Do I Need To Tip The Musicians?

You’ve done your homework and planned out your budget to the penny. But the big day is arriving and whoa- are you supposed to tip your vendors? How much and when should you tip your wedding musicians - if you need to tip at all?

Photo courtesy of Viera Photographics

Photo courtesy of Viera Photographics

We get this question all the time. Our philosophy is tips are “never expected, but always appreciated”. We make sure our artists are paid well and can afford their rent, groceries, and bills. That being said, we’d never say no to a tip! Musicians spend hours and hours outside of gigs preparing and practicing for your celebration. A classical musician can practice for 6 hours a day including going to school and working. That’s a lot of time and tips are a nice “bonus” for people who work weekends, nights, and holidays.

Photo courtesy of Viera Photographics

Photo courtesy of Viera Photographics

We’ve been to gigs where we see $50 per band member as a standard tip. Some folks do $100 per player, some $30 and some do not tip at all. You can package all the tips up and hand it to the band leader at the end of the night. No matter what, we dedicate the same energy, consistency, and style to every event tip or no tip. It sounds cheesy, but we’re here to party, not collect tips. Making the night run smoothly is what we look forward to, rather than the extra dough.

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