DJ Cost & Tipping - How Much?

My fiancé DJ's (it is not his main business). He gets tips at some jobs and not others. It has ranged from $25-$100 from what I remember. He is not home for me to clarify.

Our DJ is $495 for reception and ceremony which is much less than his going rate. We will be tipping him at minimum 25%

This isn't an answer to your question unfortunately cause I have no idea but I have another question. If the DJ isn't apart of a company and chargers his own rates does that mean you don't have to tip?

Our DJ is really close in cost to yours, and we'll plan on tipping him about 10%.

Mrs. Chanel-- generally they say if a vendor is the owner of their own company, they don't really "need" to be tipped. I'd say if they do a really good job, though, then its not really offensive to tip. . .

I didn't know if 10% was overkill.... that's almost $200 bucks for just a tip...

My DJ is about the same as yours and also has an assistant to help with three locations (ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception). I've budgeted $65 for the DJ and $35 for the assistant.

Shamelessly bumping this for the earlybirds...

Our DJ is costing $1000 for 6 hours and a video set up for our photo montage. It is a husband and wife who own the company as a side gig. I plan to tip $50.

Our DJ is $1,095 for 4 hours of service. He will not be there for the ceremony or cocktail hour, just the reception and we'll be having dinner for an hour of that as it is. I'll most likely tip him around $25.

I don't understand tipping the dj honestly.

Our DJ is $1050.00 for 8 hours of service.

The full reception (5-11), Ceremony and Cocktail hour.

Added time for seating and ceremony

2nd sound system with wireless lapel mic for officiator

Typical planning session, approx 1-2 hrs

Selecting 30 minutes of seating music

Selecting music to seat Mothers/Grandmothers

Wedding Party Processional

Brides Processional

Unity/Sand Ceremony music

Recessional music selection

Not sure on what we will tip him yet.

I don't think you're being cheap! There's no way I'd tip my DJ 10%. Like you said, he gets paid to do the job and it's only for a few hours. For what I'm paying, that should be compensation enough but I realize it's expected that I give him something so it'll be minimal.

Ugh, these posts keep jumping still. That was meant for you, Jess

The "suggested gratuity" for the DJ company we are using is 10%... which in my case amounts to $180. I think this is a TON of money to tip someone a) who is doing the job he is paid to do anyway and b) is only going to show up for six hours on the day of my wedding.

I am someone who constantly OVER-tips people & I feel like it's strange that a DJ gets a "customary" 10% tip. I realize I don't HAVE to tip this amount, but I'm not sure what to do here (and when I look it up, it gives me a range from like $0-400).

Please someone tell me if I'm being cheap or sane.

We have a dj who is doing our ceremony, the reception and they also run the photobooth. I believe our total was $1424. I'm definitely not gonna tip 10% of that. They are already getting paid to do their job. He will prolly get around $40-$50. I'm gonna try and not feel bad about that but we have a ton of other expenses and can't afford to be tipping like crazy when they are already getting paid what I would assume is a good amount from our wedding.

10% is ridiculous. My wedding planner, who has done thousands of weddings, said you don't even tip the DJ! I felt bad not giving him one, so I gave him $50.

Our DJ was $1150. This included: set up, tear down, projector for our slide show, lights and music played during cocktail hour, dinner and the rest of the evening going from 5:30 p.m. until 2:00 a.m.

I have never heard of tipping a DJ and we did not tip our DJ either. He was also the one that owns the company.

Our DJ is charging us $550, we were planning on tipping him between $100-$150.

To answer the question about the DJ doing it on his own and not through a company, that is the same situation we have with our DJ. I felt more generous to tip a friend who is helping us out than a business that could potentially overcharge me.

That is my thought on the subject.

IMO, I don't understand overpaying a "celebrant".

My fiance is a wedding DJ, he's worked for a company and works independently. He does get tips 99% of the time. We plan to tip our DJ (also in the Boston area) and will do it at 10% of what we are paying. Living with one I realize just how much extra work is put in for a wedding, prep, meetings and then getting the crowd going. Do you have to tip them? no, but if they put on a great wedding and people are on the dance floor all night, i think it's nice to show your appreciation (if possible).

I agree @superman bride. I am paying my Church about $1000 for the wedding, and most of it is going to the musicians etc who will be there for an hour of work. $200 each and a "wedding coordinator" who will be given a slip of paper to tell people when to line up. to me that's ridiculous.

Our vow renewal is in Tenafly, NJ (Northern NJ). Our DJ is $1,195. 6 hours of service - music for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. We have a DJ and an MC and the price also includes party lights. We're tipping the MC and DJ $50 each. At first I was thinking 20% tip which I usually tip my hairdresser, nail salon, restaurants, etc. But 20% of $1,195 is $239. That's too much $$.

I found this site on tipping wedding vendors that helped me narrow the tipping down.

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/226661/tipping-wedding-vendors

I also think tipping DJs and other providers that may get paid only part of what you pay the whole company helps them out a little. You may pay 2k for 5 hours, but that person may only see $300 of it.