Wedding DJs
There are so many details to think about when it comes to planning your wedding. Sometimes it can seem very overwhelming when you look at this list. You have dates to pick, venues to book, and contracts to sign with all of your vendors. Depending on your budget, it is very understandable that you would look to save on certain aspects of your wedding day. One of those that you may be considering saving some money on is your wedding disc jockey. We have a few suggestions that may help you with not only the price, but what to look for in your wedding DJ as well. Heeding the following advice could help you in having one of the most exciting and fun loving receptions any of your guests have ever had.
Lets start by saying there are a lot of horror stories out there. Ask around and we guarantee you that it won't be very long before you hear someone's story about a DJ that absolutely ruined their reception. We don't want that to happen to you. First of all, we want to stress that it takes doing some footwork. Researching potential candidates well will go a long way in helping you to narrow potential candidates that you might want to interview. A great list of questions will help you to accurately gauge if your potential DJ is professional and will handle your wedding in a professional way.
One of the first things you want to ask a candidate is whether they work off of a written legal contract. Plain and simple, if they don't drop them from your list. It is a contract that will protect you because it should spell out exactly what the DJ will do for you from setup to tear down. In conjunction with this, make sure you get to meet and interview the actual DJ before you sign anything. Don't go off of what someone else says about them, you want to get a feel for who they are and if you are comfortable with them. One more thing on contracts, make sure the DJ you do decide to go with has their individual name listed.
While you are meeting with a potential wedding DJ, don't tolerate the hard sale from them. A professional DJ should be willing to hold your wedding date for a reasonable amount of time after your meeting so you can interview others on your list. As them for at least one week after your meeting so you can compare. If they are not willing to do this, let them walk.
Experience is very important in this business. Find out how long a potential DJ has been business and how many weddings they have done. The last thing you want is to be a DJs guinea pig. That could be a real disaster for you and your guests. Find out how many weddings they do per year. Being a DJ is like anything else, the more you practice, the better you will be and the more on top of your game you will be. What kind of other events do they do? They may be very good at something like a birthday party but not at all what you are looking for to do your wedding. Ask about their training and how they learned the craft. Also, ask to see some footage of weddings they have done to check out their style and how they handle such an event. And you definitely want to ask for references and talk to them about their experience.
Depending on the venue for your reception, find out how they would handle yours in terms of setup and acoustics. Another important issue is whether your potential DJ is comfortable being an emcee. Some are and some are not, so if you were counting on this, you want to find out now. Probe into how they work with the crowd in terms of getting people involved and moving. What about the specific music? Will you be able to provide most of it or just a small portion. If this is important to you, better find out now. A related matter to ask is whether they are willing to take requests.
One question that most people don't think to ask is what the DJ will wear. This may be important if you don't want your DJ to look like a pimp who just stepped out of a crack house. When it comes time to talk about money and benefits, be very specific. Ask about packages they offer and whats included with each. Is a security deposit required and if so, how much? If everyone is having a great time and you would like the DJ to stay longer, how much would that cost? Will they require a meal? Do they want any breaks? These are all very important questions to get answered now so you can make an educated decision.
Once you have answers to these questions from all of your potential DJs, sit down with your spouse to be and a trusted friend or two that hopefully has been through this process before. Weigh every factor carefully. If there are things you just can't live with, cross their name off. Then choose the candidate who comes closest to what you are looking for in most respects. But don't cave into the temptation to let money be your only guide, you will be sorry. Sometimes, you have to pay for quality and if you find that one of your potential candidates answered almost every question to your satisfaction but they cost a bit more, you probably want to bite the bullet on the cost in order to have satisfaction on your wedding day.
