Wedding DJ Pricing
“So, how much do you cost?”
This is a question I receive fairly often from prospective clients. Its a reasonable question – especially if its something asked towards the end of a conversation regarding any service. However, if this is the first thing someone asks me, either at a bridal show, or over the phone … I honestly cant help but cringe (at least on the inside). Something about this is wrong.
Yes – Our economy may not be so great. People are looking to cut costs on everything from groceries to gas; but if this is your wedding – isn’t the quality of the service at least something you would want to know a little about? I might even be as brave to suggest that the quality of service is more important than the price. But then again … I work for a DJ company.
I do think the reason why this question is so prominent in our industry is two-fold: For one, some clients might have the idea that all DJ services are the same (hint: they’re not). An old saying goes;“You can compare apples to apples, but you can’t compare a chair to a couch.”
Actually, I made that statement up. However, it easily illustrates the point that I’m driving at: Not all DJs are the same. There are so many different things to take into account when looking at a prospective DJ service for your wedding (and I am specifically speaking about weddings here – a DJ for your birthday party is another matter).
Just as in comparing furniture, style is a huge difference between today’s DJ services. One popular style involves an entertainment mindset which focuses on bringing props, doing group dances, wearing wigs, and other things of that sort in addition to playing dance music. When I have a client looking for this type of style, I normally will give them a few companies in St Louis that provide this and send them on their way. This is not the style of service we offer.
Other DJ companies, like Millennium Music, specialize in a more contemporary style and that is what I will jump into briefly below:
With a contemporary style, you’re getting something very different. With this style, the DJ is focused on acting as a host for your reception, and not necessarily as the entertainer. This style means that the bride and groom are the center of the attention – not the DJ. The DJ sees it as his/her role to merely facilitate the evening to the newlywed couple’s liking. This type of DJ’s job involves being on the microphone only for necessary announcements: Bridal party introductions, coordinating between toasts, announcing the cake cutting, announcing the garter/bouquet toss to name a few.
Another responsibility found with a contemporary DJ is to coordinate with all of your vendors at the reception to ensure everyone is on the same page, and constantly letting your guests know whats happening next at all times. After all of this, the DJ also happens to play a seamless flow of music later in the evening (without announcing in a “radio voice” what song has just been played). “Beat-mixing” is a popular phrase heard around our office and it expresses a seamless transition between songs to ensure the energy stays on the dance floor; reducing the pauses normally heard between songs, which is often a cue for guests to leave the dance floor.
The other reason I think the “price question” comes up as the first thing uttered after I say “hello” is that our prospective clients just don’t know what else there is to ask. For most of our clients, this is the first time they’ve actually hired or considered hiring a DJ so they feel this is the question to be asked. Just so you know, there are other important ones to ask (even before the price question). I’ll help our newly engaged couples out there with a list below of some important questions to ask when comparing DJ services (or chairs to couches…brilliant).
Good Questions to Ask A Potential DJ Company
1. In what type of venue’s do you normally perform? On the face of it, this may not seem important, but can give you a good idea of the caliber of DJ you are inquiring about. If they play a lot of bar gigs, then weddings are not their specialty. If, on the other hand, they end up at a lot of the most expensive places in town – You’ve found a good DJ company
2. Can I meet with my DJ after booking? If you can’t – consider that “red flag” number 1.
3. Can I see one of your DJs at a wedding? If the company gives you any answer other than “yes” upon asking this question – you can consider that “red flag” no. 2 and they are hiding something. I’ve heard very clever excuses to this question which usually fall along the lines of “our client’s confidentiality is important” and just so you know – this is a cover-up and this company knows they provide a bad service. Any bride that has already booked a DJ knows what its like when searching for one, and will understand your desire to actually see what you are getting (I’ve only had one bride that wasn’t comfortable with someone stopping by in the several years that I’ve been in this business, and the request above is one that we grant quite often).
4. Any hidden costs? Seems a good question to ask, no? Some DJs charge travel fees, setup fees, taxes … etc. which you may not know about right away.
5. What does your package include? You want to find out things such as how many hours come with the package, if lighting is included (LED lighting tends to have a classier look), is there a wireless microphone for toasts, do they include an adequate sound system (high-end speakers, amplifier, and mixing board are definite must-haves).
6. Will the DJ take breaks? Hopefully the answer will be “no”…
A few other things to consider:
Check out the Better Business Bureau (https://www.bbb.org/). If the company has lots of complaints – Well … you know what to do.
Ask your vendors. These are the people that see day-to-day the type of people that are out there, and they probably have some decent suggestions for you. I will say that the one exclusion to this rule is a “house DJ” or “preferred DJ” associated with some venues (but not all venues). Usually these “preferred” vendors are people that cut a check to the venue in response to the booking, or have paid to be placed on the “preferred vendors” list. If your venue has one of these lists, just ask and they’ll be honest about the reasons why those particular vendors are preferred.
And with that, I leave you with a hearty congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Feel free to provide your thoughts on this long (sorry), but extremely important post.
Ben Kelley – Millennium Music
