Lauren Kay
Appearances
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
Okay, so this is such a common question. And I love that you asked it, Colleen, because I feel like... I don't know about you guys, but you can't go anywhere anymore without being requested for a tip. Someone gives you a cup of coffee, you know, you get in a taxi, it's everywhere. And I think our tipping culture has changed a lot over the years. You aren't wrong, you know, in terms of
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
tipping, ultimately they're at the discretion of you and your partner. So it's a great way to recognize the hard work that your vendors are putting in. It's a service industry job, right? A lot of people are accustomed to tips. Traditionally, business owners of larger companies don't get tipped. So how you were raised and what you learn is still the case.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
However, you know, a lot of these vendors who are bringing your day together aren't really large companies. They're smaller companies. There might be an owner and a two or three person team. Additionally, sometimes the service will really exceed your expectations.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
Maybe not the Costco cake, but maybe your photographer is going to be juggling four cameras all night and just capturing all those details you have been planning for the last year. And you'll want to Really honor their work by showing some gratuity. Also, a good thing to keep in mind, Colleen, is to check your contract.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
Sometimes vendors include tips as part of the contract, kind of like when you go to a restaurant and they say gratuity is included for parties of eight or more. Sometimes a caterer, for example, will have a tip in their contract. So you just want to make sure you read that closely. Another great way to show your appreciation if you don't want to tip monetarily is to write a thank you note.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
I think that we are in such a unique age of technology and text messages and whatnot, nothing like a handwritten note just to really show your gratitude. And furthermore, So many of these pros really rely on you as their best advertising.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
So going on to a website like that and going into the marketplace to write a review of your wedding pro is just a great way to honor the service they gave you and to help promote their business. We have an entire vendor tip sheet on our website. So you can get the breakdown of like, what's the typical percentage for a hairstylist? How much should you tip a photographer?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
What is the going rate for a musician or a delivery person? So that will help you break down. But again, it's really about what you and your partner feel comfortable with and about the service you receive and how you want to show that gratuity. The other thing I would say is, you know, think about people who might get a little overlooked, like maybe your bartenders.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
And again, I would just double check that venue contract because it does include catering. There might be a gratuity already built in for the servers and people like that. Also musicians. I don't know if you have anybody there, if any parking attendants or I always like to think about the people who might get overlooked because they often are working the hardest.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
And that's a really nice way just to show your gratitude to them as well. That is a great point. Yeah.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
Yes, I think anywhere from 15 to 25% of the total fee is pretty normal for people like that.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
This is a great question, Colleen, and I love the way you're thinking about it. So the short answer is I don't think you do. I don't think you need to provide a ride from the hotel to the church given the proximity. I hear you on the heat. I hear you on the heels. But there are other alternatives.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
So if you wanted to do something thoughtful and kind for people who might need extra help getting to the church, you could always try and do a transportation discount code through a ride share service like an Uber or a Lyft. which could allow people to take advantage of that if it's available in the area, or let people know if there's transportation.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
Check with your hotel too, the recommended hotels. They might have a shuttle that usually takes people within a mile distance of the hotel. I think the most important thing to consider is the transportation to the reception and the way home. You know, you want everyone to get home safely if they're drinking.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
And I think that's the key thing when planning a wedding and a reception is that transportation piece on the back half. So we always say if your locations are more than 30 minutes apart, it's worth considering providing transportation for all wedding guests. This means they won't be inconvenienced with ride chairs or a long wait or a long drive. Everyone will arrive on time.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
But it always comes down to your personal preference. So I think what you've outlined makes a lot of sense for your budget. And I think it's still very thoughtful and making sure that your guests are getting that ride to the reception and a safe ride home. And I think they can find their way to the church.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
That makes sense. And that's kind of one of the things I love about wedding planning today is it really is your personal preference. There are no rules. You get to do what feels right to you as a couple. And yes, what you're referencing is our Not 2025 Real Wedding Study, where we survey all sorts of data, namely the average cost. It comes up a lot.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
And the average cost across the nation is $33,000. But yes, in specific cities, it's either more or less. So when you get into an urban environment like your San Francisco or my New York City, everything costs more. So I think what it gets down to then is, A, do you have the savings and do you want to spend your money that way?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
And if you don't, how can you spend less than that average and still have an event that is memorable, that reflects who you are as a couple, and that is special? And it is absolutely doable. You know, you both are thinking about this from a very budget mindset, which I love because that means that your money is going where you want it to
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
whether that's a trip to japan or planning for your future together so we find a lot of couples are being really intentional about all their decisions and how they're spending um you know and they're they're really making sure that they're well versed in how much things cost and And that just allows you to be a little bit more thoughtful about your budget from the get-go.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
If you know you only have so much to spend, you can do what it sounds like you did, Colleen. What are my number one, two, and three priorities? What are my partner's top three priorities? And how can we align on them so that we can be spending our budget with intention and be really comfortable with how we spent our money without going over budget?
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
Yeah, so this is going to sound kind of counterintuitive, but stick with me here. I think the number one tip I always give couples is to hire a wedding vendor team. It sounds like, you know, you're spending money on things, but truly when you work closely with these vendors, you will be able to save money.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
You'll be able to stay within your budget and still get your desired outcome, whether that's a style of cake you like or florals that represent your vision. You know, these vendors are so keen in bringing your day to life and doing it in a magical way. And they're so good at what they do. They're really solution oriented. They can provide you with a lot of advice.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
They can give you alternatives that you can stay within budget. So I think it's a great way to get creative while still sticking to your budget.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
And like I said, there's a whole article on tipping on the knot.com. So if you get stuck or you're like, Ooh, what did she say about this? You can go back and check it out on our website and it'll help you budget ahead. And I think that's so smart because that is a thing like kind of like the alterations around your dress.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
You might've budgeted a thousand dollars for your dress and you spent $999 and oops, now you need to get some alterations or you need to get some undergarments. So those are those little sneaky costs that add up and that can make people go over budget. So adding those tips in early is a huge win for you.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
Oh, so glad to be here. I'm hoping I have answers to all your questions.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
So yeah, I think it is definitely a common thing we see. It's just competitive in terms of time of year. People want to get married. Certain venues are more popular than others. And the same goes for pros. A lot of couples will say, no, I have to have this photographer. I have to have this venue. And so then you're really kind of
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
playing this game against dates and timing and just do all the stars align to pull off this dream wedding. So it definitely is something we hear more often. I think people are really deliberate with their choices. They are looking to give their guests great experience. And so every reservation, every choice, every guest on the list requires just a lot of thought and input.
NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Spend Smarter This Wedding Season: Travel, Tipping, and More, (featuring The Knot)
And it is a little bit of that stars aligning for that perfect day.