Erica Jones, owner/creative director of Chicago-based Elevated Occasions
Budget for tax and gratuity: βWith wedding planning, couples oftentimes havenβt factored in tax/gratuity when creating their budget. I recommend that couples plan for at least 30 percent tax/gratuity/service fees in their wedding budget. Sounds pricey, but if you take catering as an example, you typically have approximately 18 percent gratuity + 11.5 percent sales tax (varies by municipality/state). So, if your budget is $20K, think about if thatβs βall-inβ or if you are prepared to pay an extra $6K in taxes/gratuity/fees. In addition, there might be additional staff that you want to tip day-of, such as delivery crews. If you want to stay on budget and not have surprise fees once you tally things up, definitely factor all of these things into your initial budget.β
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