PARTY POINTER: Tipping Advice
What is a Tip?
A tip is an expression of gratitude and one way to tell your vendors and their employees that you appreciate the exceptional service they provided. It is not a necessary expense. Should you decide to tip, here are some pointers to consider. Depending on where you live, the advice on how much to tip varies. These are merely suggestions. In lieu of a monetary tip, consider a nice gift, thank you note, a gift card to a favorite restaurant, or some other personal expression of your gratitude.
Logistics
Contact your vendors ahead of time to get a count of their staff working your event. This is also helpful in considering the number of vendor meals. Prepare the envelopes ahead of time, labeling each with the name of your vendors. For some vendors, you may have two different envelopes; one for the manager and another for the staff. Hand the envelopes to your party planner or event coordinator and instruct them to hand them out, as you may be very involved in saying good bye to your guests or not be aware of when the team is done. If you elect to hand out the envelopes yourself at the end of your event once your guests have left, note that some vendors are quick to pack up. Alternatively, you may tip your vendors and share your appreciation in person, or send tips via venmo or zelle after the event.
Hair and Make Up
Check back in with the company the week of your event to see how many artists they are sending for each service.
$50 – $100 each, or 20% Gratuity
Entertainment
Whether you hired a band or DJ, remember to include all members of the entertainment including the dancers and road hands. You may hand the tip envelope to the band leader or MC and ask them to disperse it or hand it out individually.
Band Leader $250, MC $150+, DJ $150+, Musicians, Road Hands and Dancers $50 – $75+ each.
Caterer and Hotel Banquet Team
Ask your event planner to find out how many staff are scheduled to work your event. They can determine how many servers, bartenders, kitchen staff by asking the hotel sales and catering staff or caterer the week of your event. he advice on how much to tip varies. You may tip on a ‘per guest’ ratio, 20 % of your total catering invoice, or per staff ratio.
Catering Manager, Maitre d’ or Banquet Captain(s) $200+, Chefs, Servers, Bartenders $50 – $75 each, Kitchen Staff $30 – $50 each
Production Company, Event Designer, Event Planner, Decorators, Florist
Aside from considering tipping your design team, ask the photographer to get them professional photos from your event. If they bring assistants, such as additional staff to set-up or work the event, don’t forget to tip them as well.
Head Planner/Decorator $150-$300, Assistant Planners/Decorators $100 each, Crew $50 - $75 each
Transportation and Coat Check
Be sure to include the valet attendants, the parking attendants, the coat check, the limo drivers and bus drivers.
$50 – $100 each, or 20% Gratuity
Additional Vendors
In the case of photographers, videographers, florist, decorators, airbrush, photo favors or other vendors and smaller services you contracted for your event, consider tipping any assistants they brought along that worked during your event.
Head $150+, Assistants $50-$75 each
Officiants
Should your event include a religious component, do not forget to consider a ‘tip’ to the officiant or a donation to the church, temple, synagogue, or religious organization. Many of them have discretionary funds that allow them to in turn use that money to help others in need.
The Owner
Many clients ask us ‘Do we tip the owner?’. On one hand, the owners are performing the same work and working perhaps even harder than their staff. They are generally compensated differently than their staff. However, depending on the size and scale of each business some owners aren’t earning very much more than their staffs and in some rare cases, even less. Bottom line, if they are personally involved with your event and have done an exceptional job and you want to recognize this, you should feel free to tip them. You can also reward them with a referral or leaving a positive review online.
Innovative Party Planners is your resource for event design and planning in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Virginia. To learn more about our event planning services and how we can help make your event one of a kind, contact us by clicking here or call (410) 998-9999.