Who do we pay?

Question

We have a lot of friends helping out during our wedding ceremony:

- our Pastor who is the officiant
- some friends who are leading worship
- a good friend who is doing all of the flowers and decorations (we are footing the bill)
- our friend who is the translator (bilingual service)
- a friend who is doing the photography

The question is: Who do we pay and who do we take out to dinner informally as a gesture of thanks?

Answer 1

You should pay the pastor, the florist, the translator, and the photographer. They are all providing professional services. The friends who are leading worship should be taken to dinner.

Remember, some of your friends may turn down payment, so you should take them to dinner instead.

Answer 2

def pay the pastor.. and take the translator and the friends leading the worship out for a nice dinner.. but as for the photography and the flowers, i need a little more info.. like your friend that agreed to take the pictures.. is she using a normal digital camera or a professional camera? is she a guest at your wedding and shes just gonna take the pis while shes partying or is she strictly the photographer and no partying? if she is strictly the photographer with a professional camera then def pay her.. if she is a guest and will be not just focusing on the pics then only take her out to a nice dinner.. as for the flowers and decorations.. is she a florist? is she using real flowers? is she a professional decorator? has she done this before? is anyone helping her? did she offer? or did you ask her? those are the things to consider when deciding if you should pay her or take her out to dinner..

Answer 3

I would pay the friend doing the photography and the friend doing the translating. Depending on the scale of the wedding and how much time would need to be committed, you might want to also pay your friend who is doing the decorating.

If it would be appropriate the pastor should also receive some sort of fee.


Congratulations!

Answer 4

I would just ask them outright if they would like payment or if they are offering their services as a wedding gift. Except for the pastor, I would make a donation to the church as a thank you if he is not charging you a set fee. (ask him what the fee is and if he says there is none tell him you would like to make a donation then)

Answer 5

Pay the pastor, and pay the person taking the pictures, that would ost you a arm and leg if you did not have a friend doing that.Give everyone else a nice gift and dinner.

Answer 6

You should offer to pay, but they may not take it. Also, if your parents are paying, traditionally, the groom's family pays the pastor.

As a musician, if I play for friends, I don't take money. A lot of people feel like this.

Answer 7

If they have said they are providing the service as a gift to you, then do not pay them. If they have not said, then offer payment. If declined, take to dinner.

Answer 8

You should pay me....seriously you should offer all of them some type of payment and if they don't accept then you take them out or make them dinner as a show of gratitude for their kindness.

Answer 9

I guess it depends on if they offered or you asked. If they offered I would say you dont need to pay. But if you asked, you might want to pay a little something. Or just have a dinner party, invite all these people and give your thanks then. Congrats.

Answer 10

have a little get together at your house this way anyone who wants to come can come!