Well now that the Bridal Expo has passed, we would first like to thank the hundreds of brides who came out looking for that perfect vendor for their nuptials. One of the most common things we heard during the day was "Oh that is a lot more than we had planned to spend". So I decided to write this article based on some of the horror stories we have heard in the past.
Have you heard the statement "You get what you paid for?" Sure you have, so what do you think that DJ who is $75.00 an hour is going to be like? Now keep in mind that some of the higher priced companies can be just as bad. What you want to do is find a company that is willing to negotiate with you on the price. A company that sees your wedding day as an investment for you and not just another pay day for them. Our packages are designed to allow for some flexibility when it comes to your big day and dreams. This is the biggest day of your life and you should not have to skimp on professionalism because your budget does not allow for it, right? Some of the things we have heard that shock us:
1. Appearance
Sherri and Jim had a DJ that showed up to their wedding reception, in jeans! “I couldn’t believe this guy he thought that black jeans and tie were appropriate,” exclaimed Sherri’s mother. “We paid him almost a thousand dollars and he shows up like that? Unbelievable!”
Sherri's Mom is right...Our planning forms have a section where you actually pick the desired attire of the male and female staff members. However we agree that jeans are uncalled for at any wedding.
2. Being Punctual
Amy and Andrew’s DJ was very tardy Andrew tells it best, “Our DJ was late. He was carrying his speakers and lights and stuff right past our receiving line! He looked completely disorganized and flustered. We didn’t even have any music until just before dinner”
This is more common than you could even imagine. A lot of times if the ceremony is late the DJ will do other things earlier in the day, they will oversleep, forget their supposed to be somewhere, we have even heard of them not showing up at all.
We counter this a couple different ways. We attempt to not schedule other events on weekends with weddings. This allows us to be 100% invested in your wedding date. We do have the rare occasion that a Friday night event lands on a wedding weekend, but we never schedule another event on the same day as a wedding.
We will also try to be on site at least 2 hours ahead of time. This allows us to setup and test the equipment and make any adjustments that maybe needed. This brings me to the next horror story.
3. The Sound
Dave and Jill were dancing like maniacs, when all of sudden, silence. "Our DJ lost power to his speakers for some reason and our party was pretty much over. It ruined our entire night.”
Now things do happen and any good DJ will have a backup plan when the unthinkable happens.
There is no amount of prep and testing that can prepare you for a power surge. We carry a backup board and speakers to all events so that we are back up and running in the quickest amount of time as possible.
This also should cover volume. Beth and Roy said that their DJ had the volume so loud that no one could each other.
Now sure the volume on the dance floor should be loud, because that is where the party is, but it should also not be so loud that the people in the back of the room can not carry a conversation. There is a high probability that the older folks at your wedding will not be on the dance floor with you for that new jam from Cardi B.
This also goes for Microphones. I can not tell you how many weddings I have been at the batteries in the microphone were dead. We make sure they are fresh, but should something happen while you are using the microphone there is always a back up mic to be used. Plus we also test the volume to make sure it can be heard in the entire room.
4. The Music
There are so many horror stories when it come to music here are just a few:
Danielle and Mike recall, “We gave our DJ a list of our favorite songs that we wanted played during our party and he didn’t play one. We asked him repeatedly to play them and he refused until my bride was practically in tears.”
I mean this one is a no brainer. We give you a must play list to fill out because these are the songs that MUST be played. No DJ should be picking his own personal playlist because he disagrees with the Must Play List. The Same goes for the DO NOT PLAY LIST
Rachel and Matt say. “We specifically told our DJ not to play the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance. Fifteen minutes after dancing began he played both, back to back!
Jackie and Don said “Our DJ played rap all night, which we can’t stand. I looked through his CDs to try to find something else and all he had was rap. Most of my guests left before 10pm.”
We have the list on site of the songs you do not want. We will also mark them in the system so if a guest requests it and the DJ pulls it up to play, it will tell him not to play it because it is on the DO NOT PLAY LIST.
Kathleen and Brian tried to save money and really got what they paid for, “Our DJ didn’t even come prepared with any of the songs we discussed, not even the song Brian and I were going to dance to for our first dance! We ended up dancing to some song we never even heard of.”
These are the songs that mean the most at your wedding, this is why we try to do our Bridal Consults about 100 days out from your wedding so that we have time to track down any song on your special songs list that we do not have or are unable to obtain. Odds are that out of the 25,000+ songs in our library we probably have it.
Truth be told there are thousands of horror stories when it comes to weddings from the venue, to the carter, to the photos, to the flowers, to the DJ. Now you are probably thinking Wow- lots of horror stories! Well you are right. I've been DJing for just shy of 20 years, and just when you think you've heard them all, more stories come along. The trouble is the same as it was when I started out- anyone can get equipment and music and call themselves a DJ, but are they experienced with weddings and are they good? My advice is to take your time and don't skimp because of price. I'm not saying that there aren't higher-priced DJs out there who don't live up to the hype, but for the most part it is supply and demand. Unless you want to add to the stories above, forget about Craigslist or Thumbtack. Those are usually the bottom-feeders. You may find a gem in the rough, but it's a long shot. Check reviews, ask your other trusted wedding professionals. But even more important is meet/Skype/FaceTime/phone call with your DJ and see if his/her personality matches with your idea of your day. He/she should be enthusiastic, full of great ideas, but willing to listen to yours and make your vision a reality. No other client-vendor relationship is as important except the one with your photo/video professional(s). Because quite honestly the photographer and the DJ will be the ones to make or break your reception. Good luck everyone and have a fantastic wedding day and evening!
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