This is the second most common thing we’ll get asked by couples. The couple that asks this question wants a good DJ and have seen something they didn’t like from a DJ. Booking a DJ based on price is often the starting place for this type of problem. Some couples begin their DJ search with one main question, what’s your price? Like anything else, you’ll find someone that services weddings for a low price. These services are well aware there are higher priced options that exist and generally they’re priced accordingly based on the service level they provide. It’s no different than comparing hotels on the basis of price. You know a hotel priced at 1/4 or less of the four and five star hotels is most likely a hostel, motel, or perhaps an inn. In no way is it the five star hotel, no matter how it’s described in a write up. The attention to detail, finer qualities, features, and service level will not be equivalent. This is what leads couples to ask us variations of the question, “Why would the DJ do that at the wedding?”
This weekend I had a conversation with a couple that had attended a wedding where the DJ had made a significant impression on the guests and the wedding atmosphere. The DJ was relying extensively on the use of Wi-Fi and it failed. This isn’t the first, second or even third time I’ve heard of this creating problems. I didn’t ask what the DJ cost them, because I didn’t need to. The quickest way for a DJ to lower their price is to remove features, and in this case, they eliminated the cost of purchasing a music library. If you wanted to match my library today you could, but you’ll need over $100,000, which isn’t affordable to lower cost services. For comparison, a DJ might look for short cuts such as streaming, which can have disastrous results.
Hiring a professional should mitigate stress, however, the wrong type of professional may introduce your wedding to unexpected risks. Relying on Wi-Fi for a wedding isn’t the best choice for any high grade professional. The network and installation is not within their control, but owning and maintaining a music library is. At the ceremony, which no had no music, the bride was forced walk down the aisle to her friends trying their very best to hum her song. This was followed by a limited selection of songs available for the reception and the couple’s requests not being played. As expected given the circumstances, the reception ended early and the couple didn’t have much of a celebration.
Witnessing this wedding gave the couple I was speaking with a better understanding of what they don’t want their wedding day to look like. Their questions were centered on the type of DJ they wanted, which is critical, because even the big DJ companies hire lots of new DJs every year. They wanted to know exactly who would DJ their wedding and what would make that person qualified. This included seeing reviews that demonstrate having actual experience, not vague references to past DJs which may or may not still work for the DJ service. They understood how a good DJ could really help them have a fun and memorable wedding, and how a poor quality DJ could mean having a memorable wedding for the wrong reasons. To this couple, a good DJ with experience is worth more than just the price, because they’ve seen firsthand the difference it makes at a wedding.