How Much Did U Tip Your Disney Wedding Planner?

[SandyinMonterey]

Just wondering how much and how did you decide amount of tip to your Disney wedding planner?

 

[carolwoodpacific]

You do not have to tip the wedding planner as she/he is paid by Disney. My DH and I decided to tip our planner because we loved her so much because of how easy she made things and went above and beyond on a few items. I read somewhere that the range is up to $500 when you do not base it on a percentage of your wedding cost. We tipped $300 cash.

 

[Chilly]

We didn't tip our planner but I did get her a gift.

 

[acurry417]

We didn't tip either, we got her a gift.

 

[wiigirl]

We didn't tip our planner but I did get her a gift.

Same here.

 

[sambycat]

we sent ours a dooney DCL wristlet from our honeymoon. i had read people gave gifts and cash tips weren’t accepter. i guess people tip cash. some of the CM tipping at WDW in general has changed and i think some positions accept tips that used to not.

 

[GatorGirlBelle]

I think a small gift would be nice, maybe a gift certificate to a nice restaurant and movie tickets!

 

[sue]

We did not tip either but we did get the information from Disney as to where we could send a letter so as to give her a great reference.

Our daughter worked for Disney for a year and Disney Corporation takes these letter VERY SERIOUSLY!! It can lead to better jobs etc.

 

[KristiLyn]

I'm doing a gift

 

[Waltfan54]

There has, for quite some time, been a misinformed mindset that Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Planners should not be tipped. If you’ve sat with your wedding planner hour after hour, if she answered every email from the bride, the groom, the future in-laws etc. and she’s knocked herself out to pull it all off flawless event working around strict time schedules, changing weather conditions and personal demands, a suitable cash tip would demonstrate your gratitude in the best possible way, on one of the biggest events of your life.

Frames, wine and other little tokens are attractive dust collectors that you would not give to a minister or photographers or limo drivers who spent hours with you. Why would you give them to the DFTW planner who worked months (or over a year) on your wedding??

 

[sambycat]

While I totally do not disagree with the above sentiment, I would guess that strong opinion would come from someone who works DFTWs! It's a newer development that many positions accept tips at Disney in general. It used to be difficult to tip bell services at resorts! And I'm sure I'm about to sound like a big fat jerk, but DFTWs cost a pretty penny and the planning services are part of that. I don't think tipping is bad, and I do agree that cash is the best gift. But what amount then? $100? $200? $50? I think if a wedding planner is a tipped position, there should be guidelines from Disney then. Also, on the day of, you may it nay not work with several point people. How do we tip them? And although the vast majority of DFTW CMs do indeed go above and beyond, not all do and while I think it's a tough and important job and I couldn't do it nor can I pretend to understand all tge things expected of planners, I also don't believe that the philosophy of DFTW is "personalized individual planning". It's a bit of a process and answering emails and the like are part of that. Again, some of us are are a nightmare I'm sure!

My feelings in general is that employers and businesses need to compensate their employees fairly. I vote everytkme for giving CMs more money! Yay! I'm wondering what, Waltfan54, you might suggest as a tip on a $13000 wedding package? And to whom? What about floral? I'm just confused on how much it should be then? I feel like it shouldn't be a tipped position, but not out of not wanting the planner to be rewarded or that they don't "deserve" it.

I'm sure I sound like a jerk, I'm sorry I just feel that the tipping thing, in some situations, is very odd.

 

[Waltfan54]

Your response to my post was not at all silly, the tipping controversy is a delicate one.
The original post; “Just wondering how much and how did you decide amount of tip to your Disney wedding planner?” caught my eye as did all the responses. I was simply responding to old misconceptions regarding the tipping of Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Planners.
They can accept cash tips.
The idea of tipping is sure to send some people into fits of nerve wracking hysteria, but it is not that complicated and you are not silly for bringing it up.
It’s simple! Tip those people who went ‘out of their way’ to make your special day extraordinary. The DFTW planners and their assistants who cater to all the brides and mother-in-law worries and anxieties should be thanked in a way commensurate with their time and efforts to put a huge undertaking into motion and completion. I don’t believe Disney should have tipping guidelines because it is a personal thought. What would I give a DFTW planner on a $13000 wedding? Well..if I gave the photographer & DJ/Band say $50-$100 (or whatever you can sensibly afford) for going above the job they were contracted for, I think the DFTW planner should get at least double or triple that amount and I would tip the DFTW assistants at least the same size tip as the photographer or DJ.

A co-worker has a relative who had a Disney wedding and it is that from which I speak. I disagree with you when you stated; “I also don't believe that the philosophy of DFTW is "personalized individual planning.” The DFTW team my co-worker witnessed did deliver "personalized individual planning” for her relative and put into motion all the ideas their daughter had in her lifetime.

By the way I see you heading to an Alaskian vacation. We cruised there years ago and loved every minute of it. If you are taking a Disney cruise to Alaska..WOW, you are going to LOVE it!

 

[rrali33tt]

I plan on waiting until after my wedding weekend to decide if I am going to tip or not and how much.

My wedding will probably cost 60k...so according to the above posts I should give her 1k? Absolutely not. I am not able to attend an in person planning session. I am having a 2 hour phone converstation in place of that. When I send emails I usually get responses from my planners assistant and not my planner. I have a ton of my own spreadsheets. I have a huge one for budget,& seating charts. I will probably plan everything she does on my own so I don't see her as anything but a facilitator as of this point. I have my planning session in a few weeks but its not that long as a normal one.

Anywho I am a bit skeptical and confused on the whole tipping for Disney weddings in general. For a regular at home wedding you would tip your wedding planner because you hire the person and that person suggests things to you and brings you ideas. It is advertised that by having a Disney wedding you receive a planner. Whether some planners go above and beyond varies between brides.

 

[sambycat]

I plan on waiting until after my wedding weekend to decide if I am going to tip or not and how much.

My wedding will probably cost 60k...so according to the above posts I should give her 1k? Absolutely not. I am not able to attend an in person planning session. I am having a 2 hour phone converstation in place of that. When I send emails I usually get responses from my planners assistant and not my planner. I have a ton of my own spreadsheets. I have a huge one for budget,& seating charts. I will probably plan everything she does on my own so I don't see her as anything but a facilitator as of this point. I have my planning session in a few weeks but its not that long as a normal one.

Anywho I am a bit skeptical and confused on the whole tipping for Disney weddings in general. For a regular at home wedding you would tip your wedding planner because you hire the person and that person suggests things to you and brings you ideas. It is advertised that by having a Disney wedding you receive a planner. Whether some planners go above and beyond varies between brides.

Agree

 

[andeesings]

I think a wedding planner should get a few hundred dollars- rather like a maitre'd at a wedding. At my brother's wedding at a country club, they didn't have a planner but had the man in charge of events at the country club. He put us bridesmaids in order, told us when to step off, made sure everything was set up properly, for all intents and purposes he coordinated the flow of the day. He didn't even do all the planning for my brother and his wife that a Disney planner does. At the end of the evening my dad gave him a few hundred dollars as a thank you.

I know that US tipping culture can sometimes seem extreme- and extremely frustrating. (I personally go berserk thinking about tipping housekeeping staff, and really anyone who earns a regular salary). Why should we have to tip people that make a regular salary? Argh!!!mso frustrating! But the fact is-- the US is a tipping culture. When in doubt, tip-- always. Even if it's just a few dollars (a dollar a bag for porters, etc, $1-2 a night for housekeeping, etc). Even if you're just giving someone a few dollars, it's a nice thought. I wouldn't tip a planner more than $500, though, but even if you DIDN'T have a Disney wedding, you'd still need to budget in money to tip a maître'd at a wedding elsewhere. It's just good manners. As much as I resent it, I always budget in money for tips now when I'm throwing parties. Heck, if I'm spending that much money it's a couple of hundred dollars more. Of course everyone can make their own decisions- it's entirely up to the individual! Tips are after all discretionary money!! But I used to work for tips, so I just know how frustrating it is to go above and beyond all the time and get a handshake. It can really get to you after a while!

I console myself with this fact- the US might be a big tipping culture, but it's NOT as bad as the Middle East!! When I was traveling in the Middle East, the locals expected "baksheesh" for EVERYTHING! If someone held a door for me- he held his hand out! Talk about culture shock!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I will like to add to my post:
I posted this because I had asked my wedding planners assistant about tipping her. He did not (or ever) say that they don't receive tips. He actually said "the usual is 10% of your wedding cost."

 

[alyaki]

I will like to add to my post:
I posted this because I had asked my wedding planners assistant about tipping her. He did not (or ever) say that they don't receive tips. He actually said "the usual is 10% of your wedding cost."

I'm trying not to cringe and have my jaw hang open, because that would be about $1500 for my wedding - and we're keeping as close to minimums as we can. I'm planning on $200-$400 for the planner, and $100 for the assitant (more if I'm in contact with them more than the planner). I just won't have an extra $2000 to cover higher tips, so I have to make due with the $800-$900 I plan to set aside for it (that's for everyone). I feel bad, but it's what I'll be able to afford.

 

[mco65]

I'm trying not to cringe and have my jaw hang open, because that would be about $1500 for my wedding - and we're keeping as close to minimums as we can. I'm planning on $200-$400 for the planner, and $100 for the assitant (more if I'm in contact with them more than the planner). I just won't have an extra $2000 to cover higher tips, so I have to make due with the $800-$900 I plan to set aside for it (that's for everyone). I feel bad, but it's what I'll be able to afford.

Do NOT feel bad... $2-$400 is a GREAT Tip regardless of the cost of your wedding. The very last thing your planner will want from you is for you to feel bad about their tip so DON'T!!!

 

[sambycat]

I will like to add to my post:
I posted this because I had asked my wedding planners assistant about tipping her. He did not (or ever) say that they don't receive tips. He actually said "the usual is 10% of your wedding cost."

I don't begrudge anyone tips. I think this would be the industry low end standard for a wedding planner who owns their own business and is pulling all these deals together for you. Some people charge that as the fee for wedding planning services (like an interior decorator), the fee for service is 10-20% of the cost of the job. Again, tip away, I would certainly like to have done more for some people but I do wish something official in the mounds of paperwork addressed this? A Disney wedding planner and the system they use is not like an "outside" wedding planning service. I'm not at all saying they don't work hard or deserve tips at all, and totally agree that probably what we sent after the fact falls in the lame tchotchke category. Had I to do it over again, I think I would have given $100 (instead of the LE $60 purselet) on a wedding of about $12k. If I had a wedding budget upwards of 75k it might be different.


Just my thoughts. I just don't think it's the same as having a small wedding business locally owned, DFTW is for the most part an in house wedding machine. So many great CMs there and in event planning execution. I'd like to think Dusney would compensate their employees well.

 

[ja4791]

Who gets tipped if you are having an Escape wedding, which is pretty much already a set deal that's ready to roll out for 2 hours? I thought alot of the reason Disney Weddings cost so much is because of the effort they put into it. Now you're supposed to tip them on top of that? Who are you supposed to tip? The planner, assistant, preacher, cake server, violinist, limo driver, florist, cake maker, photographer?