Photography by Ella Florence Photography

Okay so this blog post might get a little awkward as we are talking about duhduhduh… money.  Yes this post today is all about tipping your wedding vendors.  Why am I writing about this on a makeup blog you may be asking yourself?  Well because my last 3 weddings brides have been talking about it.  So I want to clear up some things from my perspective which is yes a makeup artist, wedding vendor and also a consumer.  There seems to be a lot of confusion about tipping which I honestly don’t know why because it seems straight forward.  I personally tip based on my experience with businesses.  A tip is additional so if I have poor service than I am not going to be inclined to tip extra, so with this blog post you are not going to find a guide on who should get tipped but rather why they should get tipped. So here it goes your musings from a Bonney Lake bridal makeup artist.

Photography by Anne Burgess Photography

Did your vendor have good communication with you throughout the wedding process?  If you felt your vendor was there for you and had good communication skills, was able to talk to you throughout the wedding planning process and you felt confident in their skills.  Were they able to problem solve with you?  Then yes you should tip them.  Good communication skills is lacking in this social media world especially when there is a problem and the first response is to run and hide.  If you have found a vendor who communicated well with you then by all means tip them as a thank you.

Did your vendor follow through on what they promised you in their contract?  If you had a vendor who promised things to you that went above and beyond your expectations than by all means tip them.  It is very easy to over sell our selves to book weddings and it is very easy to not follow through.  If your vendor checked all those boxes for you than as a thank you tip them.

Photography by Lauren Lilly Photography

When they showed up to your wedding ready to go?  All your interactions with your vendors up until the point of your wedding day have been before your wedding day.  You still have no idea how your wedding day is going to go.  My suggestion would be to bring tip envelopes and tip each vendor at the end of their services.  That way if something happens or you feel like your vendors weren’t putting effort into your day or just going through the motion you can reevaluate how you want to use your money.  If your wedding day goes flawlessly all your vendors show up ready to go then by all means tip them they deserve it.

Should you just tip businesses with employees and not business owners?  Honestly this question shouldn’t matter you tip people based on how you get treated and if you felt they were an asset to your wedding day.  Being a business owner or not should have nothing to do with your tipping process.  

Photography by Gina Paulson Photography

Here are some alternative ideas that you can do instead of tipping your vendors that are equally as meaningful.  Find out your vendors favorite drink and buy them a bottle of wine or a gift card to Starbucks.  Give them a gift card to a nice restaurant so they can celebrate the end of wedding season with a nice dinner.  Put together a nice gift basket with little trinkets.  Give them a nice thank you card.  And last but not least don’t forget reviews.  A meaningful well written review is what keeps our businesses going.  Remember that tipping doesn’t always have to be monetary and most people would be very thankful with a well thought out thank you gift.  I hope this helped you in your decisions to tip your vendors or not.

Photography by Jenny  Ostenson Photography

So you just got engaged.  You are so excited to start planning your wedding, you have figured out your date, you have booked your venue.  You have your bridesmaids all figured out.  You have asked them in a cute proposal maybe a wine glass that says “Will you be my bridesmaid?”  They have said yes.  Everybody is excited to get their dresses, their shoes and their jewelry.  Six or seven months comes around and you are in the process of booking your beauty team for your wedding, your artist asks how many people are wanting makeup and hair services.  You panic you haven’t figured this part out yet.  Who pays for it?  Do you offer it to them?  Do you make everyone get services?  Don’t worry this blog post has got you covered.  Figuring out who pays for services can be tricky so here is a guide to help you through it.  

Photography by Jody Colman Photography

Do you have a specific look that you want your attendant’s to have?  If you and your attendant’s have agreed on using a specific look that matches their features and a specific hair style that works with their hair than payment should fall on the bride.  Having a cohesive look definitely works for certain parties but it definitely takes away the freedom for your attendants to choose.  It is only fair that if your attendant’s can’t choose their specific look than they shouldn’t have to pay.  

Do you want each person in your bridal party to get hair and makeup done?  If makeup and hair services are an important part of your wedding to you and you are wanting each person in your bridal party to get services than payment should fall on the bride.  If getting makeup and hair done is a non negotiable for your bridal party than you absolutely should support your girls and pay for the beauty services and think of it as a wedding expense.

Photography by Sarah Carlson Photography

Have you got them a bridal party gift? If you haven’t gotten them a bridal party gift than maybe consider gifting beauty services to them.  Your wedding day is an experience and who doesn’t love getting dolled up.  I have had many brides gift their bridal party beauty services and their bridal party is so appreciative.  

Does your bridal party meet your makeup artist’s minimum?  I have had brides who only pay for their mom and sister because that meets my minimum and then give their bridal party the option to choose makeup and hair services.  This is a great option if you have an indecisive bridal party who haven’t decided yet or you don’t care if your bridal party has different looks.

Photography by Chris Klass Photography

You want your bridal party to have an option of choosing what is best for them.  If you just want to make it optional for your bridal party than absolutely have your bridal party choose and pay for themselves.  This is great for a few reasons it will cut down beauty costs for you and your attendant’s will feel great and comfortable in their own skin.  

I hope that this blog post helped with any confusion on who pays for beauty services.  Remember this is just musings of a bridal beauty makeup artist.  There is no right or wrong answer here and you absolutely have to go with what works best for your budget and wedding.  

Photography by Rebecca Anne Photography

I am so excited that today on my blog I get to feature my friend Katrina from Love Bloom Wedding and Events.  Katrina is seriously the sweetest person and so incredible.  We met a few years ago at a wedding vendor group meet up and she was just the nicest person.  When I tell you this woman is so hard working I mean it she is at all the wedding shows, she is a floral designer, an event planner and a venue owner.  She is a wife, momma of 2 kids and basically a super hero.  I have never met someone with her drive and it shows with all of her success.  She is the very definition of boss babe.  So here it goes.

Photography by Rebecca Anne Photography

1) Tell me a little bit about Love Blooms Wedding and Events?

Love Blooms offers the convenience of many vendors within one company.  We can virtually do it all.  We offer event design, full service coordination, wedding planning, custom floral to fit your budget and theme, chalkboard art, decor rentals and full installation setup and tear down.  Our goal is to help you achieve your every wedding dream while making the planning process stress free.  You can chose to hire us for all or just one!  Whatever your need we are here to help!

2) How is wedding planning different when you also are a florist?

The experience for our clients is a lot less stressful and everything is a lot more cohesive since we are able to design and coordinate the floral, decor, linens, and all other design elements. 

Photography by Amanda Llyod Photography

3) Do you feel you can cater more to your brides because of your knowledge about the wedding industry as a whole?

Since I started Love Blooms eight years ago I have seen and worked with many different aesthetics, budgets, visions, and ethnicity’s, so through all my experiences I am able to cater to each client and their individual needs.  I also have a great understanding of all aspects of the wedding so I can step in and help wherever I am needed. 

4) What makes your venue space different then other spaces?

Our venue space is the only garden venue on the east side.  It is also very close to a popular Washington landmark, Snoqualmie Falls.  We also have long access hours so you are able to get ready in our gorgeous suits. 

Photography by Rebecca Jane Photography

5) What is your favorite part about wedding planning and floral design?

I love getting clients who have big dreams, don’t know how to execute their vision and don’t feel they have the budget enough to do so.  I take their wants and dreams and figure out a way to make it a reality for them.

Seriously Katrina is amazing at what she does.  To learn more about Love Blooms Wedding and Events click here.  To learn more about Katrina’s venue click here.