Tipping for Wedding in DR

I am getting married in less than a month and am breaking down my budget list...

I am wondering about Tipping? I know that there is already service charges on our wedding bill but dont know if or even who I would/should tip for my wedding day? Or even how much?

Any ideas ladies? I need your help!

Ours was included also but we went ahead and tipped anyway. I think use the general rule of thumb-if the service surpassed your expectations and your were pleased with the result, throwing some extra $$ their way would be much appreciated. It doesn't have to be a lot, just what you feel comfortable with.

We have the bartenders/servers each a small tip, then a fairly large one for the WC if that helps at all.

I read a lot about this before we left and then just did what we felt was right. We were married in DR as well. Here is what we tipped

 

Rehersal Dinner-$40 for waitstaff

 

WC-$160 for WC and her assistant. Plus I gave our WC all of our centerpieces, candles, and left over stuff because she was starting a busines. They were AMAZING and nothing I could pay them would equal what they gave me on my wedding day.

 

DJ-$20

 

Waitstaff for reception-$40 but I feel like I should have given them more

 

Spa-tipped as I do at home 15-20%

 

The videogrpaher owned the business so we didn't feel it necessary to give him more. The photog we flew from home so that was enough. Rick York was our "Pastor" we paid him $300 for the ceremony so that was more than enough. The musicians were paid directly $200 for a half an hour so again that was enough.

 

I think it really depends on what you are comfortable with and the service you are given.

I would like to tip my WC too but never even thought about the other ppl involved. I'll have to bring a lot more money than I thought! lol

Has anyone given a 'gift' (like a bracelet or some sort of jewelry) to their WC instead of $? When giving $/gift to WC, how/when did you give it to her (as I am not sure when is the last time you will see her on your wedding day)?

Can you tell me if you had a good experience working with him and was he worth the $300 or do you think the WC could have done the same thing. I have reserved him for my date and he sent me a sample ceremony and it is very pretty, just wanna know how you felt about his ceremony. Also were you required to get a day pass for him? Thanks!

We also had Pastor York, and I would pay it again in a second. It seems like a lot of money but the service the wedding coordinator would give you is really short (5-10min) and in broken English... Pastor York did a great service and you can tweak it to your expectations. I had comments that it was one of the best services my guests had been to. Needless to say I think he is defiantly worth the money. Also my MIL and family really appreciated having a pastor do the ceremony as they are a little religious. PM me if you have any other questions.

Also, he just did the ceremony and left I barely saw him as things got busy (as you can imagine) so we did not have to get a day pass for him. If he stays as a guest and eats etc then you would have to get him a day pass.

I would like to tip my WC, however I do not just want to give her cash. I was originally thinking of giving her a bracelet (or some other jewelery) but I think that this has probably been completely over done and the WC most likely has too much jewelery already. Does anyone have any other ideas for gifts for the WC? Any and all ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!