Price

So many times, the first question a bride or groom asks is, "How much do you charge?" How sad. What is the success of your party worth? For this example I'll choose a very budget-oriented party. Consider that you are about to invite one-hundred guests to your reception. At a cost of twenty dollars per head, you have only two-thousand dollars invested in your party. Add five-hundred dollars for the wedding dress, another hundred for the tux, a thousand for floral decorations, fifty for the minister, three hundred or so on gifts for the wedding party and various tips, two hundred for a limo, and twenty-five hundred for the honeymoon and now you've invested a little over sixty-five hundred dollars!

That professional Dj you spoke with said, "We charge six-hundred and fifty dollars for a show of that time frame." That's only ten percent of your current expenses, but you've been thinking four-hundred and fifty at the top end. Is it worth spending an extra hundred or two on a disc jockey to make sure that you have a reputable and professional entertainer who has experience making fun happen at a wedding reception? Is it worth saving that five to six-hundred dollars to use Uncle Harold's friend who by the way, only owns a hundred albums (yes, vinyl) and the majority are circa 1950 - rockabilly...Oh, and the last suit he purchased was in 1976...pale blue...big lapels...You thought you didn't need to meet him before the wedding...after all he was Uncle Harold's best friend. Am I painting a picture?

Shopping for price is definitely not the most effective way to hire a disc jockey. Don't ask what it will cost to hire someone until you've had an opportunity to decide if you would even meet with the DJ. Why not, you ask? There are disc jockeys out there who have home stereo equipment and have no experience hosting a wedding reception who can waste your valuable time just by saying they'll do your party for less. By the time you realize that a mistake has been made, the professionals will have booked with someone else and you'll may be left out in the cold.

Service

The number one, absolute best way to find out if a disc jockey is worth hiring is to meet him or her or them and get a feel for their service attitude. Pick up the yellow pages (or jump on the internet), find the listings for disc jockeys and start calling. When you find someone you can quickly feel comfortable talking with, you've probably found a good candidate to meet with. Let them know what your plans are or find out from them what they can do to help you plan your day. Ask them if they get involved with the crowd, if they handle the announcements or work with the photographer. See if they will help to coordinate the reception for you. If you just want a DJ to sit behind the booth, say nothing and read a magazine, then maybe the high school kid down the street will do just fine, but if you're looking for more, start by building a relationship.

During your phone call you should be able to quickly tell if the person you are talking to will be willing to work for you. I'm not suggesting that you'll know that they want your money. I mean that once you hire them, they will give you one hundred percent. They'll make things happen, they'll assist you to make decisions that will make your party successful, not just another meal and dance.

If the phone call has gone well and you feel good about this disc jockey, now is the time to say, "By the way, how much would you charge to do my wedding?" The answers may vary, but now, you'll be ready to ask yourself the question that really matters. "If I met with these people and really liked them and they seemed like they could really do all that they have told me they can do, would I pay that much to make sure we have a great party?" If the answer is "Maybe" then you should at least meet with them. Nothing besides seeing a dj in action, will help you to make the decision more easily than spending an hour talking with them. When the meeting is done, you should know if you like them enough to have them work for you.

You should always be given the opportunity to meet with your disc jockey before you put down a deposit. If you can't meet with the disc jockey who will be doing your wedding, unless you made that decision, find another DJ. Knowing that you spoke with the person who will be at your wedding will assure you of your decision. You will know that you communicated your needs to the host of your party. You will know how they reacted to your requests for certain things to not happen at your reception. You will know the stranger at your party.

Value

What are you getting for your money? With Uncle Harold's best friend, you get what you paid for, a really large home stereo, a few records of which some might actually be on your request list, and little more than a free jukebox. With a band, you're likely to get every song you requested - as long as they know the lyrics, and a great ambiance. Bands are impressive, but they'll need to take a set break every 45 minutes and the variety of music might just not be there.

Your disc jockey should be able to host your party for you. A professional wedding dj will probably play light dinner music during your cocktail hour and meal, introduce your wedding party and formalities, help your caterer and photographer stay on track with your plans and still have thousands of songs to choose from for the open dancing time. They'll make time to help you with song selections, planning your introductions, and deciding on the timing of all the mini-events of your day.

Reliability & Professionalism

There will be no second chance for your reception and that means that when Johnny DowntheStreet is offered the opportunity to go to the MegaDeath concert, you better hope he's not a fan or that he shows amazing maturity. But you cannot be concerned only with the DJ. Make sure your disc jockeys own their equipment. It should be professional quality and you should never be charged extra for having the DJ bring his equipment. Hey, Uncle Harold's friend lives! There are people claiming to be professional disc jockeys who show up at the wedding dressed in a leisure suit and carting a few home stereo components with a Radio Shack mixer! They sit back, change records and do little else while you wonder how you could have been roped into this deal.

Choosing a professional disc jockey company with many dj teams can provide a sense of security to couples who are afraid of the unexpected, but the unexpected can happen to anyone. More so, you should concern yourself with how a company handles the unexpected. If your main disc jockey gets sick or worse, is there a secondary who can take over? Can you meet and plan your day with the Dj who will be at your wedding, or will your show be cast off to the highest bidder when something better comes along? Working with the mom and pop shop where the owners are the disc jockeys can provide a more secure client-vendor relationship than working with the corporation that controls the entire east coast.

A written contract can usually iron out the details. What happens when the equipment fails? Does the group have backup equipment or an agreement for loaner equipment? Professional equipment is built to last, but even the best equipment sometimes needs to be repaired. Ask your disc jockeys what they do in that kind of a situation, then ask them if they have it in writing. Experienced, professional disc jockeys will be able to provide you with a copy of their standard contract, which should talk about back up plans in case of equipment failure and should also outline their refund policy.

Spend time checking their references - heck, check everyone's references! This is often the only way you will be able to find out if they follow through on their promises. Don't expect that you will have the opportunity to see them at an upcoming reception and videos are easily made to show a disc jockey under only the best light. Although attending a public appearance may be a possibility, many professional disc jockeys have learned the hard way that future business is no reason to have strangers crashing someone else's party. Think about it this way: even you you said it was acceptable, would you want your disc jockey taking time out of your reception to sell another client while he should be concentrating on your party?

Look carefully at the literature the company distributes. Glossy, professional handouts do show a commitment to investing in marketing material; how do you think they pay for that? With desktop publishing so readily available, many smaller dj services make their own brochures and business cards. What image do they present in print, on the web and in person? Does the image fit with what you want in an entertainer or does the presentation remind you of a Simpson's episode run amok?

Fun

Professionalism does not mean that your disc jockey won't be any fun. In fact, a true entertainer makes fun! Just like you wouldn't hire the disc jockey who sits behind the booth and reads magazines, why would you want to hire a disc jockey who can't entertain? At a reception, you'll want a blend of announcer, music mixer, request taker, comedian, dancer, and actor. You'll want someone who can get out on the floor with your guests and teach them how to do the Electric Slide, rather than just watching them muddle through it. You need someone who will break the ice with your guests if they can't do it themselves.

Make sure your entertainers temper their enthusiasm with common sense. In the middle of a most elegant banquet and ball, your entertainment had better not be breaking out the oversized plastic sunglasses and blow-up guitars and making like risky business on your dance floor. Under different circumstances, you may very well be looking for just that kind of activity. Let your disc jockey know what your expectations are, as well as what you expect would never happen at your party.

Some parties just happen. The day is great, the music is kickin' and your guests are ready to have a ball. Some parties need help. Make sure before you have your big day that if its necessary, your dj will do the right thing to kick start your party.

So That's It

So in the end, it comes back to this: Expect to pay for the level of entertainment we have described. In the New Hampshire Seacoast area, professional, experienced, wedding DJs range anywhere from $350.00 to $1000.00 for a four to six hour reception. Team disc jockey services are usually a little more expensive than a solo DJ, after all, you're getting two people to make sure your party is a success; a Master of Ceremonies and a disc jockey assistant or junior event coordinator. You may pay a little more if your entertainment will be traveling more than an hour to get to your party and dates such as the second week of June or Columbus Day Weekend may cost more simply because of demand. Then again, some services charge flat rates no matter what the date or location.