How much should I pay my hair dresser....

holldoll77

Okay!  So I live in Detroit and I have a destination wedding planned in Las Vegas for April of next year.  I want to take my hair dresser out there with me because lets face it, the hair is very important!  So what is fair.  I was thinking if I paid for her flight and her room then that is more than fair as she is getting a free trip out of the deal.  However, I've never done this before, what do you think is fair????  Thanks!!!!

XrebeccaX

You'd need to pay for her services as well.

Does she frequently travel to work? If you haven't asked, I would just inquire about what she expects if she is traveling to a job. Depending on her schedule and workload she may be "losing" other business/income if she goes out of town so that is something to consider.

I assume she would be going as a vendor, not a guest? Or are you close?

msuprincess04

I agree with PP, on top of travel costs, you need to pay for her services fee. This was the same with the photographers I contacted when I was looking for a local to come with us (ultimately chose against this). Don't think of it as "a free trip". She had no say in the when, where, or who, so it's not a vacation for her, it's a job that's really far away.

weddingcactus

I think you need to ask your hair dresser what you will need to pay to take her with you. Yes, she's getting a "free trip" out of the deal, but there is potentially a major opportunity cost (lost business while she's gone) and additional costs (eating out rather than at home, possible care for animals or children). You need to think about the fact that you're paying someone to travel out of town to be your personal hair dresser. This person will not be able to book any additional work during the time and will have to travel to the airport, travel via plane, and then travel to the venue. While I have never paid anyone to provide such a service, I personally would expect to pay a lot more than just plane and hotel. 

holldoll77

Thank you all so much!  I wanted un-biased opinions other than family and close friends.

agenevieve22016

You are a wonderful client. I am a stylist of 12years and if a client did this for me I would be honored of course but also would still need to get paid. Mind you most traveling wedding stylists charge an on location fee of 50+ then whatever fee for the service. I think it would be much worth her while if you have other people getting hair done as well because let's face it even if you pay her 200 she's traveling and losing a good two days of business which in turn is 1000s of dollars depending on how busy she is.