Wedding Vendor Tipping Guide Calculator

Photo/Video Tip and Florist Tip use Base Tip Percentage minus 3 percentage points, bounded between a 5% floor and a 15% ceiling -- matching published guidance of 5-15% of contract for photographers, videographers, and florists -- while Catering Tip uses the full Base Tip Percentage (unless you mark the catering gratuity as already included). The reasoning is that photographers and florists are more often independent business owners whose invoice already reflects their asking price, whereas catering staff are more commonly tipped as service staff at the full conventional rate.

No. Officiant Tip is a flat $75 regardless of Base Tip Percentage or any bill amount, since officiants are conventionally given a fixed honorarium or gift rather than a percentage-based gratuity. Coordinator Tip is likewise a flat $150 shown as its own line item -- neither changes if you raise or lower Base Tip Percentage.

Total Tips Budget adds Hair/Makeup Tip, Officiant Tip, Transportation Tip, and Coordinator Tip on top of the four vendor tips calculated from your actual bills, using flat assumed costs ($300 for hair/makeup and $500 for transportation) since this calculator doesn't collect separate bill amounts for those vendors. All four are shown as their own line items below the total, so you can see exactly how much of the headline number comes from each assumption and adjust your own budget if your actual costs differ.

It divides Total Tips Budget -- which includes the flat hair/makeup, transportation, officiant, and coordinator amounts -- by just the sum of your four entered bills (Catering, DJ/Band, Photo/Video, and Florist). Because the numerator includes vendors the denominator doesn't count, this percentage will typically read somewhat higher than your actual Base Tip Percentage, especially when your entered bills are small relative to the flat-cost vendors; if all four bills are $0, the ratio is undefined rather than genuinely zero, so the calculator shows a capped high value instead of a misleading 0%.

Turn on Catering Gratuity Already Included, and Catering Tip drops to $0 -- The Knot's own guidance is that tips are unnecessary when gratuity is already listed on your contract or invoice. You can still add something extra in cash if your catering staff went above and beyond, but the calculator won't add a second automatic tip on top of a service charge you've already paid for.