Tipping Wedding Officiants – What to tip at a wedding and how to tip your wedding minister
Many brides and grooms or their parents are very shy when it comes to making payments to a wedding professional in person, but are generally more embarrassed when dealing with their wedding clergy regarding payment and especially tipping. I’ve been on both sides of the wedding aisle and I can tell you that it’s a lot easier to handle than you think, and there is a smart way.
Everyone is a little unsure of what is right, mostly because wedding priests in general have historically been concerned with ritual and propriety in situations, and most people don’t want to cross the line. But remember, wedding professionals deal with this issue on a daily basis, so they understand your discomfort and have seen it a lot. For them, it is part of the working day.
Do I tip? Definitely yes. How much? It depends, but it’s not unusual to double the fee. how? A good time to pay the tip is when you pay the balance of your employee fee. Why? Because tipping is to ensure proper service. Your marriage officer still holds your marriage certificate when you part ways (they are usually required to file it themselves). Where? When signing.
How do you tip with class? It’s not that hard after all. Tipping should be done with joy and gratitude. Consider the following wedding information.
Most officiants charge from $275 to $900 for a wedding ceremony. It all depends on the location of your wedding ceremony, what things you think you need from your wedding officiant and how busy they are. The busier the wedding minister, the more expensive they will be overall.
Most wedding vendors will ask for a deposit up front and the balance will be paid on the day of the wedding. Be sure to make an immediate deposit as wedding professionals are constantly getting calls and emails. A typical wedding professional receives anywhere from 10 to 100 requests per day. This requires a lot of juggling time. Honestly, the first person to commit by making a deposit is the one who wins that time slot.
We recommend sending your chosen clerk for the check or credit card deposit immediately to allow time and a paper trail. However, in my experience, the balance must be paid in cash.
When you pay the balance, it’s usually more awkward for people because it’s personal and there’s no “right time.” But they are.
The best thing to do is bring an envelope with each wedding vendor’s name on it and put the remaining cash in the envelope. If you’re having a big wedding, hand them to your best man or the father of the bride (which makes him feel more important) and tell them to dole out the money for you.
Make sure you pay up to the balance you owe your wedding officiant in cash or your license may not be submitted in time for the check to clear. Even worse, if you travel after your wedding and your check bounces, you may find yourself unmarried by the time you return from your honeymoon. A wedding officiant is required to file your marriage license within a certain amount of time with the county, usually 10 days. If they are paid by check and it bounces while you are in Tahiti then you may have a bit of a problem as this wedding clergy does not know if you will pay on your bad check.
The best time to pay is when the marriage certificate is signed. There’s always a shuffle of paperwork from each person, and when the wedding officiant signs it, you can easily pass the envelope with a “Thank you!”
And don’t forget the ministerial tip. You can include this in the envelope as well. What is the right tip for an employee? $75 – $150 is the right tip for an officiant, and if that seems like too much to you, consider this: your wedding officiant is probably the least paid of most wedding professionals attending your wedding, and yet you need one person per your wedding ceremony more than any other out there, or else. . . you wouldn’t be married. Yes, you don’t have to tip a wedding officiant, but think of it this way: it’s good karma and a good way to start your marriage off on a positive note from the one person who joined you as husband and wife.
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