DJ Question

SusieSunshine2 · June 2012

We are meeting with a DJ tonight for the first time. What kind of questions should we ask? How did you know you picked the right DJ?
TIA

bar10521 · June 2012

You could ask if he/she charges for travel time and if the set up/breakdown of the equpiment is part of your allotted time or if they do it on their own time. Meaning you book him for 6 hours but in that 6 hours he needs to set up/break down all his stuff.

We knew ours was right for us because he was the DJ at a friend's wedding and we loved everything he played/did and got his card there.

anastassiiat · June 2012

For us a big thing was how good the DJ was with getting back to our e-mails, since we prefer e-mail for communication and it was nice to see that he would always reply within 24 hours (most of the time even faster). Our DJ has an on-line tool where we can pick music (which song goes to which event on the timeline, the do not play list, etc.) so that was a huge plus since both FI and I have busy schedules, so it's easier for us to pick music on-line as opposed to having multiple meetings in person. Our DJ also has an assistant, which was a plus. We also asked him whether he has back up just in case something goes wrong with his original equipment (he did). In the end it was all about personality, he seemed very energetic and not too cheesy, so FI and I loved him!

anastassiiat · June 2012

Just realized you are from Boston - which DJ are you meeting with if you don't mind me asking?

cnf2013 · June 2012

Ask him about playlist; need to hear songs, do not play lists, how you should handle giving him song lists etc. Our DJ has an online playlist builder with all the aspects of the wedding listed, like first dance followed by a line to put your song on. It pulls the music from a huge online database and should the song you want not be there you can provide it to them on cd or email it as an mp3 attachement and they'll edit it to album/studio quality and add it to their database.

We knew ours was right for us for a silly reason... our friends who are both in the WP got married a few years ago and their DJ was terrible. They played two different version on the Monster Mash at their MAY wedding. When we told our DJ this during the initial meeting he got excited and said that song should be their introduction/entrance song. That kind of silliness is exactly our style and we knew right then and there that we had to book him.

pedulaney · June 2012

Ask about how many hours they will play, what the cost covers, of there are travel or set up/tear down fees, and how many songs they currently have. Also ask if they have the genres you would like to listen to.

emilyb213 · June 2012

We asked how they would handle things like a drunk groomsman begging for the mic so that he can give an impromptu toast, and my twin sisters joining forces and standing there batting their eyes to try and convince the DJ to play something on the do not play list. Both of these things are plausible scenarios at our wedding, so we wanted to make sure we'd have someone who could handle something like that.

We also asked them to give us an overview of their style (we didn't want someone who talked a lot), what type of music they typically played during dinner, and what they thought was appropriate dancing music (i.e. no non-radio edits of songs). Also, ask if they will sit down and meet with you in the week or so leading up to the wedding to finalize everything.

We knew we found our DJ when he said that he used to DJ at a local independent station, and that was the type of music he'd play during the dinner hour. On the other hand, another DJ kept insisting on calling my younger brother and sister (they're 13 & 15) "junior attendants" after I specifically told him they were just going to be a regular bridesmaid and groomsman. The fact that he didn't seem to listen to that little detail got him scratched from our list. I know that seems nitpicky, but for us, it was really about the vibes we got from the DJ.

SusieSunshine2 · June 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2013-weddings_dj-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:f30b0bfc-508d-415c-bf59-ab83e327da37Discussion:c52a0f09-e5e3-4d61-82c9-2e73bf74e3a5Post:2730550a-35aa-45fc-802e-cbcc803d3f47">Re: DJ Question</a>:
[QUOTE]Just realized you are from Boston - which DJ are you meeting with if you don't mind me asking?
Posted by anastassiiat[/QUOTE]
We are going to Curtis Knight in Billerica. I saw a recommendation on the Boston board. Heard anything about them? They seem to be a lot like yours.

anastassiiat · June 2012

I've seen them recommended on the Boston and the NH boards a lot, and they were actually on our list but it just happened that we've met with our DJ (ECF Entertainment) prior to them and just didn't feel like we had to "shop" any longer. But it does seem like they should be pretty good!

MandiNewMommy · June 2012

I think the DJ is one of the most importent parts of the resp. They keep things going....and truely make or break the party. Makesure he has the music you want or will get it before the wedding, if you want lighting or whatever see if he has stuff he brings with, makesure he will take what you say and go with it. GL!

kellyeliz · June 2012

We never even had a meeting with our DJ. We had seen him at our friend's wedding last September and he was amazing. No one stopped dancing all night and people are still talking about how fun it was! If we weren't date twins I would tell you to call him! We are using Peter Brady from Good Times out of Braintree. We really liked that they weren't over the top. Yes they played music and MC'd but they weren't cheesy! They have other DJs as well and we thought they were reasonably priced!

http://www.goodtimesunlimited.net/dj-profiles

cassienoel022 · June 2012

Gosh you all are so organized with your questions. The DJ was the hardest one for me to book because I had no idea what to look for. I ended up trusting my wedding planners and went with their suggestion. I talked with him on the phone and he told me about what he does and how he figures out what the best music to play is and I was sold.

belle7fl · June 2012

We knew our DJ was the right one because we all hit it off right off the bat. He also used to DJ in some clubs in providence and grew up in his dads radio station. We were actually finishing each others sentences when we were talking about playlists. I also know most of the big DJs in RI so I had a guide as to what I wanted and didn't want. All the PPs have great questions just feel him out and don't fall for them trying to schmooze you.

SB1512 · June 2012

We knew our DJ was the right pick when he covered the entire timeline of our wedding, something no other DJ we had met with had done. He brought up stuff FI and I haven't even thought about and I'm confident that we'll be able to make the most of our reception and the time we have with our friends and family b/c everything will be so well coordinated.

rmp4996 · June 2012

I typed up a list of questions to ask the DJ that I got from dome different wedding planning books. They listed some good questions that should be asked, so I stole those, and then talked to my mom who is great with asking the right questions when hiring people for important things, and added some of her questions as well. I think I saved it on my computer, so if you would like me to e-mail it to you, let me know.

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