Tipping is the last line on a wedding budget and the one most often forgotten, which is how couples end up finding cash at eleven o'clock at night. It is also genuinely different on either side of the Atlantic, and the rules that matter are less about amounts than about who has already been paid a service charge and who has not.
Who is normally tipped and who is not
The general principle is that people who own the business are not usually tipped and people who work for it are. A photographer who owns their studio is being paid their own fee; an assistant working for them is not. Catering staff, bar staff, drivers and the band's crew are the people for whom a tip is normal and meaningful. The venue coordinator sits in between and depends on whether they are the owner. Nobody is obliged, and in Britain tipping wedding suppliers is much less expected than in the United States, where it is closer to standard for several categories.
Check the service charge first
Before deciding anything, read the catering and venue contracts for a service charge or gratuity line, because many include one and it is frequently a substantial percentage. Where it exists, ask two questions: whether it reaches the staff, and whether an additional tip is expected on top. Tipping a second time on a bill that already carries twenty per cent is a large and invisible cost. Where no service charge exists and the staff have worked a long day well, a tip distributed through the supervisor is the usual route and it is worth agreeing with them in advance how it will be split.
Plan it like any other line
Decide the amounts a fortnight before, put the cash in labelled envelopes and hand the envelopes to somebody who is not you. The best man, a coordinator or a parent can distribute them at the right moments; the couple cannot, because they are otherwise engaged. If you have a coordinator, ask them to hold the envelopes and hand them out at the end of each supplier's involvement. And write the total into the budget from the start rather than treating it as an afterthought, because on a large wedding with catering staff and a band it can be a four figure line.
Questions people ask about how much to tip wedding vendors
Do we have to tip at all?
No, and in Britain it is far less expected than in the United States. Where staff have worked a long day and no service charge exists, it is a kindness rather than an obligation.
How much should we tip the photographer?
If they own the business, nothing is expected; if they brought a second shooter or an assistant, those people are the ones for whom it is normal. Judge by who is being paid a fee and who is being paid a wage.
What if the bill already includes a service charge?
Ask whether it reaches the staff and whether more is expected. Where it does and it is not, you have already tipped, and a second one is a large cost nobody is asking you for.
When do we hand tips over?
At the end of each supplier's involvement, through somebody who is not the couple. Prepare labelled envelopes in advance and give them to the best man or the coordinator.