How to Choose a Wedding DJ

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Most of the the following information comes from bridaltips.com A good wedding DJ is cheaper than bands, and they dynamically work your wedding crowd for 4 or more hours.  Interviewing Prospective Wedding DJs Interview 3-5 Wedding Disc Jockeys Questions To Ask Your Prospective Wedding DJ Who will be your actual DJ at your wedding? This one is important.  You would hate to spend an hour interviewing your wedding DJ and like their personality, only to be blindsided at your wedding by having another DJ show up, when you expected the DJ that you interviewed.  Make absolutely certain your contract spells out exactly who will be your DJ.  If you want the owner and not their employee it should be on the contract. The contract should also mention what time and place they are supposed to be.  Call a month ahead of the wedding to verify.  Any verbal promises made by your wedding DJ should be in writing on the contract.  They won't remember several months from now what they verbally promised you today. What about wedding DJ overtime, and other unexpected or hidden fees? Your contract should clearly specify all costs including any assistant disc jockeys they will have with them, as well as special equipment lighting packages, or other fees that they pass on to you the client.  Be wary of vendors who give you low ball quotes, but only give you 3 hours of time. If your reception runs longer, you find out "it's another $200 per hour or we walk out right now". You must also plan for overtime in case the reception runs longer than the contract specifies. The contract should clearly spell out how much extra it will cost you to have your wedding DJ for an extra hour or 2.  It can cost $150 or more. Do not believe verbal promises stating they will work extra hours or have assistants for free.  Put it in writing in the contract, or they will not do it. Don't be blindsided like many brides and grooms are when there event runs over.  I receive complaints from brides whose wedding ran over, and the DJ threatened to leave if not paid in cash right now. You don't want surprises, your wedding DJ contract should be a game plan that covers all bases so you know exactly how much your DJ will cost you. What attire will your wedding disc jockey wear at your wedding? How flexible is this DJ and will he work well with me and others? This is hard to find out directly, but you would like to know if this person can roll with the punches or has to have a rigid schedule.  Also find out how you will work together during the reception.  Do you want him to tell you what to do and where to be on your special day or would you rather call the shots? Or a mixture of both? Ask how he works with others during the reception. What problems has the DJ encountered at weddings and how did they solve them? You want a wedding DJ who is resilient, able to respond quickly to unforeseen mishaps that can mar your wedding.  You can bet that many weddings look smooth, but had issues that were quickly seamlessly patched behind the scenes by DJs, caterers, and other vendors. Some DJs go well beyond their job descriptions to fix problems and help the other professionals when they can. Try to find out if yours is one of them. What equipment do you have? Technical Issues to consider. Everyone overlooks this, but it is an important factor when choosing your DJ. You are paying money for a professional and they better know their equipment. Ask them what speakers and amps they use. The better speaker brand names are Mackie, JBL and Electrovoice (with the "EV" on the speaker).  How many years experience does this wedding DJ have? Will he play CD's you provide? Some wedding disc jockey folks have a list of songs they play and except for the bride and groom first dance, do not give you much choice. Our wedding DJ to allowed us to choose at least 50% which is not the norm. Let your DJ be your guide as to what songs should be played. A good disc jockey reads the crowd and knows what to play. Be sure they know what NOT to play, as well as special songs you want to hear. Ask if they will accept requests from wedding guests. Your wedding disc jockey should be flexible with a wide selection, so requests from your wedding guests can be fulfilled. This step is VERY crucial, because your wedding DJ plays about 60 songs during your reception, and you want nothing but the best tunes to keep your dance floor crowded. If the DJ needs to intervene and suggest a song, heed them as they generally know what they are doing and keep up with the current trends. You want a wedding DJ who can adapt to any crowd.  This DJ will be someone who is very well versed in all areas music. Don't try to give the DJ a tape or a list of 100% of the songs to play for the night.  You hired a DJ not a juke box operator. If they stick to your play list, I can guarantee you'll have an empty dance floor. Your musical taste is not the same as 120 people at your wedding. Let your DJ do their job and keep your wedding guests happy. Does your wedding DJ have a request form for you to fill out?Ask for a list of wedding requests and suggestions in all categories. Some wedding DJs have a request form for you to fill out, so they can have everything ready for the wedding.  Some obscure songs can take a while for them to obtain. Is this DJ insured?Some venues require this. Regardless, at least $1 million in liability insurance is a sign of commitment. More than that is not necessary.          for a fabulous, experienced and fun DJ: http://www.awesomeatl.com/weddings.html How Much Do Wedding DJs cost? Perhaps the worst way to choose a DJ is by price alone. Prices can range anywhere from $350 to $3500 and more for a 4-hour event.  While it is tempting to choose the less expensive alternative remember the following: 1.        Experienced wedding DJs (those who have done 75 weddings or more) tend to charge more. 2.        Experienced wedding DJs are problem solvers, tend to anticipate glitches that may occur and solve them without anyone knowing it. 3.        DJs with less WEDDING experience often fail to anticipate unforeseen problems and allow unpleasant or disastrous moments to occur. A BAD WEDDING DJ CAN RUIN THE BEST OF WEDDINGS! 4.        The vast majority of brides say they should have budgeted more for entertainment. Rarely do people say they spent too much on the DJ. 5.        The MOST expensive DJs are often NOT the best.  Some DJs have higher overhead or advertising costs or cater to a more expensive market.  These factors do not make them the best. Look for VALUE, not just cost.  VALUE includes features, as well as the experience of the DJ, and your own vibe about him. Some features that add value and/or cost: These are items that your DJ may provide free or at an additional cost.  Before deciding what features you want, you can discuss with different DJs the pros and cons of each: A separate PA set-up for the ceremony and/or cocktail hour A lapel microphone for the ceremony officiant Extra microphones for the ceremony or reception Cordless microphone Monogram lighting Video projector and screen Video slide show Mirrored ball 4 piece lighting LED lighting Extra lighting: Lasers, intelligent lighting, strobe, etc. Fog machine Uplighting Sit-down meeting with DJ 3-6 weeks before the wedding                                                                        DJ preview of venue Larger, premium sound system Extra hours Travel fee Rehearsal dinner Assistant Lights? Lighting is another thing to consider. Can your DJ get additional lighting? Some people want it, some could care less if they want to save money. But we wanted to put on a show they would remember. If you want state of the art lighting, some of the bigger DJ companies can master this for you very easily. Again, this is where DJs with corporate event experience really excel. They usually have the top notch lighting, not old cheesy disco balls with 2 glorified lawn lights. We did go a little overboard, spending $800 on an intelligent lighting system consisting of 4 intelligent units and 2 sound activated gobos. Man what a show that was. The ballroom was FILLED with light. Many guests told us it looked like a rock concert, with numerous beams everywhere. And this did not upset the older crowd either, which was a worry of mine. We were pleasantly surprised to see many of them out there dancing the new tunes with us. This may not be for all of you, but if you have the means, go for it. Our wedding video looks like Soul Train. I was surprised that our DJ tried to talk us out of this package, stating corporations are the typical customer. But more and more "consumer" affairs are going this way. You Must Have A Clear, Concise, Written Contract! The contract should clearly state WHO will be your wedding DJ. If it is the owner, you want their name on your contract, with no switches allowed. You spent time interviewing the owner and you want that DJ listed. Be wary if they try to leave the name off, there could be a bait and switch. If they are using an assistant, make them itemize that as well. Did you agree to rent any additional lighting through your DJ? Better have that on there too.  Your contract should list what type of standard lighting you are getting as well. Also have them list what their overtime charge is in case you decide to run late. You don't want any surprises there. Make sure all correct dates, times, address, phone numbers, and deposits are listed. So what was our final package? We had the owner for 4 hours at $750, plus $850 for the computerized lighting. This also included an assistant, which is a great thing for a DJ to have. I know we went overboard, but what a show. It was still cheaper than the bands we looked at. One band was $12000!  We ended up keeping the DJ for an extra hour and paid another $150, which was already stated in the contract. Sure this seems steep, and yes we could have done just the bare bones package, but it was a typical wedding for professional working people like my wife and I. This is not necessarily the way to go if you are trying to save money. Remember though, you get what you pay for. We got more than what we paid for.  How many weddings were you at where several guests commented it was the best DJ they've ever seen? Our wedding was like that. There are plenty of inexpensive DJs out there who will give you a wonderful evening. Some of you may not want all the glitz and flash we had. Some of you will be happy with an informal DJ who DOES do the condo or bar circuit. We just wanted to shed the light on it and abuse our First Amendment rights by stating many of our opinions on certain subjects. We did find the DJs however, to be the easiest of all the wedding industry people to work with. And you don't have to spend $1600! Just have fun picking your wedding disc jockey. Good luck, and let us know here at BridalTips.com how you did in your search for the  perfect wedding DJ! For the best value in an Atlanta wedding DJ, check out the homepage for ATLANTA SOUND & FURY ENTERTAINMENT   http://www.awesomeatl.com/weddings.html How To Choose A Limousine