Tipping Bartender (i am providing alcohol)

I would tip 20% of what the bartender is charging you to be there. That’s not to say that you can’t tip how you feel is best, this is just my personal opinion

View Quoted Comment My bartender comes with the catering company, and they did not list how much we are paying for each staff member to be there. We only got a price per guest with everything included.

View Quoted Comment So your catering company only offers you the bartender but no alcohol? He’s probably already being listed somewhere on your invoice for gratuity then. I would ask your catering company

View Quoted Comment Meaning like even though it doesn’t specifically say price for a bartender, you might find a charge on your invoice that says ‘event staff and planning.’ But again I would just run it by the caterer

View Quoted Comment They offer alcohol, but we chose to provide our own because my fiancé's family owns a wine and beer distributing company. I'll definitely ask them. Thanks.

On average, a wedding bartender makes $40 an hour (more or less depending on area) so multiply that by how many hours s/he will be serving and tip on that. It doesn't matter if you're providing alcohol at a discount as you are tipping on the service provided.

View Quoted Comment No, I meant we are buying the alcohol at a discount because my fiancé's family owns the company we are getting it from. That's why I couldn't figure out the tip because every website I've looked at says to tip a percent of the bar tab. I didn't know the hourly wage of wedding bartenders so thank you for the insight!

It is variable. Neaw most tourist, Inn places, or upper middle class areas where home parties are catered and have a bar, the standard is nearer $50, with no tip jars allowed, and an hour to set up and clean up ( work hours + 1) in figuring tip.