Yes, you’ve approached that
stage of your wedding
planning process to find a
DJ for your special day, and
for most brides this can be
an adventure in itself.
Contacting different DJs,
getting prices,
consultations, and the list
goes on and on. In this
article you will learn the
10 biggest mistakes brides
make when choosing a DJ for
the big day. Hopefully
after you’ve read this you
can avoid the pitfalls of
choosing the “wrong” DJ for
your special affair. Here’s
a little quote that my
partner always tells the
brides she works with, “Your
wedding day is like
Broadway, you only get one
take, and you only get one
chance to get it right!”
1. Not taking “First
Impressions” into
consideration.
More than likely your first
encounter with a DJ will be
either on the telephone or
through E-mail. If the first
contact is by telephone,
listen to how the DJ talks
on the telephone, can you
understand him or her, or
the MC which will do the
announcements during your
wedding? When you meet the
DJ (and sometimes MC’s also)
are they dressed
professionally? If a DJ
carries themselves
professionally during your
consultation, more than
likely they will be
professional on your big
day.
2. Thinking that all DJs
are the same.
This couldn’t be further
from the truth. Every DJ
has their own style,
different skill level,
different rates, and can
vary a lot in their musical
library which is the heart
of their versatility. If a
DJ only has Rock music, but
no R&B, you may want a DJ
which has both types of
music and is much more
versatile. Remember, your
favorite DJ that spins
Alternative music all night
long may be perfect for the
club, but more than likely
your grandmother doesn’t
want hear “I’m Going Down”
all night during your
reception.
3. Hiring the cheapest DJ
you can find.
The phrase “You get what you
pay for” holds a lot of
truth in the case of hiring
a DJ for your wedding. Take
the Washington DC metro area
as an example. There are
DJs which can cost as little
as $300, or as much as
$2,500 for a five hour
wedding. Is the DJ that is
only charging $300 no good
at all? Who knows, he might
do a decent job. But one
thing is certain; either the
DJ doesn’t have the
experience, or just doesn’t
have any savvy business
skills to charge a low fee.
Any DJ that has done a ton
of weddings, (100 or more),
knows that there’s too much
effort put towards a wedding
to only charge peanuts. On
the other side, remember
that just because a DJ is
the most expensive in town,
doesn’t mean they’re the
best for you. Sometimes
they are, sometimes they’re
not. The entertainment for
your reception is what you,
your family and friends will
remember. It’s worth more
than the cost of
invitations. Your DJ is an
investment that you and your
guests will enjoy the entire
time during your reception,
not half of it. I’m sure you
know that If half of your
guests leave after dinner
because loud rap music was
playing during the main
course, the venue isn’t
going to give you a refund.
4. Not communicating with
your DJ.
Besides hiring the wrong DJ
altogether, this is probably
the biggest mistake some
brides do when dealing with
DJs – they’re not
COMMUNICATING. There’s
nothing worse for a DJ, (and
for you also), than to have
a “rush job” during a
wedding. A seasoned
professional can get through
the event without noticeable
incidents, but I believe I
speak for all wedding DJs
when I say it is
“nerve-racking” to change
things without
communicating. Keep your DJ
informed of your plans,
special songs, your
timeline, or anything else
he may need to know if
things change. Don’t wait
until the week, or even a
month before the big day to
start communicating. This is
the only way your DJ will
know exactly what you want,
and don’t want for your
event.
5. Not having a written
contract.
Simply put - if you have no
contract, you very well may
have NO DJ! Every year I get
a few phone calls from a
bride (or her mother) saying
that they hired a DJ and
they didn’t show up. The
first thing that I ask is
did they have a contract,
and 80% of the time it’s
“no”. If a DJ doesn’t have a
contract, run out front door
and don’t look back!
6. Not making sure the DJ
has liability insurance.
More and more venues and
hotels across the U.S. are
requiring that DJs have
liability insurance, and
most are asking to see
papers as proof. A true
professional is going to
have insurance for his
business, and you should ask
to at least see a copy of
the policy. Insurance for
DJs is generally not
expensive, and there are a
few major DJ organizations
which offer a nice discount
on insurance for joining.
There’s really no excuse for
your DJ not to have it.
7. Taking complete
control of the music
selection from your DJ.
You want to hear what you
want to hear, that’s fine.
But remember you’re not
alone on your special day.
You, your family, (your new
family), and your friends
all have different tastes.
Some brides want to choose
every song that gets played
for the entire night. I can
honestly say that I’ve only
seen 2 song lists created by
brides out of hundreds upon
hundreds that actually
worked for the majority of
the night. JUST TWO. Let the
DJ do his job, which is
primarily making sure that
the right songs get played
at the right time. Giving
your DJ 200 songs to play
for the night isn’t going to
work either unless your
reception is over 10 hours
long. Last, but not least,
make sure you clarify which
artist you want to hear for
certain songs. Let’s take
the song “Three times a
Lady” for example. The
Commodores, Kenny Rogers,
Conway Twitty (and probably
other artists) all sing this
song. If you want the
Commodores version for your
first dance, make sure you
don’t end up Conway Twitty
instead.
8. Not making sure the DJ
you want is “guaranteed” to
be your DJ.
This is probably the biggest
complaint from brides all
over the country about DJs.
You went to a DJ company
that has more than one DJ,
you requested a specific DJ,
and another DJ shows up in
his/her place. Any time you
deal with a big company,
make sure you get in writing
that the DJ you want is the
one that will show up.
9. Not going over back-up
plans with your DJ.
In life “things happen”,
which you or nobody else has
control over - even on your
wedding day! Find out from
your DJ about his plans for
back-up transportation,
equipment, and personnel. If
one of these three areas is
“out of commission” so will
the music for your
reception. If they don’t
have any plans, start
running.
10. Not hiring a DJ
quickly.
Finding the DJ you want
is hard enough work, as long
as you don’t believe they’re
all the same. Don’t go
through all the hard work of
finding the DJ you want and
then procrastinate on
booking. Most wedding DJs
that have good reputations
in the business will get
booked at least a year in
advance, especially for the
Saturdays in the summer. If
you’ve found “the one” don’t
wait to hire him. Remember,
if you wait a month or two
before the big day, you
choices are limited and you
might end up with a
“wanna-be DJ”!
Avoid these ten major
mistakes (there are a few
more) and you will be better
equipped to know what to
look for while hiring a DJ.
Keep the lines of
communication open with your
professional DJ and your
reception will more than
likely be music-worry free!
Article is the copyright
of Starr Productions 2005
