator: $100-200 for the lead; $50-100 for the assistants
• Florist: 2-5% of the total budget (the number of staff members on site can fluctuate) 
• Photo: $100-200 per person
• Video: $100-200 per person
• Officiant: $50-100 for hired officiant; donation of $100-200 for a religious institution
• DJ: $50-150 
• Band: $50-$100 per person
• Musician: $20-50 per musician (dependent on the amount of time worked and total payment)

For the following vendors, you should confirm you are not already paying a gratuity on your contract: 

• Service Staff: $50-100 for the lead; $20-50 per server
• Bartenders: $2 per guest
• Transportation: $100 per driver (or 20% of the driver’s fee)
• Valet: $1-3 per car
• Photo Booth: $20 per person

Please note these are prices for the vendors in the Los Angeles Area. 

PRO TIP: If you are going to give your vendors cash and are asking someone (Coordinator/Parent/Bridal Party Member) to hold your envelopes for you, please put the gratuity in small envelopes! We want to keep this on us and it’s challenging to fit large letter envelopes in our fanny packs/clutches/pockets etc.

Happy Wedding Planning! 

-Sierra