Get a recommendation, or
witness the DJ perform: Witnessing a DJ rock the
house or you talking to a trusted friend (with good taste) helps weed the crop of
“professional” DJ’s. A good DJ will have experience performing around town (or the world) and will
have the expertise that goes with that.
I get 90% of my work from recommendations and people who’ve seen me
perform.
Ability: Quite simply, it’s the skill of playing the right song at
the right time. Forget about
“scratching”, microphone skills, or wearing a stupid tuxedo, you want a DJ who
can read a crowd; know when to bring the energy up, know when to play a
slow jam, know what songs will bring the older folks onto the floor, what songs
will make the younger crowd cheer, and when to drop the anthem that will bring
everyone together. Having good
taste in music is part of it, but a DJ has to have an innate ability to choose
the next song wisely.
Experience: There are a gazillion things that can go wrong DJ’ing a
wedding. Cords break, speakers
fail, records skip, drunk dudes ask to bust a rhyme over the music, etc. Any of these can drag your party to a
halt. An experienced DJ will have run
into these problems before and will be prepared to solve them. You don’t pay for experience when
everything goes right, you pay for experience when things go wrong and you
don’t want it to affect your party
Responsibility: There are a lot of enormously talented people whose creative
right-sided brains make this world a better place. But you want your DJ to show up, on time, and be
prepared. Of course you want them
to be creative and talented (see Ability above), but that does you no good if
they flake on you.
Taste in music: “Good” music is subjective. A wedding in the South might have more country western music,
a Jewish wedding in New York will have its musical proclivities. Personally, I like a well-rounded DJ
that has genuine appreciation for different styles of music and can read a
crowd. That being said, not
everyone is the right DJ for the job. It’s important that you are musically simpatico with
the DJ and that he/she can handle your requests. If you don’t have strong opinions about music then see Get A
Recommendation above.
Meet the DJ: Grab coffee and discuss your party. You’ll get a better feel for the
person, the kind of music they play, and see if it’s a good fit. Plus they might have some insight that
will help you prepare.
Get a contract, place a
deposit: Sounds super business-like and
impersonal, but you will feel better and it will go onto the DJ’s calendar as confirmed. And you don’t want someone else swooping in to grab
your talent.
Book ahead: Top performers are in demand and their calendars fill up
fast. I recommend six to eight
months in advance, maybe more if your party is on a popular weekend. At least get the conversation
going and ask them to pencil you in, in case someone else contacts
him/her. If dancing is important
to you, you should be thinking about this after you pick your date and choose
the venue.
Re-connect with the DJ the week
of event: A little reminder will kick them into high
gear and give everyone peace of mind.
You get what you pay for: Just like bands, caterers, or photographers, DJ’s posses a
skill set that is available on the open market. Maybe you can save money by catching them on the assent of
their career or at a slow time of year.
Maybe you’ll find an amazing DJ that will quote you a super cheap
price. But performers that are
talented, in demand, and good at what they do, cost a lot of money. And keep in mind that the amount of
time you see a DJ playing music is a fraction
of the total time they spend preparing for and wrapping up a gig. If you have zero budget you might be
better off with an ipod, rental speakers, and a friend with good taste to make a
playlist, because that’s the same thing you get with an inexpensive DJ.
Of
course rules can be broken, and after all someone did hire me for my first, second, and third wedding. But I also remember the time my power
amp blew and I didn’t have a backup.
Or the time the bride and groom told me “all their friends were cool”
and they didn’t want to hear “popular” songs, only to have me get terrorized by
their guests demanding to hear Rapper’s Delight and Billy Jean. At those parties I’m sure I was a
good DJ and had lots of club experience, but in time I learned a ton about
weddings.
This
info might seem overwhelming, but the DJ should make it easy for you, not more
difficult and you shouldn’t have to think about it on the day of your
event. If dancing and music is a
priority for you, then your legwork will pay off.
Good
luck and have a fun wedding day!
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