Tips (gratiuties) for the Wedding Day

[OKWDVCMagic]

I am trying to find out how everyone has handled tips/gifts for all the WDW staff and other contract individuals.. I have started putting a list together on everyone who will be assisting us on the wedding day.

I am interested in knowing if and how much people have tipped the minister, wedding planner ( I think more than one is there on the day of the wedding), organist at WP, hairstylist (Patricia), photographers/videographer, limo driver, bartenders,and waiters.

I know WDW builds in gratuity for waiters and bartenders but I was wondering if anyone still tipped above what was included in their contract.

Trying to do this right so I am not scrambling at the last minute.

 

[SarahInMN]

I'm curious about this as well...also other brides get gifts for their planners? If so, what sort of gift (I was thinking something practical like a gift card thingy)?

Thanks!

 

[disneyberry]

This is on my (incredibly long) to-do list as well!

Also, are you supposed to tip people like Patricia who are the owners of their own business?

If anyone has a comprehensive list of who they tipped at their wedding, that'd be really helpful.

And I was wondering about the planner gifts too. What sort of thing did you guys give? I mean, they do so many weddings, they must get a ton of unneeded stuff!

 

[lurkyloo]

The rule of thumb is that you don’t need to tip wedding professionals (as opposed to service workers like waiters and delivery people) or people who own their own businesses. This includes your Wedding Event Coordinator or Planner, your photographer, and your Floral Event Manager. You should consider tipping service people such as drivers and business owners’ assistants. You are paying a 21% service charge on food and beverage that covers bartenders and food servers, but if you're really feeling generous, go nuts.

Until recently, Disney employees have been prohibited from accepting tips, so it has not been common practice to tip Disney’s DJs, photographers, videographers, et al. Nor are you expected to tip Disney employees who make deliveries or do setup, since you are already paying fees for these services.

However, you may tip anyone if you wish (including your planner) - just don't feel obligated to. Most people buy gifts or giftcards for their planners if they choose to tip them.

Also, at Disney, cosmetologists seem to be the exception to the rule about not tipping business owners - it seems like everyone tips them.

People Who Are Traditionally Tipped
Limo/Bus Driver
Cosmetologist’s assistant(s)

People To Tip For Exceptional Service
Cosmetologist
DJ
Dress steamer
Floral Event Manager
Musicians
Officiant (if they charge a fee you don't need to tip)
Photo/video assistant
Wedding Coordinator/Event Planner/Consultant
Wedding Planner’s Assistants

 

[ElleBren]

Along those lines, I know there was a discussion a little while back. What CAN planner accept? Is there a certain amount of money? or can they get a gift card? I don't want to send her something I'm not sure she will like, but if I send a GC she can get what she wants.

I just don't want to send something she can't keep.

 

[lurkyloo]

Planners can now accept anything, including cold, hard cash in any amount!

 

[drumms2112]

I wish I had this info when we got married and I looked on DISboards everywhere. We had an escape wedding with the reception dinner at Citricos for 8 adults. I (groom) tipped the limo driver- $40, Organist-$10, Violinist-$10, Officiant- no tip, non-Disney Photographer- no tip, non-Disney Videographer- no tip, server at Citricos- 20%, and the server for our cake reception at commanders terrace- no tip. Our wedding planner (Tannis) we still have not decided on what to get her and we are hoping for ideas on here because she was the best. We also did the MK & Epcot photo shoot and I tipped Paul Looper $60 thinking he would hook us up with some photoshop or anything but that certainly did not happen.

One suggestion I would make is to dedicate a family member of friend to tip for you because of all the things you both have to think about and do it could have been very easy for me to forget to tip. The Organist just leaves after the ceremony and I had to pull away from our photographer to tip him before he left. It is just easier to not have to worry about how much and when to find the right time to tip them because you will be pulled in every direction. Good luck!

 

[rumrunnergirl]

I am having an Escape wedding and my only "outside" people will be the cosmetologists - I have not booked anyone yet. The limo driver will be provided by Disney - they still get tipped?

What % is the standard tip? Thanks!

 

[lurkyloo]

Limo drivers are provided through Mears, the service Disney contracts with - but no matter who they work for, they still get tipped. Wedding websites say to tip 15%-20% up to a max of $150.

Lots of people just give the limo driver a large bill rather than calculating an exact percentage.

 

[linzwylie]

I have to ask.... Why do people tip??

It is not at all common in the UK to tip people, well maybe occasionally the cab driver or your hairdresser but not really anyone else.

Do people get offended if you don't tip them??

Just being nosey

Linz xxx

 

[rumrunnergirl]

Tips are for service-related industries where the people make less than the minimum wage, and the rest is to be made up in tips. The better the service, the better the tip. Great service can earn you quite a nice income over a regular hourly-wage or salaried job.

If someone is in a service industry - for example, a waiter - and they give you great service and get no tip - yes, they will be offended.

 

[linzwylie]

wow, I didn't realise that people could be paid less than the minimum wage

That wouldn't happen in the UK.

Granted, the minimum isn't worth a sneeze, but people do not earn less than that.

I shall be quite generous with my tips in future.

Linz xxx

 

[pooh98378]

We tipped our cosmetologist and dress steamer. We gave a gift to our wedding planner, floral planner, and sales manager (is that right?? I can't think of her title... the person we talked to before the contract and our wedding planner). We gave them a basket of stuff from Basin in the GF (I'm sure they hadn't gotten anything from there before ). Not very original...

We did not tip Randy or Stan or the DJ. I felt a little bit bad about not tipping the DJ but it was one of those caught up in the moment things that should've been planned, but wasn't. Although, he was only assigned to us two weeks before...

 

[disneyberry]

Linz, yeah the tipping standard in the States is pretty different from the way it is in the UK and Europe.

I think I was reading that American tourists going abroad have started a trend of "tip inflation" where now Europeans expect more tips than they used to hehe.

 

[OKWDVCMagic]

Thanks Lurkyloo and all others for your suggestions and advice.

 

[farjojo]

I have to ask.... Why do people tip??

It is not at all common in the UK to tip people, well maybe occasionally the cab driver or your hairdresser but not really anyone else.

Do people get offended if you don't tip them??

Just being nosey

Linz xxx

I was thinking the same Linz, us brits are so mean!

 

[DISNEY*lover]

I was wondering about this too. I want to be as prepared as possible on the big day.

After I figure out how much to tip and who to tip, I'll be putting the money in there own envelopes and I'll have the best man be in charge of that. I'm sure I'll get caught up in the moment and forget about it and I don't want that to happen.

Thanks Carrie for all the info.

Subscribing...

 

[daveyc150]

wow, I didn't realise that people could be paid less than the minimum wage

That wouldn't happen in the UK.

Granted, the minimum isn't worth a sneeze, but people do not earn less than that.

I shall be quite generous with my tips in future.

Linz xxx

I am from the UK and worked in the service industry in the US for a while a few years back. I worked as a server in a restaurant and worked for the US equivalent of £1.50 and hour. Servers in the US really have to work for their money. A standard tip should be between 15 - 20% for good service in a restaurant. Obviously if the service was bad then tip less, exceptional tip more.

Hope this helps.