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Read This Before Hiring a Professional Wedding DJ in Central Wisconsin!!!
It’s a year to go for your wedding. I know how stressful things can get for brides as the BIGGEST day of their life gets closer and closer. Stress increases with every waking moment.
You’ve already talked to a few wedding vendors. You’ve already talked to caterers, photographers, florists, wedding cake makers, and wedding planners. You may have even booked some or most your wedding vendors already.
What’s next on your list – professional wedding DJs. I am a professional wedding DJ myself, a highly experienced one at that. I’ve been providing this service for most my adult life and have performed over 200 weddings and over 300 plus events.
In addition to DJing, I also provide a number of wedding-related services such as emceeing, photo booths, up lights and more. I have a high client rating and have a strong focus on providing a great wedding experience for the bride and groom and their families and friends.
Here, I’m going to discuss some of the questions to ask a wedding DJ before booking them, and what the right answer for them should be. Read on!
Question #1: What makes you different from the other wedding DJs?
That’s a tough one alright. Every DJ has some quality. Some are very good at handling sound equipment; there are others who own some of the best sound equipment that money can buy.
The equipment is important, of course, but more than that what matters is the professionalism of the DJ and how dedicated they are to their craft. Do they appear confident when they talk to you? Are they friendly and communicative? Do you sense passion for what they do in their voice? Do they get excited when talking to you. Do they offer suggestions to make your event unique? All of this is important.
Question #2: Do you do this full-time? Are you a professional DJ? Do you DJ at weddings only, or do you perform elsewhere as well? Can you tell me about the venues or events you have performed at?
A good DJ is above all an entertainer. They are very versatile and have a range of skills. You don’t want to hire a DJ who is good at only one thing. You want a performer who has a lot of experience performing in front of different live audiences, including the demanding ones.
A professional DJ operates in a high pressure environment where there is always a risk of failure or embarrassment. They should be able to handle any situation. Even if they mess up something, they should be able to innovate and find a way out of that situation. Many DJ’s also have a back up plan, or back up equipment in case something happens.
Question #3: Can you talk to me about some of the weddings where you have performed at?
Learning about a previous wedding can give you insight, how they handled that particular event. How did it unfolded, what happened. What was the process like from start to end.
You want to know about the clients the DJ has worked for, such as how old they were, what was their taste in music and whether they were happy with them or not.
Now if the DJ starts criticizing his former clients, just smile and end the interview. I mean, who is to tell what the DJ is going to tell about you and your family once your wedding is over!
This is not what you expect from a professional. Professionals don’t gossip about their clients!
Question #4: How do you get the crowd worked up? How do you get the guests to dance?
The DJ is above all an entertainer. It is their job to get the guests excited about the music and make their way to the dance floor. The DJ should be able to play a variety of music that gets the crowd worked up, such as a hit song from the 1970s or 80s for the older guests, golden oldies by the likes of Sinatra and Elvis, and top 40, hip hop, and EDM for the more youthful crowd.
The DJ should be adept at blending every type of genre. They should be able to move seamlessly from one song to another. They should have the ability to read a crowd and a very good instinct for what the crowd really wants. This is how a good DJ builds energy at the venue.
Ask the DJ about their techniques for getting the crowd pumped. Ask what sets their performances from others in their field. Ask about the process from start to end. A good DJ will have a vision of how the day unfolds based on what your looking for. They will be able to give ideas to make your special day just that special.
Question #5: Do you accept suggestions on the song lists?
It’s your wedding, remember? The DJ should accept your suggestions on the “must-play” songs as well as the “never-play-them” songs. They should create a night that is based on your vision, style and taste only.
The wedding DJ should not behave like a Prima Donna on this. A DJ that says that it’s “my way or the highway” is no professional. They should not assume to know what you want.
They should respect your song choices, whether they agree with them or not. They can provide suggestions, but ultimately they will have to go with your choice.
A good DJ is flexible and is an excellent listener. Once you give them the list of songs to play, they determine the placement of the songs and how to fit them into different themes at the wedding.
Question #6: What sort of sound equipment do you use?
Do they really know how to operate their equipment? Ask them about the different DJ equipments used by them to play the music.
For a DJ, there is nothing more important than their equipment. They should have access to DJ equipment such as a controller which give them complete control of the music and know how to use it to change the tone, sound and the speed of the music.
When the DJ uses high quality equipment, you may expect to get better music. You want the music to be crisp and sharp, not too loud, so that the guests can talk to each other comfortably over the tunes.
Also, this is important: What if the equipment doesn’t work on the wedding day or stops working mid performace? Do they have any back-up equipment for that?
Backup equipment is critical. It could be a mixer, microphone or laptop – the DJ should have backup for every piece of equipment.
Question #7: Do they offer any additional services?
What comes with the DJ package? A good DJ should provide additional services such as up lighting, photo booths and more. This is a way of personalizing the wedding and capturing the wonderful memories such as a father-daughter dance, a picture of you in your wedding dress with your little 3-year old nephew and so on. I provide all of that, and I also provide emceeing services.
Question #8: How much do you charge for your service?
I have saved the best for the last. Every client I’ve had has asked me this question. I know there is a lot of misinformation about how much wedding DJs are paid or should get paid. But here are the facts.
A wedding DJ generally performs for 4 hours or more at a wedding. If they are a beginner, a part-timer or a hobbyist, they will probably ask for $200 to $500.
If they are slightly more experienced than beginners and are at an intermediate skill level, they will expect to be paid $400 to $800 for performing at the wedding.
Now, the best and the most experienced wedding DJs, who work full-time and are the real pros in this line of work, they charge anything from $1,000 to $2,500.
The average DJ in the United States currently charges around $1300 for just DJ services not including any additional services such as photo booth or up lighting.
My advice: always go for the best. You can’t afford to take any chances with the biggest day of your life. Be smart about it.
I am Brandon Irish, a professional wedding DJ based in Central Wisconsin. If you would like to sit down and talk about your special day and how we can make it memorable, just fill out this contact form. I will be sure to get back to you as soon as I can.
Also, read this article to know more about me and how I got started as a wedding DJ.