DJ and Length of Reception

Nissy706

Hello -

My next step is to book my DJ, what are you all finding the average price is?  The one I found charges $100 per hour.  Is that good?

Also, how long is everyone booking their DJ for?  I think 4 hours would be a really LONG reception.

Thanks!!

jennipea382

I don't know what's typical in your area but IMO that's a good price. Mine is matching the in house DJ price of $475, normally he's around $700 for unlimited time. Our reception is probably starting around 6 but if we do the ceremony there, he will probably be there around 3:30-4 until at least midnight (we have the venue until 2am, we will have to decide if we want the reception to go that late). But the dancing portion probably won't start until about 7 maybe? I suppose it depends on how long it takes to eat and do speeches. 4 hours sounds like a good amount of time but don't forget if you want them there during dinner for any music you'll play then.

kangaria13

It depends on if you are going to have your DJ during cocktail hour and/or dinner. And will they be the emcee/announcer? That will make a difference in your timing.

We are looking at DJ/live music combinations that would play background music during cocktail hour and dinner and then dancing music after dinner. You may also want the DJ during dinner so they can announce you, your bridal party, first dance, cake cutting, etc. So all together, we will need to hire someone for at least 6 hours.

I have only gotten one estimate so far. That included live music during the ceremony and cocktail hour, and a DJ for dinner and dancing. I was quoted $2400.

091109brIANna033013

We have our DJ for the ceremony and reception, so he will be there for 7 hours, although we paid for unlimited time because it was a better deal. He is also acting as an emcee to keep people informed on what's going on. We got our DJ for unlimited time for 1800. He quoted us 2600, but was willing to work with our budget.

Caitlynmk

We booked our DJ pretty early on.. but we priced around a lot too. Prices in Pittsburgh ranged from $800-2000. The DJ we ended up booking was $1080 but he was originally $1600. We will have him for 5 hours, including the cocktail hour and dinner, and he will serve as the emcee. One other DJ company we looked into would send 2 people, one DJ and one emcee, but we were paying more for that. The price really depends where you live so I would consult your wedding city board on TK.

The reason we got our price down is because in Pittsburgh, March weddings are considered "off-season" so we got a discount. We also paid the entire DJ fee in cash at one time, which they agreed would knock off 10% after the off-season discount. Also, if they don't work for a DJ company and are solo, make sure they have a lot of wedding experience. You don't want someone who can't talk well being your emcee and they need to know how to make the night flow well. Just some things I would suggest to ask about when you look into DJs.

Nissy706

Good information.  Thanks everyone, i forgot about cocktail hour and during dinner.  Im going to book him and with few extra hours.

misscrafty84

Ours is $450 for unlimited, it was like $600 but the longer I waited to book they kept calling and offering me a better price lol. This is with a large DJ company though.

Caitlynmk

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_march-2013-weddings_dj-and-length-of-reception?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:2fb7282e-ed53-4794-84c9-f5617fc97f8bDiscussion:90a4ac6d-deda-4000-a3e3-513548e72376Post:c67178f0-e884-4281-9b6e-97b0d2141025">Re:DJ and Length of Reception</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks everyone for sharing! We're meeting with a guy this week who sings and plays acoustic guitar with a female bandmate for the first hour or so, and then DJs after, for an unlimited amount of time. His base price for all this is 1600. He markets himself as a non cheesy DJ, which is exactly what we want! Caitlyn, great idea about paying upfront for an additional discount. I think we'll ask him if he'll do that!
Posted by Sleeper2013[/QUOTE]

That sounds awesome, I would love to have live music during the cocktail hour or dinner!  Its like the best of both worlds with live music and a DJ, good luck with the negotiating! Hopefully he gives you a break for paying upfront! :)

handheld

In my area the least expensive we were able to find was 500 he useually charges 750 but was gave us a discount because we are having a day time wedding so to me 100 sounds like a great price