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Topic: US Wedding - Tipping the Justice of the Peace?  (Read 3138 times)

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US Wedding - Tipping the Justice of the Peace?
« on: May 17, 2010, 06:03:50 PM »
Has anyone gotten married by a Justice of the Peace (JOTP) in the US?

My fiance and I have decided to go for it, and marry in the US when he comes to visit in two weeks.  We will be having a JOTP officiate our ceremony.  One of my coworkers reminded me to tip the JOTP, but I'm not sure how that works.

Some websites said that you can tip them as long as you tip them during non-office hours, and the tip can be no more than $75.

Some websites said that you must call the tip a donation, and you can make a donation at any time, but it can't be more than $75.

Some websites said that you must call the tip a donation, and you can make a donation at any time, and it can be any amount.

Some websites said that if the JOTP is up front charging you a flat fee (in my case yes -  $75) for the ceremony, no tipping is required, unless s/he did a great job and then you can make a donation of an additional $10-15.

Anyone have any experience getting married with a JOTP in the US, and if so, did you tip?  How did you figure out the amount?


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Re: US Wedding - Tipping the Justice of the Peace?
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2010, 06:20:21 PM »
The judge that married us charged a flat rate (I think it was around $50) and we did not tip him.  We didn't have an actual ceremony per se, just met alone with the judge and spent 10 minutes in a private conference room at the courthouse.  I didn't really see where that needed a tip.  If he had officiated a ceremony on a weekend (or something else of that nature) we would have offered him a tip.


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Re: US Wedding - Tipping the Justice of the Peace?
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2010, 07:13:27 PM »
Our ceremony is going to be just myself and my fiance (and of course the JOTP).  We will be going to her house in the neighboring town where she has a beautiful garden where she officiates small intimate outdoor ceremonies.  She charges $75 if done in her town, and $125 if she is needed to travel anywhere else in the state.

I've asked around, and people have generously (really generously) tipped their JOTPs; however, they had large elaborate weddings and rehearsals and consultations with the JOTP and so on.  Ours is going to be just a little simple intimate ceremony in her garden on a Friday afternoon.

I don't want to make the mistake of not tipping when I was supposed to, or tipping when I wasn't supposed to, or tipping way too little.


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Re: US Wedding - Tipping the Justice of the Peace?
« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2010, 02:55:00 PM »
my friends had a JP an after the ceremony they put $50 in a card an said thank you, myself my son preformed mine an I don't tip family..lol


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