Interviewing DJ's...

LincolnElizabethH

Hi. I hope I'm posting on the right board! FI and I are going to be interviewing our first DJ Friday night and I was just wondering what kind of questions I should be asking? I've already gotten a price list but have no idea what to ask! Thanks for all of your help!

acaponi87

Cost, back-up plans: including what happens if the DJ can't make it and EQUIPMENT back-ups as well, if they are doing ceremony for you as well make sure they have a microphone. If you are having an outdoor ceremony see if they have any requirements (like a tent in case of rain/sun), ask about their personalities/DJing styles, how the music gets picked.

[Deleted User]

-Do you have a wirelss mic?
-Do you have  a schedule that you go by?
-What kind of back up plan do you have if DJ can't make it for whatever reason or equipment failure
-How do you handle guests that want to get control of the mic but shouldn't be on it?
-What is your charge if we want you to stay longer
-Can I hear your equipment? This is most important. And try to have the same song played at each DJ to compare. Here is something the DJ told us that we went to and turns out he was right. He still uses CD's because he can afford to send out his guys with two cd players, one plays while the DJ use's the other to set up the next song. If one of them crashes, worse thing that happens is you have a few seconds of silence between songs until a back up CD player comes. DJ's who use laptops, if something happens, generally don't have backup laptops with them so you could be left with nothing unless someone has an MP3 player. He also mentioned that when you put a song on a cd you keep all the tones of the music. When you put it on a computer memory, you can lose some of the tones causing the songs to sound flat. We listened to his stuff w/CD, amazing sound quality. Next DJ did laptop, he was right, the sound wasn't as good & that DJ charged twice as much for less time.

fallbride1109

For me, it was about how I felt about the DJ overall.  I only set up interviews with reputable DJs from my local board and was less concerned with their equipment as I was with how I felt they would coordinate my event.  I did ask general questions about their setup, had they been to my venue before, and their attire. But mainly I wanted them to be on the same page as I was about how my reception would go.  I explained we would have an older crowd, there might not be a ton of dancing, etc.  At one point, my DJ said "Ok, so you want elegant but fun."  That was it exactly so I hired him on the spot.

I'm not saying the above questions aren't important, but it also needs to be about the overall feeling you come away with from the meeting.

[Deleted User]

I agree with stephanie, you have to go with your gut on how you feel about the dj. If you leave there feeling good about them, that's a good sign. We used that logic with most of our vendors. Did they make us feel comfortable & seem on the same page as what we wanted? If the answer was yes, we booked them.

megannie

With ours, it was the basic questions, but also the fact that she seemed very interested in US, and the fact that she stated  how honored  she would be to be chosen for such an important event.. She understands that it is her job to keep the party going, but also asked lots of questions, and writes a "script" for the reception where she throws in little details about us as a couple, and also any other things we would like brought up, or brought attention to.
She brings backup equipment to every event.
She explained to us, who would be doing our wedding if something happened and she couldn't.
She made it a priority to understand what "vibe" WE were going for, and what kind of music we wanted played.
She let us hear what her equipment sounded like in use.
And she is very good with communication, and has gotten back to me within the day with any questions or concerns I have had.
The others that we called pretty much started quoting pricing and particulars immediately, where she asked us to go to her website and fill out a questionnaire, and send it to her so she could get to know us a bit before meeting her.
We loved her before we met her, and even more so since then, and are very happy she will be such a special part of our reception.

LincolnElizabethH

Thanks for the great tips and questions! I'm looking forward to tonight!