Choosing The Right DJ

One of the hardest parts of planning a wedding is being able to identify real value.

Every salesperson out there is doing their best to try to persuade you to use their service, so how does a bride determine where she should spend her time and money?

For most brides, price by itself is not the key factor when her wedding day plans are being considered. Most brides will compare all the services that are available, gathering useful information about each, and then determine which service suits her needs best based on overall value.

When it comes to choosing wedding entertainment, a bride needs to ask herself exactly what she is looking for:

Personality – Are you looking for an engaging entertainment director who can motivate your crowd onto the dance floor or a passive disc jockey who can conservatively address your crowd in a more elegant fashion? Maybe you would like a mixture of both? How do you determine what kind of personality your candidate has?

I always stress the importance of a bride and groom sitting down face-to-face with their potential music provider to ask questions about their methods and styles. It's not just about the answers alone, but also how comfortable you feel around that DJ.

A bride and groom should be able to walk into their reception with confidence, knowing they have selected the exact sort of representative they were looking for.

Accountability – You should have the ability to speak with previous clients of the DJ. Speaking with someone who has actually used the DJ's service will provide you with many of the unbiased answers you need to make a well-informed decision.

A professional wedding specialist who has earned the trust and personal endorsement of his clients is certainly not easy to find. Finding a DJ who is willing to present that information to you without making you ask is even rarer.

Consider this: If you're thinking of switching cell phone service providers, who is more compelling, the "Can You Hear Me Now?" guy or someone who actually uses that cell phone service?

Flexibility – How willing is your DJ to accommodate your needs, both in respect to music and how they govern themselves on the microphone, as well as in their interaction with your guests?

Does your DJ listen to you as you tell them about your needs, wants, and expectations or do they go on-and-on about the places they have been and the equipment they use?

Many DJs often fall trap to the "I Know More About Your Wedding Than You Do" disease. They begin telling you what you want and don’t want, criticize your requests, and don’t really tune in to the needs of the people who matter the most: You, your fiance, and your guests.

Unless you are looking to book an "artist" for your entertainment, I would recommend you sit down with your DJ, before signing any contracts, to get a feel as to how much they want to make your event a success for you and how much they want to make it a success for them.

Presentation – I'm often asked by a bride and groom about whether or not I have a DVD demo of my service. I've come to the realization that most people only want to see a video demo because they want to make sure that I'm not a showboat, I’m not conceited and self-centered, and I don’t use a "DJ voice".

I personally believe that a wedding is not the place for advertisements, banners, business card trays, or over-the-microphone "plugs" like "Hey everybody, I'm DJ Scrappy Dooooooo! You’re listening to Drop It Like It's Hot Disc Jockeys!".

You should ask your DJ if they have photos of their equipment in your ballroom. It gives you a great sense of what to expect.

It might not sound important now, but imagine walking into your reception and seeing this on your dance floor.

Ultimately, a sound system should look elegant and be just large enough to cover the room with enough sound to allow people to speak comfortably at their tables during dinner, and completely satiate the dance floor with full and clean sound.

For example, click on some of the locations, I've listed here: Blue Bell Country Club – Cescaphe Ballroom – RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve

You'll see that each room is slightly different in the presentation, but one theme remains constant: Clean and elegant.

The "Wow" Factor – Last, but certainly not least, you should ask a DJ the following question: "What specifically can you do to 'wow' our guests?"

Is it the way they speak on the microphone? Is it their light show? Do they have ways of getting the crowd involved without using inflatable guitars? Basically, you're asking, in a roundabout way, "What makes you so special, Mr. DJ?".

Finding an entertainment director with the right balance of fun and sophistication is essentially what you're looking for, right? Not too hot, not too cold, but just right. How does the DJ differentiate themselves from the competition?

While there are numerous other things to consider, hopefully I've provided you with some helpful questions to add to your DJ interview.

Good luck planning the soundtrack for the most important day of your life!