Should You Tip Your DJ? | 5 Talking Points About Making The Decision
The Decision is Yours to Tip Your DJ! But…
The easiest way to make the decision is whether or not your wedding DJ exceeded your expectations. A professional wedding DJ is going to take you above and beyond and immerse you in an experience that goes beyond anything you would believe. There are some personal considerations that must come into play as well: Your budget could be at the top of that list and this it totally normal and expected! We all consider finances when making any purchase decision. Like we said.. there are 5 things to consider when answering the question “should I tip my wedding dj?” and without further adieu let’s jump into them:
A huge thanks to Clare Norton Photography for this photo!
1. Expertise
Experience goes a long way when it comes to hiring a wedding DJ. One of the most important things an experienced DJ brings to the celebration is that they can think on their feet and make decisions that make possible disruptions go unnoticed.
Managing the energy of the event is important. Watching to see what people are and are not singing to during cocktail and dinner hours has a major impact on the succes of your dance floor.
And, are they, have they been, professional? What level of professionalism in their customer service, appearance, and approach to your wedding puts them a cut above the rest?
As we said before – if they have met or exceeded your expectations it is nice to tip your DJ but it is not a requirement at all.
2. The Music
Was the DJ helpful when creating a playlist for your wedding? This doesn’t mean putting a dance playlist together and letting it autoplay. Did they help you create something for cocktail and dinner hour to set the mood and the stage for dancing early on?
Do you feel like your DJ understood your vision and was able to put it all together with the selection of music as a whole? Your wedding soundtrack is one that you will remember forever. How your DJ impacted your soundtrack should directly impact their tip, too.
3. Technical Experience
A professional wedding DJ has the best of the best equipment. Any DJ can show up with some equipment to play music and have a microphone. It’s a rudimentary fact that all DJs will have things to play music – we just cannot escape that.
With that in mind can your DJ support multiple locations, do they have backups, can they support large crowds, how does it look? (Yes aesthetics matter!), how does it sound?
We’ll never sell you on equipment because it goes without saying that you deserve the best. But, when the reception has ended did it all sound good, look good, and serve the intended purpose without hiccups?
4. Engagement Skills
This can fall under the professionalism category but we felt that it deserves it’s own talking point because a DJ will make or break your wedding day. No one is talking about anything other than the food and entertainment on their drive home. If you have been to a few weddings we feel that you can relate to this. Solid wedding DJs will encourage dancing and have the necessary emcee (MC) skills to make announcements concise and clear. Less is more on the microphone because no one wants to hear the DJ talk; furthermore, your wedding is about you so… hush, DJ. Keep the day moving and guests having fun, right?
5. The Planning Process
Believe it or not your wedding DJ should be doing so much behind the scenes during your wedding planning process.
The DJ is part of the planning process – nobody wants a DJ to take their money for a deposit and then 3 weeks before the wedding start asking them about music. Want to talk about stress?
The planning process with a wedding DJ should be streamlined, informed, and stress-free. This all plays into the experience of a DJ, the curation of awesome playlists, understanding your vision, and most importantly allowing you to sit back relax and be care-free on your wedding day. No one wants or needs additional stressors…. especially during the superbowl of your life.
If the planning was less than ideal there is no reason to tip wedding vendors… especially the DJ. That’s the honest truth. Even if everything else came together. One of our biggest responsibilities is to take care of our clients… and if we fail at that then we have not fulfilled your needs.
Your Concerns
We touched on it already but your concerns about budget, musical preferences, and control like making a must play and do not play list, matter. With everything considered do you feel like you can make an informed decision to tip your DJ or not?
As Maine wedding professionals we do appreciate tips from our clients. But by no means is it ever an expectation. There are other Maine DJs that make tipping mandatory in their contracts and that goes directly against being professional. That’s like the restaurant including gratuity in your bill before you can experience the service offered by your waiter/waitress.
Tip only if your expectations we met or exceeded. Only tip if you are happy with what you received from the service a DJ provides. How much to tip wedding DJs? Again, this is discretionary. 10% to 20% is more than enough!
No use in tipping your wedding DJ if the planning process wasn’t easy. That’s how we think and feel. Hopefully these talking points and considerations will help you make an informed decision that is right for you.
professional djs portland, maine for weddings – schools & teens – uplighting – and photo booths – instagram – check out our blog | 207-317-2193 | chris@bouchardentertainment.com | 9 Michelle Way Saco, Maine 04072