tipping question

hyechica81

so our dj cake and centerpieces are provided from the venue, we paid and extra 900 for the complete package

do we have to tip the dj or would that fall under the gratuity we are giving the venue?

also what is decent amount to tip the photographer and if we have to tip the dj?

TotalGlamBride

I would tip both the photog and DJ.  The amount would depend on cost of your packages.  15% maybe?

melbelleup

I would definitely tip both if you like their work. DJs can be tipped less than a photographer. I plan to tip my dj $50 if he does a good job, maybe more depending. I plan to tip my photographer $100 once I get the photos back, maybe more depending on the quality.

s-aries8990

Budget for 15-20% for both.

Tip them both after their services have been completed - the DJ after the night is over and the photographer after you receive the photos back.

If they are phenomenal and completely exceed your expectations, give 20% and a positive review. If they are great, and exceed your expectations a bit, 10-15% is just fine.

If they are terrible don't tip them.

A gratuity is to show gratitude - it should never be required in non-food-service industries, but also shouldn't be withheld because a person is the business owner and sets their own prices.

lc07

I don't think 15-20% is necessary. In my area, experienced photographers run $3,000 + which would equal a $600+ tip. I think that's excessive. $50-$200 is the norm that my photographer friends have told me they receive when they do get tipped which is not always. 

hyechica81

my photog is costing 1500 so i think 100 should be good

my dj was part of a package 900 extra for dj cake and flowers if you break that down its 700 for dj 200 for cake and the flowers they have are silk in house flowers

SP29

We paid $750 for our DJ. We were quite happy with his services. I believe DH tipped him $150 at the end of the night. We paid $200 for our cupcakes from a private vendor and tipped her $40. That works out to 20% for both. 

I think you can figure out a reasonable amount based on the amount of work done. For example, we met up with the DJ once prior to the wedding to discuss the play list and flow of the ceremony reception, plus he provided music for our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception, in addition to showing up an hour early for set up (about 11 hours total), so that extra $150 isn't really "much". 

Agreed- always tip at the completion of service. We tipped our DJ at the end of the night as he was packing up. We tipped the lady who made our cupcakes the next day with the return of the cupcake stand. We didn't tip our florist, and likely will not be tipping our photographer (because some recent issues have arisen that I am not pleased with), but if we did, we would have with our final payment when we received our completed photos on disk.