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As a couple just starting to plan your big day, you’ll have a lot of questions. The question of hiring a wedding DJ seems to be a reoccurring theme time and time again. This article aims to give you 8 reasons why hiring a wedding DJ is a great option to fulfill your music and entertainment needs.
“A terrible DJ will just play terrible songs too loudly and kill the vibe. A terrible band will play terrible songs and sing them off-key, at a volume that hurts your ears and scares people out of the room” – David Fraser
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Experience is an absolute asset
The music, workflow, and planning of your wedding day will be much different to that of a regular party. With this in mind, your friend who likes music and makes good playlists strictly for dancing may not have the expertise for curating several playlists for several stages throughout your day.
To add to that, playing for an entire room full of guests of various ages and tastes is much different than putting together a playlist for you and a few of your friends.
Hiring a wedding DJ will ensure everyone is having a good time. The ability to meld different genres and music styles is absolutely paramount for your night’s success.
Professional DJs have experience to curate playlists that will naturally flow well for your evening and crowd. They also act as your evening’s host, working with your MC (or your DJ can assume the roll of your MC).
Hiring a professional wedding DJ is crucial to ensuring everything runs smoothly.
The fact of the matter is this – NOT EVERYTHING GOES TO PLAN. I have never seen a wedding go 100% to plan. Things are forgotten, things are lost, timing goes off, past family drama comes to light (that’s always fun), and much more.
A seasoned wedding DJ with years of experience would more than likely have seen many of the situations mentioned and be prepared to know how to handle them as they come – or to diffuse them beforehand. This is done through making emergency announcements, adding or taking away songs from play lists on the fly, or coming up with impromptu games should your timing go off the rails.
It’s the flexibility to manage these moments well that makes hiring a wedding DJ a priceless game-changing choice.
A time of joy and building memories
Build Memories Today That Last A Lifetime
Imagine this… Your big day has FINALLY arrived!
The planning and preparations are in the rear view mirror. All your family and friends are there. The dinner and speeches are over and now it’s time to open up the floor and cut a rug! Your wedding DJ will read the crowd long before the floor opens!
Here are a few key things that a great professional wedding DJ will do:
You’ll be able to speak with your DJ about your expectations and the type of atmosphere you’d like them to build before hand.
Make sure you can get a contract!
As with any other profession, your wedding DJ will provide you with a contract. Contracts are important as they give a clear and concise outline of what’s expected of your DJ and holds them accountable.
I’v seen many times the “fly by night” or “weekend warrior” DJ agrees to give couples an amazing experience at an amazing price only to find out – “hey this is real work, I can’t provide this service at this price!?!”. The couple is then left without what they were promised — or worse, the DJ backs out all together, leaving the couple searching for an alternate DJ.
Professional DJs know exactly the amount of work that goes into both planning and procuring a great wedding. They will price themselves knowing what work and responsibilities lie ahead and will meticulously lay out everything they are responsible for in the contract.
This ties in with the points above. Professional wedding DJs know what to expect and how to get things done. On the flip side of this coin… they also know that aside from the legal implications of not adhering to your contract, there is also public backlash.
The most important asset any DJ can have is an amazing reputation. Professional DJs will do everything possible to keep your guests happy and your day stress free. This often includes going beyond the call of duty. As a DJ’s reputation is so important to their livelihood and possible future gigs, they wouldn’t dream of withdrawing from a contract.
A professional open format DJ will be able to go from song to song, and genre to genre easily, swiftly and seamlessly. Especially one that has been honing their craft for some time. To add to this point, a DJ will have thousands upon thousands of songs to choose from at a moment’s notice.
This means that playing your guests’ requests and changing the mood of your evening can be done at a whim.
Seamlessly going from genre to genre for a less experienced DJ can prove to be difficult as they may only be versed in one or two styles of music. Using your Spotify playlists for a wedding is also problematic. I will take a deep dive into that subject in another upcoming article.
When things need to look their best!
On your big day, you’ll want everything to be perfect! This should include the placement of your DJ and how they present themselves.
Experienced wedding DJs are likely to have been in the very same venue that you’re in for your big day. If they haven’t, chances are they’ve been to a venue very similar. Having said that, your wedding DJ will know the ‘ins and outs’ of speaker placements, cable runs, lighting placements, etc.
They will also know what questions to ask you or your venue ahead of time so that there are no issues on your big day.
To add to the point above, established wedding DJs will be able to give you exactly what you’re looking for in terms of equipment. Wedding DJs will have a multitude of lights, speaker setups, projectors, and a variety of other effects to meet the wishes of every couple. So whether you only need two speakers and a mic, or an extravagant set up with several speakers, lights, and other effects, your wedding DJ will have packages and pricing to suit every need and situation.
You can check out my wedding combos and pricing HERE to give you an idea of what to expect. Of course prices will fluctuate based on region, and time of year.
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The best defence is a great offence
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When every dollar counts
YES – Hiring a Wedding DJ may seem like a lot versus a family friend that DJs on the side who happens to have a pair of speakers. Or the “Weekend Warrior” who sells dog food by day and DJs by night… But mark my words, THIS is where all Wedding DJ nightmare stories are born from. There have been countless times when a couple has opted to go with the cheaper DJ only to find out the hired DJ was largely unprofessional, or didn’t have the music needed for a great and memorable night.
As a general rule of thumb. $1000.00 – $3000.00 tends to be the going rate for most professional DJs, including lights and sound. A DJ’s rate is generally determined by the package you’ve selected and the calibre and experience of the DJ. You can check out my wedding prices here to give you an idea of what to expect. Just keep in mind that prices fluctuate from region to region.
Realizing that weddings can be costly, I recommend that the value of a professional DJ is a solid investment. Putting things into perspective, overall your guests will largely remember two things (besides how beautiful the bride looked!) – the food served, and the music they danced to. A professional wedding DJ is the key to those musical memories!
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Make your day as relaxed as possible
“I want to just have a super fun day and not have to worry about anything” – I’ve heard this MANY times.
After you hire your wedding DJ and go through the steps above, you’ll be able to check off one less thing to worry about. You’ll have assured yourself that you’ve put one of the most important components of your night’s success in the hands of a professional. You’ll know they have the experience needed, a well put together contract, great music selection, offer a variety of set-ups, and plan with you every step of the way.
Thanks for taking the time out to read this article. I hope you’ve found it insightful and helpful. Feel free to share it with your friends.
Any questions? Feel free to message me at anytime. I’m here to help!
