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DJ Prices

rcooper1102rcooper1102 member
First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
in Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh
How much should I plan to pay for a DJ?  I'm just not sure if it's 800 or 1200 ... 1500 ?   We were recently at a wedding, and ugh ... the DJ played 12 "unpopular" songs straight, & literally 8 of the 311 guests were dancing, yet he continued to play that same genre.  I want a fun one!! 

Thoughts?



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Re: DJ Prices

  • TampghTampgh member
    First Anniversary First Comment Combo Breaker

    I noticed when I was researching DJ's the cost is all across the board, which can be so confusing.  I decided to go with DJ Bill Bara from Modern Era weddings.  He was towards the higher end of your question, but I wanted someone that had really good reviews and was used by a lot of people I know (I have requested suggestions on my Facebook wall for every step of the process).  One nice feature that he and I believe alot of other companies are using is a website where you can designate songs as "must play" and "do not play".

    Happy planning :)

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  • rcooper1102rcooper1102 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    thanks!!!  That website will be my BFF :) 

    I was actually looking at their site last night, Modern Era, and all of their DJs are open for our date.  I watched some of Bill's samples & thats totally what I want ... I'm afraid to know what he costs b'c i really liked him LOL !!!!  ....  
    I'm just trying to be fiscally responsible. But I'm not sure that is an area where you can 'afford' to skimp.  I'm not talking about spending $2000 though either!!   I've gotten quite a few recommendations but if they don't have a website... I dont know what I'm getting into & I dont have the time to go sit down with 5 different DJs.  Our wedding is in December & we've only been engaged a month.  
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  • manjermjmanjermj member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    We used Klicker Productions for our January wedding and they are towards the lower end of your pricing and they were so great! It's a husband and wife team. Dan is the DJ and he was a great MC, kept things moving and played awesome dance songs from the Twist to Cupid Shuffle to anything you can think of. And even at the end of the night after the last song that we chose, our friends started chanting "1 more song" and he took a couple seconds and actually played another song. It made our night and every one still talks about how much fun our wedding was.
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  • offbeat9offbeat9 member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment
    I've gotten DJ quotes ALL over the places... from 375 for 4 hours to 1200 for 5 hours. Of course, it somewhat depends on their experience and the equipment/lighting but I also thought it was so hard to determine what is reasonable. I booked my DJ for 75/hr for a min. of 3 hours - I know we'll have him for longer than that anyway.. he typically charges $125 but worked with us because we didn't want special lighting and because it's a very informal event. (aka he can wear jeans!)
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  • rcooper1102rcooper1102 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    thank you much ladies!!!  That is quite a range !!!  I guess I'm going to pick from the 3 companies/people I like now ....  and meet with them.  offbeat- i love the jean discount :) 
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  • doodle518doodle518 member
    First Comment
    We went with DJ Bill Bara from Modern Era and they do have off season discounts, so it's worth checking them out! 
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  • kk181805kk181805
    First Comment
    I had the same question! My fiance and I found a DJ we love, but she's nearly $3,000 flat rate, not including extra things like lighting;  and that seems really excessive to us. I feel really confident that she'd do a great job, but I think we should also be able to find someone great for less than that. Has anyone else seen prices that high? Is $1,500 about the average? 
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  • rcooper1102rcooper1102 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    OH MY GAWD KK!!!  That seems crazy expensive to me - but "expensive" is a relative term. 

    We booked Bill Bara (Modern Era) ... he is fabulous ....  What I found in looking for Pgh DJs that I liked is anywhere from 800-2000.  Once I saw the ModernEra website, I knew that was what I wanted so I stopped looking for any more DJs, then just went to meet with them.  All of their DJs have videos on their website so you can see what they're like.  So helpful.  They dont set a limit on the hours, they have a website to manage your play lists & stuff... very cool. 

    I dont know what style DJ you are looking for, I liked ALL the Modern Era guys b'c they were all fun, talented & I like that they mix the songs/music & aren't going to show up with 5 cases of CDs for people to look through.  That is my opinion & what I wanted.   Their DJs would be around that average ...  check them out :) 
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  • TampghTampgh member
    First Anniversary First Comment Combo Breaker

    Wahoo rcooper!  I'm excited you book Bill, too!  I was running in the Color Me Rad race last weekend and when we ran through Star Lake/ Post Gazette/ First Niagra Paviliion he was blasting music from the main stage.  It got me so pumped up!

    KK, I know it is all relative and your comfort level is def most important but that seems reeeeeeealllly high. 

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  • rcooper1102rcooper1102 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    yeah ... he is like .... AWESOME !!!  I met with him & Denise last week ... done deal.  We wanted to do the CMR on Sunday but we did the Dirty Girl Mud Run on Saturday & a graduation party Sunday so i just couldn't make it all work.  How was it ???  

    Have you been to Bill's other page .. runningmixes.com ? AWESOME running music. 
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  • kk181805kk181805
    First Comment
    Thank you! That's what I thought. We'd never priced DJs before, but our guess was $3,000 was not comparable to what others in Pittsburgh were paying!
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  • CaitlynmkCaitlynmk member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    DJ Bill Bara goes for $1600 or at least that is what we were quoted about 8 months ago. We spoke to someone that was $700 and had really good reviews online, but in videos of him DJing it seemed like he talked way too much, played super cheasy songs ("We are family"? eeks.), and brought props for guests. This was not what we were looking for but Bill Bara was out of our budget. When I talked with Modern Era Weddings I told her that we wanted someone similar to Bill Bara's club-style and she recommended DJ H (Harold Purdy). He was less money, super easy to get in touch with and chat with, and was absolutely so organized and amazing on the day-of. I cannot say enough good things about him!! You can find my review from our March wedding on this board.

    I would just say, I think you get what you pay for with a DJ but some prices are just outrageous and no DJ can really be that good ($3000??? whatttt?).  If they are low cost, they may not be the best emcee or have a lot of wedding experience, and you definitely need that because DJs are really a HUGE part of how the night goes.
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  • ToriJo87ToriJo87 member
    5 Love Its First Comment First Anniversary
    We went with Brian Johnson from Mustang Entertainment. He's based out of Pittsburgh Pa. He charged $500 for the entire night-no time limit. He also is traveling to Jennerstown and didn't add on travel fees. He's a great guy and I've read wonderful reviews about his DJ-ing! 
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  • keystoneXOXOkeystoneXOXO member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    Check out BPM Djs! It's a group of three guys, and they often Dj down in the Southside (primarily Jekyll and Hyde and TikiLounge, some of our favorite SS spots). We went with Steve Spin, he was a GREAT value. Awesome awesome dj, very much in that Modern Era club style but not nearly as much. 1100 for everything, an extra wireless setup for cocktail hour, lights and all that. Seriously I had a really hard time deciding on a Dj, had to just pull the trigger, and I couldn't have been happier with him. Dance floor was insanely packed all night.
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  • anahita7anahita7
    First Comment
    When I was doing my research, I found most of them around $1,000 to $1,500. I went with one of the DJs that had his prices listed on his website. It gave me the comfort of knowing that he doesn't fluctuate just because you have an expensive venue and he/she thinks they can get more out of you.... I've seen that happen a lot. Also, make sure that they don't charge you for travel. A few companies said that if our reception was more than 30 miles away from their office, that they'd charge us mileage (but didn't specify how much).
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  • erbear84erbear84 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I can't say enough about Bill Bara/Modern Era Weddings.  One of the best decisions I made on my wedding day!  He does do off season discounts, and I think we paid $1300 and he also DJ'ed our ceremony.  People were dancing ALL night, he moved things along wonderfully, and him and Denise are just genuinely awesome people.
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  • Kris10sd1010Kris10sd1010 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I just booked Klicker Productions, and am so excited. We chose the violin/ DJ package. They seem so professional and were able to answer questions we didn't even think of. I can't wait to see them in action!
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  • melbelleupmelbelleup member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment First Answer
    I booked FineLine Weddings and it's only $1,000. I thought that was a great deal for a DJ when I was researching and numerous of my friends have used them
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  • erina27erina27 member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary First Comment
    We went with 2nd II None productions!  They've done a couple weddings I've been to and they do great work!  They're very involved and really get the guests up and dancing!  We're working with Eric, but DJ Willie is also really good!  www.letusdj.com  They also offer photobooths, uplighting, photography and videography! :)  Good luck!
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  • rcooper1102rcooper1102 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Thanks all - I booked Bill Bara/Modern Era a few months ago :)  I can't wait !!!!
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  • kjvaracallikjvaracalli member
    5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    Anyone use Zini productions for DJ?  Know the cost?   I've been pretty surprised with quotes for DJs too.
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  • msimm29msimm29 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    We used DJ Spike Real,  We were in the $1200-1300 range for everything.  We can't express enough the amazing party that Spike threw,  He was not afraid to stop a song 30 seconds into it because people were walking off the dance floor and switch to something else.  We could not be happier with him.

    http://www.makesomeplans.com/blog/62/spike-speaks-an-experienced-wedding-dj-offers-insight
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