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Cash is King, How much should you have Day of when Tipping Vendors – Philadelphia Wedding Planner – Angela MALICKI events

Tipping your vendors, should you or should you NOT, the secret question that Philadelphia based wedding planner, Angela Malicki will educate you on.

You’ve picked the date, selected your team of professionals, now the time has come for the BIG day – your wedding. Paying for your wedding is not a small chunk a change. The cost for some weddings in our area are sums UP TO a year of tuition to an Ivy League School.* I always refer back to the scene from the 1991 movie Father of the Bride when Howard Weinstein, wedding planning assistant to Franck Eggelhoffer, calls George Banks about the cost per head, George  misunderstands by hearing $150 per person and Howard corrects him that it’s $250 a person. At that point, George flips out and collectively tries to cut costs everywhere possible. Tipping Vendors is another cost when planning your wedding.

Wedding Planner with Bride and Parents

Google Image

Just like any service you receive whether at your nail salon, favorite eatery or even valet, there’s a thought of “How much should I tip”?  Rule of thumb is 20% or more of total service or what you feel is comfortable to give based on satisfaction.  Many couples and those funding the event feel that they’re paying enough as it is so giving a tip is out of the question.

Cash and gift card

image by Angela Malicki

To answer your question, this is a GUIDE on Tipping Vendors involved with your wedding, now this is based on different case-by-case scenarios, use this as a guide as you’re making your withdraw and labeling each envelope  (as planners we will distribute gratuities for you at the end of the night). Other non monetary options are giftcards mailed with thank you note, flowers, wine of the month club, referral, and review on Google or other related sites.

Wedding Planner –  A wedding planner is a professional who assists with the design, planning and management of a client’s wedding/event . They are your liaison between vendors, therapists with family issues and MacGyver when something goes wrong or falls apart – like a cake crashing before the guests walk in the ballroom because the person carrying it in weighed 20 pounds soaking wet – true story!

Wedding Planner holding bouquets

Image by Angela Malicki – Lead Wedding Planner – Eric Moore

Suggested amount – 10% of total package

Venue/catering –  There are many key players involved with your wedding reception, just like football and baseball, you have a coach,  and team. In terms of your event, you have a Catering Manager, Maitre D’, servers, bartenders and coat check (depending on time of year). You’re probably saying to yourself, “isn’t gratuity included”,  yes in most cases, but extra cash is a nice gesture to the staff that served your guests, bridal attendants. Your bartenders ensure everyone is drinking responsibly without going overboard, while the  Maitre D’ is the GRAND POUMBA of everything, overseeing the staff and ensuring all goes as planned with the kitchen and floor. I refer to them as a Pit Boss, never skipping a beat, we work closely with them on the timeline and what takes place throughout the night.

Suggested amount:

Maitre D’ – $200-$1000
Servers – $20-$50
Bartenders – $100-$200
Catering Manager – $100-$400
Coat attendant- $1-$3 per guest

Photographer/Videographer-  Both photographers and videographers are artist that captures your wedding that will forever be in memory. Your photographer/videographer is trained either professionally or by trade offering various bodies of work. They are multi-taskers, quick thinkers and story tellers, which make them in my eyes GENIUS’. Videographers have a bad wrap, when I mention to my clients if they’re considering video, I get the same response, “I’m never going to watch it”, or “It’s not priority”. After their wedding, they contact me saying they regret not hiring one. Photographers, like your wedding planner and videographer, spend the most time with the couple. We on average spend about  25-40 hours before, during and after, making our time valuable.

Lindsay Docherty, owner of Philadelphia based photography firm Lindsay Docherty Photography says, ” As a photographer and the business owner, I don’t expect and rarely get tips. They are already paying a large amount. If an associate is shooting a wedding, it is a very kind gesture to tip them since they are a subcontractor. When I have been tipped, it is usually $100, which I share with my second shooter”.

Suggested amount: $100-$200

Transportation –  When a client offers event shuttling and transportation, they really thought of their guests safety and well-being. The type of vehicle day of a wedding usually is a large passenger bus, trolley or party bus. The driver is licensed under an insured and bonded company. We work with several reputable transportation companies that are professional, safe and always on-time.

Suggested amount: 15-20% of total package split amongst drivers.

Florist – A florist to me is a creative genius that can transform a space into a fairytale dream, making them the most important player in the grand scheme. Florists are knowledgable in everything horticulture related, from which flowers are in bloom, where they come from and how many stems are needed to achieve the look for your abundant centerpiece. Many florists include other design services including chuppah design, lighting and linen selection to complete the overall design. Florists have the hard task of loading TONS of vases, flowers and other large items in congested loading docks. Working within small windows of flipping your ceremony to your reception space and making a quick bouquet due to a bridesmaid leaving hers in the limo.

Large floral arrangements at Kimmel Center

Image by Roggio Wedding for Angela MALICKI events

Suggested amount : $200

Hair and Make up Artists – Let me the first to say it, wedding hair is an art in itself. I’m a jack-of-all-trades, but hair is not one of them. Make up artists are artists whose medium is the human body, in this case – the bride. Both work on the clock perfecting a look that will be in photos, video and in memory. Most make up and hair stylists bring several assistants of their “Glam Squad” day of. Most are traveling on-site or working from their studio. Make up artists are trained and proficient in current trends and techniques. I remember walking through a department store and seeing several ladies working behind the beauty counter with blue eye shadow to their brows, the look that Mimi Bobeck, the boisterous character from The Drew Carey Show rocked everyday. Working with a professional and hair and make up artist not only will make you look and feel like a princess but also prevent any day of nightmares that will scar you til eternity.

Suggested amount: 15% of total package split.

bride getting Make up done

 

Musicians –  Or I’d like to call them,  the crowd pleaser. Your entertainment not only sets the mood of your event but also controls your crowd and the party..  Your band or DJ gets your guests on the dancefloor, jogs memories with songs you haven’t heard in a while, create a little romance and helps you burn calories that you consumed during cocktail hour. They’re job is to keep the party going  and have your guests asking for one more song. Bands work harder as they learn new songs, coordinate with each member and sign in different languages. tipping vendors

“Chris Romanelli, Operations Manager of Schaffer Sound Production says , ” I receive tips  about 60% of the time. When I don’t, it’s because many think I’m the owner of the business because I’m full-time as a DJ,  however I am not . Also I receive emails from my couples saying they totally forgot because of the craziness of the day or the best man should have taken care of it. Finally, some don’t tip because they didn’t know they should”.

“Anil V, Band Leader of EBE – LA Starz Band says, “We seldom get tipped, about 30- 40% of the time we get tipped. The couple looks at the overall cost of the wedding and the thought of tipping an 18 piece band is expensive for them”.

Suggested amount:
DJ – $100-$300
Musician – $50 per member, band leader $100-$500

 

Overwhelmed Planning your DREAM WEDDING, contact us at Info@angelamalickievents.com for a consultation.

Planning a wedding sucks! – Philadelphia Wedding Planner – Angela MALICKI events

Planning a wedding sucks, and this is how hiring a wedding planner can help. Philadelphia based wedding planner, Angela Malicki, of Angela MALICKI events, shares advice from real brides on planning their dream wedding.

Who would of thought planning a wedding was a full-time gig. In between working your stressful job, attending grad school, dealing with family and ofcourse, your fiancé that doesn’t show interest because its not “HIS/HER” thing. This wedding planning is not what its cracked up to be. Since starting Angela MALICKI events in 2008, we’ve seen an influx of clients that can’t handle the planning due to a heavy workload and daily stress of getting everything done. This year alone we’ve had many mother of the brides reach out to us , “where do I begin” is the first sentence during our consultation.

After 10 minutes in our conversation the feeling of relief that everything is going to be OK is clear in the tone of her voice .  We outline what the wedding “Day of” process looks like by asking questions that will then be utilized for their timeline.

Wedding planning has several moving parts, and putting them all together will give you an unwanted headache that will have you giving up. Christina, our bride who recently moved from California back to Philly, has a stressful career in Hollywood. Planning her 300 plus wedding, booking personal appearances for her clients and writing thank you notes  from her recent shower, this wedding thing has her stressed to the brim.

Here is what Christina has to say:

” As much as you’d like to think planning a wedding is fun (and it totally is), it can be quite stressful. There are certain hiccups that you come across that are certainly fixable but can stress you out more than you’d know. Having a planner can not only fix those, it protects you from those itty bitty details that everyone forgets about. The planner also helps you make decisions. Because trust me, by the day of your family and friends aren’t going to want to”.

We recently coordinated  Emily and Jay’s wedding that was referral from a past client. Emily, an occupational therapist, juggling a million to-do’s with her January wedding, from her wedding dress alterations not getting done, coordinating schedules with her vendors and last minute make up challenges. We  jumped right in with no hesitation, thinking of the client firsthand was our priority.

This is what Emily has to say:

“I needed a wedding planner to alleviate the “day of” stress, coordinate our day, create a schedule and make the final calls to vendors. My hotel, ceremony, and venue were in different locations, and I couldn’t be in 3 places at once. I was unable to get to my venue the night before due to my rehearsal, so I wasn’t able to setup or coordinate my decorations. I also had a large bridal party and large family that needed to be “refereed” . Our venue also required that we clean up anything we brought that evening (including leftover alcohol) and my husband and I did not know how we would be able to do all this, make it back to our hotel, and get up in time for our honeymoon the next morning! All of these things were executed flawlessly by our wedding planner and her assistant”.

Something that we deal with as Emily nicely put it was “refereeing” the family. Planning a wedding stirs a lot of tension from all aspects, especially family issues. We listen to both parties and work together, if it has to be at 11:00 p.m. or mid day, we are always listening. When I started this business  many years ago, you really learn a lot about yourself and others, especially emotions. There are many “opinions” when planning a wedding, but in the end, the couple needs to be happy.  Months before the wedding  I receive message like – Can you talk to my MOM please, I cant deal with her right now. Vanessa and Jeffrey are planning their “destination wedding ” in Philadelphia. The couple lives on the West Coast and need eyes and ears locally when planning their wedding. Vanessa, a powerful attorney, living the dream started her new practice, planning this wedding has been exciting and stressful. Our phone calls usually take place in the evening (time difference) , I listen to both Vanessa and Jeffery express frustrations regarding family differences and why planning a wedding is causing so many headaches.

This is what Vanessa has to  say:

As soon as my future husband and I settled on a wedding venue, we knew that we would not have the time or ability to plan our wedding without the help of a planner. At the time, I was working close to one hundred hours a week at a law firm and had no time to answer the flurry of questions and e-mails I had begun to receive at all hours from my mother and future mother-in-law, both of whom are wonderful and generous, but also possessed of strong opinions and personalities. Within a week, I began to feel as though I was drowning in wedding logistics. Similarly, while I deeply respect, admire, and love both of our mothers, I began to realize that they were so thrilled with planning the wedding, and so opinionated, that I found it incredibly difficult to assert my own desires when faced with theirs.

So, after rather prolongued argument with my mother regarding the cost of my dream wedding dress, for which I intended to pay, and since our mothers had offered to cover the cost of most of our wedding and related events, Jeffrey and I asked my mother to speak to Angela and give us her opinion regarding whether or not she thought that Angela would save us all time and stress.

She was highly impressed. After they spoke, my mother called me and said: “Vanessa, we have to hire her. You and I may otherwise kill each other trying to cope with the wedding planning if we don’t.”

The reality is that wedding planning is insanely time-consuming and that I could never have found the time to create our dream wedding without Angela. Not only has Angela provided us with advice, wisdom, and guidance, but she has forcefully supported my needs and opinions when necessary over those of our wonderful, yet sometimes overbearing mothers.  From our original concept to creative venue design, Angela has reminded us of necessary details we would otherwise have overlooked, been a calm voice of reason in moments of sheer panic, informed us when vendors have acted inappropriately or attempted to charge far more than what she finds reasonable, and provided us with guidance regarding etiquette, all while negotiating the relationships between my future husband, myself, and our mothers. In the end, she has saved us all from many an argument, and spared us great expense.  

I cannot count the number of times that Jeffrey and I have looked at each other after Angela has come to our rescue and agreed that we would have been entirely lost and deeply stressed without her, but they have been many. We would not have been able to enjoy the excitement of planning a wedding without Angela’s ability to relieve us from the burdens and stresses and infinite questions that accompany that joy. She has been truly, truly indispensable.

… and this is what Jeff has to say (thanks Jeff for you input):

“I think one of the things people don’t really talk about with weddings is how much harder they can be to plan when you’re getting married somewhere you don’t currently live.  My wife and I live 2000 miles from our wedding location and that has made so many of the tasks involved in planning the wedding that much more difficult.  Having a wedding planner “on the ground” so to speak to put us in contact with the right vendors coordinate communications and make the most out of our trips to our location has been a life saver.”

 

xoxo,

Ang

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