DJ Questions

Megstar17 · July 2010

Hi girls,
I'm starting to look for a DJ for our wedding next summer. I'm not quite sure how to go about it. Are there any questions that I should ask? Anything to look out for? Any DJs to stay away from? And of course any recommendations of good DJs would be helpful too!

TIA!

Amerbutt81 · July 2010

First and foremost, do you get to pick your MC, or will you be assigned one?

What kind of MC do you want- someone super high energy, or someone a little more laid back who is just going to mix music together.

Are you interested in getting lighting with your package?

Can you customize your package?

I am using Pulse Entertainment, and so far I am incredibly happy with them. Their prices are sooo reasonable, and working with Ross has been a dream. We had a little hiccup with our original MC, but we just met with the new MC last night and we love him.

THere are plenty of other choices listed on the blog at:
http://phillyblog.yolasite.com/

Megstar17 · July 2010

Oh wow, that's helpful. I hadn't thought of any of that. I guess it would be a good idea to think about what I want in a DJ before going out and looking for one. I definitely think that I want someone who isn't going to be too intrusive in the music - frequently talking, making jokes or whatever. What kind of lighting might they provide? I wouldn't want any sort of flashing or obtrusive lights, so I don't really know...

Thanks Amer!

CHarley2B · July 2010

A few other general question to ask:
How many yrs of experience do they have?
What percentage of their business is dedicated to wedding?
What is the cost for a 4-hr a reception?
What is the cost for an additional hour?
Do you want them to play for the cocktail hour too?
Will they need an additioal sound system for that?
How many breaks do they take? How long are the breaks?
Do they have cordless mics?
What type of music do they specialize in?
How do they dress?
Do they take requests?...

LaRositaMonita · July 2010

You should also ask about their policies for honoring your own special requests and, even more importantly, how they handle your "do not play" list. You should be asked for a list of songs you absolutely, positively, DO NOT want played at your wedding, Your DJ should 100% honor this

You may also want to ask about whether or not the DJ has been to your venue before - if so, they will know how to get set up there, what equipment they will need and what equpiment they can expect the venue to supply, and whether or not their insurance info is already on file. If they haven't been there, you may want to ask about those issues so you can answer questions your venue might have.

For a recommendation, I will highly, highly recommend No Macarena, owned by Kim Alexander Walsh. Hubs and I were looking for something a little atypical in our DJ - someone who would only be obtrusive if we specifically needed them to be (to announce the cake cutting, open and close the dance floor, etc.), who would steer clear of any stereotypical DJ cheesiness, and who would honor a bunch of special requests and help us include music we liked while als knowing how to get our guests on the dance floor (we are pretty dorky and had some offbeat requests...most of our favorite music isn't regularly played on Top 40 radio). Kim, who is a former program director for XPN in Philly, totally "got" us and 100% matched what we wanted. Our guests were raving about her at the end of the night! All her selections, and the way she incrporated our favorite music into dinner, the cocktail hour, and throughout the rest of the evening had me smiling. Just a blast to work with. She is a little on the pricier side (about $900 for the night, as of two summers ago), but way more than worth it.

I have no horror stories on than one from a wedding I was at up in the Lehigh Valley a few weekends ago. Let's just say that a sparkly vest, a plastic toy guitar, air saxophoning, and more than one (!) Justin Beiber song made totally unsolicited appearances at this wedding. Even the bride was cringing by the end

Since I don't want to vendor bash, PM me and I can give you the name if you want.

jbaby731 · July 2010

Heather - can you mesage me who that DJ was? I'm currently on the search and that sounds cringe-worthy

Amerbutt81 · July 2010

You don't have to get super flashy lights. I am getting uplighting, which is the little lights that are placed on the floor and add a little light to the corners of the room.

Here is a good example of uplighting

Megstar17 · July 2010

Thanks so much for all of those questions/ideas/suggestions, I definitely feel like I have a better idea of what to ask DJs when I meet them. Before I was thinking finding the DJ would be really hard because I had no idea what to say to them!

Amer, would those lights be on the whole time, or do you just have them come on after dinner? Do you think that it depends on what your venue space is like if you need lights or not?

LRM, I sent you a pm:)

Honeymooner2010 · July 2010

George from Twilight Entertainment can answer any questions you have www.twient.com

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