To tip or not to tip!?

hkda2003

Ok, so if my DJ and photographer both have their own companies, work only for themselves, and keep 100% of what we pay them, do we still tip them!? The bottom of the contract for our DJ specifically says, "tips are not expected, but certainly appreciated!" What would you all do?

Dignity100

Honestly -- If you think they did a great job, I would tip them.  I would put it at the lower end of the spectrum though. 

For the DJ it says a typical tip amount is $50-150; since he owns his own business I'd probably do more of the $25-50 just to show appreciation.

You will not know with your photographer until AFTER the wedding; so there are several ways you can handle this.  You could just tip him/her at the end of the night/your session or you could wait to receive your pictures, if you love them, send a gift card as a thank you and if you don't just leave it as you paid for the service.  Make sure you are prepared to tip an assistant if your photographer uses one.  Photographer is listed at $50-200 on the 'cheat sheet'.

I guess I really don't understand the whole 'if they own the business; you don't need to tip them' -- sure they do get a larger percentage of the profits but at the same time, it's a way of showing your appreciation towards them.  Just remember, any reasonable tip is not going to be an insult; I'm sure all the vendors know that there is a budget and by the time tips are entered into a budget, that budget is wearing thin.

itsmestacey123

My wedding coordinator said something along the lines of "if they do a great job, $20-$50 would be nice."  She made it seem like for the most part vendors don't expect tips because they know they are in the wedding industry and already make a lot of money doing what they do. Some also include tip or a service charge, so keep that in mind.  I agree with @Dignity100 - probably $50 is appropriate.