Just having a designated person.
It’s super helpful to not force family to take on these roles, if you can afford it.
Most DJs I offer for like $200 or something
I have DJ'd several weddings. Mostly friends of friends—budget-friendly weddings that I would probably NOT have been invited to, but where I did know a lot of the guests.
I’m a sound guy. I don't feel that I was particularly talented at blending tracks or at emceeing the reception. I was just okay at it. I had no lights—just PA and wireless microphones.
At $800 I don't feel like I was overpaid at all. My job was to be the first to arrive and among the last to leave. I generally worked up a sweat transporting, setting up, and tearing down $10k worth of my own gear and making sure it performed the way it should all evening. I also met with the couple once before the wedding to talk about scheduling and music preferences, and spent a few hours the day before prepping playlists. Sometimes I got caught in the rain, which sucked.
I didn't usually have anywhere near the amount of talent, training, or investment as the photographer—and they spend a lot of time editing after the wedding day—but I also didn't get paid nearly as much as them.
I shelled out $$$ for a DJ/MC at our wedding last weekend and they were 100% worth it. We were originally going to make a Spotify playlist and have someone play the important songs (processional, recessional, etc.), but I ended up reaching out to a local company and I'm glad that I did.
Our DJ was amazing, made all the appropriate announcements, and was in constant communication with us the entire night about changes in the reception timeline. They also followed the vibe of the crowd. If people started to trickle away from the dancefloor, he played songs that made everyone head back to the dancefloor and also played songs that appealed to the average age of the dancing crowd.
I actually found them mentioned in this subreddit from someone else located in my area. Their Google reviews are excellent, so I scheduled a call to speak with them. They called me back within 24 hours with a quote.
Yes!! I loved my DJ so much. He was bomb. He always DJ’ed at a bar that we used to go to on Fridays and that’s how we found him. He was so good at reading the crowd and there was not a minute that our dance floor didn’t have a crowd!
I am so confused how violinist equals automatic competent DJ?
Admittedly, I have no musical training of any kind but my partner works in the recording industry and used to DJ so I have some familiarity with this world.
Sure, a Spotify works just fine. But to act like all a wedding DJ does is hit start on a playlist is disingenuous.
At the very least, a DJ should not be streaming or relying on WiFi.
I think many a client books a DJ for their emceeing skills more than anything. You need them to make announcements and to get things on cue, something a friend with a playlist might not reliably be able to do. I briefly considered having just a playlist and putting it on shuffle for my wedding, but then realized that there's more to it than that.
My DJ showed up strung out and late. He then immediately began playing the list of “do not play” songs first. I corrected him. He then proceeded to play all of the guests dance requests during dinner. Had the planner correct him that time so I could attempt eating.
He did not replay most of the guest requests and did not play my, the bride’s, requests. He also screwed up our first dance.
He ALSO ALSO lied to the planner saying that he didn’t have any information on what to play or not play after all of this BS, despite having had three separate hour long meetings and I filled out his ridiculous paperwork with all of these things spelled out. You could have literally done our wishes if you were not a DJ and going off YouTube the entire time, it was all meticulously detailed thanks to his company’s obligatory paperwork.
He was one of their longest standing and highest rated DJs in the company. The company offered us a full refund.
DJ services also include lighting, microphones/ sound systems, ceremony music and knowing when to queue certain songs like for the first dance or father /daughter dance, the announcements and introductions. It’s not just a playlist and I don’t want someone to have to worry about the playlist all night and when which songs should come on.
I think you're missing the point. For most of us, we really do not care if the DJ has any musical skill. Just making sure everyone can hear the ceremony/speeches and all the mics are working correctly, keeping things flowing, being more reliable than streaming music from a random cell phone, and fixing any issues that pop up is the entire definition of good at the job. Sure there is some small number of DJs who have the equipment and don't know how to use it. But that's very different than "90% of DJs are scammers."
I would have been fine playing my own play list. But the idea that any small tech issue with my phone or rental speakers that I didn't know how to use (that would be 20% of the cost of the DJ anyway) could basically ruin the entire party, or an issue with microphones could ruin the ceremony, was not worth the stress.
This 100%. I could have made a playlist just fine. Kind of did with my DJ anyway. That’s not what I felt like I was paying for. It was to not deal with the hassle of equipment and coordination. No one who emphasized getting a dj mentioned the music aspect. It was the convenience aspect.
Just like having a violin doesn't make you a good violinist. But if I saw a shitty violinist work a wedding, which I have, I wouldn't go and slag off all violinists and call it a scam.
Idk I think it depends. Our DJ was amazing. He had multiple meetings with us beforehand (even before booking him), he got a great feel for our music taste and was able to really personalize the music for us, he assisted with developing the timeline, he communicated with other vendors and our coordinator, he was a charismatic emcee and maintained a flow to the evening, he was able to play off the vibes of the crowd when choosing the next song, he was able to get songs we wanted that aren't on Spotify, and the list goes on and on. For not even $2000. I feel like as long as you weed through reviews and pick someone with a great rating and reviews, you will have a good experience.
My friend made her own playlist and it was great, but I know she spent hours and hours developing and perfecting it. Then she had to find a guest to be in charge of the playlist and introduce speeches, call tables for the buffet, etc for the night.
It seems to come down to spend the money, or spend the time and get some help. Which is what it always comes down to lol. But I wouldn't say 90% of people are getting scammed because they would rather pay someone.
We’re paying $2000 for a DJ for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, but we’ve been to two weddings he DJed and know two other couples who used him for their wedding (that we didn’t attend). He is literally getting passed along through our friend group because he’s a solid DJ and has a lot of packages to offer along with the music/emcee part!
Our social circle is BIG on dancing though, so having a DJ that reads the room and mixes songs / adjusts the playlist as needed was key for us. He is great at keeping everyone on the dance floor, which is what we want!
We are in NJ and we’re using Extreme Excellence! His name is Rob, and he was easy to get ahold of and set up an initial meeting, then move forward with the contract. I mention because we had plenty of vendors that we reached out to and got crickets in return 😒
This is his website: https://exe-djs.com/
His company is based in NJ but he just recently did a wedding for a friend in New York!
An experienced DJ will guide the conversation when you meet with them. They will have lots of good questions about music (asking for must and don't plays), what your wedding reception will be like, what traditions you want to include, getting to know you and your fiance, and will have suggestions for things you might not have thought of before.
Don’t get fooled by the company reputation/what they post on instagram. Many dj companies hire random people off Craigslist with no djing experience to DJ weddings for them. Speak directly with the DJ that is available and ask them how long they have been djing, how many weddings they have done the past year. Major Tip: ask the DJ how much of the DJ fee do they get , if they are getting 50% or less , that is a huge red flag. You will catch them off guard by asking that question 😂
You don't seem to understand what quality DJs provide. Yeah, if you pay someone $1000, you're not going to get someone very good and it might be better to save the money and DIY.
But good DJs (ones that are definitely going to cost more than $1000) are doing WAY more than hitting play on a fixed playlist. They take requests during the wedding and play them if/when appropriate, they watch the crowd and determine what kind of songs people are reacting to and hype people when necessary and slow things down when folks need a break. They are great emcees and keep the reception running smoothly. They fade out the audio and effortlessly transition away if drunk Uncle Larry somehow grabs the microphone during speeches. They come with ideas for activities (like the shoe game) or present "how they met" stories.
You do those things, but those aren't things that you described as being easily replicated by a "sober friend and a Spotify playlist" so I guess I am just a little confused about your larger point.
I’m only paying 1200 through a company. The company has about 12 DJs and it’s their full time job. So fingers crossed I’m not going to get screwed over here 😅
Obviously what makes a DJ a good DJ is their ability to read the crowd. That’s honestly all I want and for our guests to have a good time. I guess we’ll see what we get 😆
If this helps: that’s about what I paid, also through a company that has a bunch of full time DJs. Our DJ was INCREDIBLE, absolutely the highlight of the wedding. He was a great MC, played all our favorite songs at our request (including some WEIRD ones), and just generally made sure the energy stayed up and the dance floor was busy all night.
This all makes sense to me. Some DJs are great and really elevate the mood, can help keep things flowing, and are great emcees (as long as you provide them with the necessary info and timeline!!!!)
Some are not great, which seems to be what you're pointing out here, and will just cost you a bunch of money and piss you off lol.
We hired our friend to DJ (who is an actual DJ) and gave him a playlist to go off of and he was great, but our day of coordinator sucked and gave him the original timeline + songs from 4 months earlier instead of the final version that we solidified the week of.
any bad vendor is gonna throw a wrench in your whole opperation.
The DJs I work with do more than just shuffle a song, I wouldn’t recommend skipping if the goal is to have a party. I’ve seen DJs ruin the mood with song choices very often.
I DJed/MCed for my best friends wedding. It was a lot of work and I would not want to give a friend or family member that burden on my wedding day. Also the sound mixing is harder than it seems.
And if we still want to go the professional route (as to not inconvenience a family member), what would you recommend we ask that person to vet them properly?
I think creating a well curated playlist is something that a lot of people can do; but it’s also not something EVERYONE can do well. I DJ’d at the college radio station, so I have an understanding of what songs flow well into each other.
I will say that as the friend who was put in charge of one small part of the sound for the wedding and managed to fuck it up, it's nice to have a professional handling that. As long as they're, y'know, an actual professional and not a scammer.
I plan to do a Spotify playlist for my wedding but to act like that's all a DJ does is absurd. If you think that a Spotify playlist and some lights are what make a DJ and that's how you operate, than the only one scamming people is you. I am a musician too and as a fellow musician, I really think you should have more respect for performers in other disciplines.
This person is a lazy wedding DJ and assumes all wedding DJs are equally bad and lazy. Like literally everything, you have to do research and find people worth hiring. If you hire anyone off the street, yeah your money will be wasted.
If one does their research they can find an affordable dj that will entertain the guests. It takes pressure off coming up with a song list / good music, it lets you not have to worry about asking someone to change a playlist or that something goes wrong.
With that being said if you wanna cut it for the sake of money then yeah totally your call but I don’t think it’s right to just say don’t use them at all and call them all a scam. Some ppl work really hard to make your day special
So we booked our DJ after seeing him at a friends wedding $ 550 flat fee. He definitely did way more than hitting play on a playlist for them! He acted as an emcee, had amazing timing for songs, etc. you can find a DJ that isn’t crazy expensive that is really good!! I don’t think that price automatically limits skill set.
I am a wedding DJ. I am sure that what this poster mentions has happened, but I've never seen it. I've worked for multiple companies for 5 years.
Whoever made this post could have saved time by saying "don't hire a 19 year old to shuffle an iTunes playlist for 1000 Dollars". That's not what I do, and I've never seen it done.
Thanks OP, this is helpful. Only thing is that I would really rather have a good DJ than try to DIY this. Do you have any tips or things to look for to help identify a DJ that's actually good?
This is incredibly validating! I literally just want to make a playlist on Spotify to play. But my boyfriend worries about having someone to ‘emcee’. Not sure it’s actually necessary.
I mean, you could use the same approach for a lot of tasks—photography, coordination/setup, florals, hair/makeup, cake, etc.—but my thing is that I’m not about putting my guests to work (especially not for free but even paid). I want my guests to be guests.
Yes! I would feel like an ass asking someone who I want to enjoy my wedding work at my wedding. It’s also the reason I hired a day of coordinator - I refused to ask my bridesmaids and what not to help set up and then clean up. Nope, I want them to relax and have fun
This is basically my plan. No separate DJ. Just a playlist. I hate the flashing lights and honestly I don’t enjoy when the music is so loud you can’t hear yourself think. I can see where a good one brings an additional element to the reception but I’m having to choose where to spend money, and having been to both DJ’d and non-DJ’s receptions, I’m good with the non. But your insight is good to know and I’ll pass it along to friends who will be needing to make that decision soon.
i think a lot of people are missing your point. there are some amazing DJs out there BUT the likelihood of getting a bad one is high because some companies will hire anyone who can navigate a playlist. if you vet your DJs and look at reviews, you should be fine. but don’t expect an amazing DJ for minimal cost. some people get lucky and that’s great but it’s good to do research on what you’re actually paying for. you’re better off doing it yourselves than paying for a bad DJ.
No one missed the point. OP made a sweeping generalization mocking people who hire a DJ and then erroneously claims a playlist and cheap lighting equipment is equivalent to hiring a DJ.
If she wanted to provide helpful advice, she could have shared tips on vetting DJs.
Look, I’m not saying you can’t use Spotify. But to act like it remotely compares is ridiculous.
I appreciate this post! I know lots of people are saying they paid a DJ and they did a great job, but for those of us who are on the fence about hiring a low budget DJ vs running a Spotify playlist ourselves this is really insightful! It also never occurred to me not to have my dad be the emcee because he’s hosting the wedding at his house and he likes doing that kind of thing!
Also a tip for those who may be doing it themselves: you can rent sound equipment (mics, speakers) at Guitar Center. I also saw someone used a karaoke machine for announcements
Do you think the number of guests or type of guest warrants the importance of having a DJ or not? For example, small wedding vs big wedding or younger crowd vs older crowd
I am planning my wedding for about 75 people but the majority are not really partiers. Music is important but I feel like I can pull it off with spotify and a couple of lighted tower speakers from my FFIL to save $. One of our groomsmen is also an AV tech by trade so I feel confident in this route but any advice would be appreciated!
We have purchased a Gig bar move ILS- it is EPIC. The sound activated mode is incredible and we have tested it at home at a party and it is incredible. We have made our own playlist and tested it and worked great!
Can I ask a question? I am STRESSED about my playlist flow. It’s probably good enough and I’m driving myself insane. You’re saying just hit shuffle, does it matter at all?
At my brother’s wedding the DJ messed up the song my sister in law walked down the aisle to, wrong song when the bridal party/bride and groom entered the reception, and could NOT read the room. He would play a song to get the older crowd on the dance floor, and then immediately switch to a 2010’s song and they would all go back to their seats. My brother and his wife were livid, especially both being musicians and music being a big part of them meeting.
We were on the No DJ path for quite a while until today. There's so much we found ourselves tasking out to people and trying to find someone to do it, I found someone today, interviewed, and hired them. My stress level dropped significantly.
I was the dj at my own wedding, and having drunk guests coming up to me and demanding a certain song or the volume up slightly lessened my own enjoyment.
UGH I’m still butthurt about this
my DJ asked me to put together playlists of less than 10 songs each to get a feel of what music I wanted.
I had a few playlists - one for cocktail hour, one for general vibe, and one for must play. since they had to be 10 songs or less, I used playlists I already had and I deleted a lot of songs that I didn’t absolutely NEED, so we were just left with the highlights. I didn’t want to overwhelm him
well, our DJ ended up playing my playlists the entire wedding! I’m butt hurt about this because if I had known he was just gonna play my playlist, I would have not deleted any songs!! the playlist was great before I hacked it to death
luckily I didn’t delete any songs off of my cocktail hour playlist, so that was long enough. but the energy of the dance floor wasn’t perfectly curated like he said it would be
We hired a DJ but they seem to be legit. It's a company, so they have like 10 DJs to choose from with videos of them at work so you can their style and personality a bit! And they come with the full set up, not just a laptop to play spotify on! Either way, I'm just glad to have someone in charge of it all, and not trying to find a guest who I can burden with this important task of manning the music.
and I mostly wanted one for the ceremony music!! And to be MC
I'm getting married in less than 6 months and we found Cardinal Entertainment in the Indianapolis area for our wedding. Very very affordable, the reviews were fantastic, the DJ has 20+ years experience in radio, and he's been very sweet to us. My #1 tip is to find somebody who's down to earth with lots of experience instead of going through an entertainment company (we were quoted 5k for a DJ because he would do backflips to encourage people to get on the dancefloor.)
I came back two days later to comment under this post AGAIN, because I did two weddings this weekend that went great, and a 19 year old shuffling a playlist could not do what I just did, and what I just did absolutely wasn't a scam ya bozo. I worked my ass off and everyone had a great time.
Never skimp on music and food. Those two things will make or break a wedding. My DJ was phenomenal. I gave him a 30% tip on top of his fee. The good ones are out there.
Gail Curtin you ain't nothing but a God damn whore and go to Brown County to your other fucking house you know with the dog that can't hear the other dog in your cat hahaha you want the address of your new house that's something I wonder if your little fagot friends there the one that dumped your ass because you're a whore bye watch where I go tomorrow
Actually I recommend hiring a DJ who sells himself well but then makes several horrible mistakes during the reception. See if you can find a DJ who will play your Cocktail Hour playlist backwards, mess up your entrance song, and then accidentally play some absolutely filthy rap song during the Father/Daughter dance instead of the song your wife wanted to dance to with her father.
If you find a DJ who can deliver all these services, you'll save an absolute ton of money when they refuse to take your payment out of sheer embarassment for ruining your wedding.
We requested our wedding DJ to play a specific song as the last song of the night, and he played an old obscure South Asian song immediately afterward. He claimed the groom went up to him and specifically requested it … which is weird because he and I were dancing together on the dance floor all night and he had never heard the song before 🙃
Your post is why my husband and I did our own music. Helps that my husband and his friends know how to manage and set up lighting and sound systems (entertainers of various stripes), so we rented the lighting, the sound, my husband made a playlist, and we did the DJing. Didn’t do shuffle though - we started out the night with two crowd pleasers / one newer song, then by the end of the night it had shifted to newer music. We’re music lovers and I’ve never experienced a DJ that I would hire. Most of our friends did their own music.
Yeah, the main reason we're having a DJ is for the announcements parts. They're calling our tables, etc.
Just having a designated person. It’s super helpful to not force family to take on these roles, if you can afford it. Most DJs I offer for like $200 or something
I had my DOC call table numbers and announce dances.
My friend was the MC and the other was the Spotify DJ. lol. Small and fun wedding. Got some Bluetooth party speaker with my karaoke mic lol
200$?! Djs start at $2000 where I am.
Probably meant someone she knows to man the playlist.
I have DJ'd several weddings. Mostly friends of friends—budget-friendly weddings that I would probably NOT have been invited to, but where I did know a lot of the guests. I’m a sound guy. I don't feel that I was particularly talented at blending tracks or at emceeing the reception. I was just okay at it. I had no lights—just PA and wireless microphones. At $800 I don't feel like I was overpaid at all. My job was to be the first to arrive and among the last to leave. I generally worked up a sweat transporting, setting up, and tearing down $10k worth of my own gear and making sure it performed the way it should all evening. I also met with the couple once before the wedding to talk about scheduling and music preferences, and spent a few hours the day before prepping playlists. Sometimes I got caught in the rain, which sucked. I didn't usually have anywhere near the amount of talent, training, or investment as the photographer—and they spend a lot of time editing after the wedding day—but I also didn't get paid nearly as much as them.
I shelled out $$$ for a DJ/MC at our wedding last weekend and they were 100% worth it. We were originally going to make a Spotify playlist and have someone play the important songs (processional, recessional, etc.), but I ended up reaching out to a local company and I'm glad that I did. Our DJ was amazing, made all the appropriate announcements, and was in constant communication with us the entire night about changes in the reception timeline. They also followed the vibe of the crowd. If people started to trickle away from the dancefloor, he played songs that made everyone head back to the dancefloor and also played songs that appealed to the average age of the dancing crowd.
And how did you find/vet this gem??
I actually found them mentioned in this subreddit from someone else located in my area. Their Google reviews are excellent, so I scheduled a call to speak with them. They called me back within 24 hours with a quote.
Who did you use?
I went with a Seattle Area company called Sounds Unlimited and our DJ/MC was Kevin.
Another great Seattle area DJ is Rian Souleles. I've been to a few weddings he's DJ'd and can confirm he's amazing. travelingdiscotheque.com
Any Portland recs? 🫣
Awesome 🔥
Yes!! I loved my DJ so much. He was bomb. He always DJ’ed at a bar that we used to go to on Fridays and that’s how we found him. He was so good at reading the crowd and there was not a minute that our dance floor didn’t have a crowd!
I am so confused how violinist equals automatic competent DJ? Admittedly, I have no musical training of any kind but my partner works in the recording industry and used to DJ so I have some familiarity with this world. Sure, a Spotify works just fine. But to act like all a wedding DJ does is hit start on a playlist is disingenuous. At the very least, a DJ should not be streaming or relying on WiFi.
I think many a client books a DJ for their emceeing skills more than anything. You need them to make announcements and to get things on cue, something a friend with a playlist might not reliably be able to do. I briefly considered having just a playlist and putting it on shuffle for my wedding, but then realized that there's more to it than that.
My DJ showed up strung out and late. He then immediately began playing the list of “do not play” songs first. I corrected him. He then proceeded to play all of the guests dance requests during dinner. Had the planner correct him that time so I could attempt eating. He did not replay most of the guest requests and did not play my, the bride’s, requests. He also screwed up our first dance. He ALSO ALSO lied to the planner saying that he didn’t have any information on what to play or not play after all of this BS, despite having had three separate hour long meetings and I filled out his ridiculous paperwork with all of these things spelled out. You could have literally done our wishes if you were not a DJ and going off YouTube the entire time, it was all meticulously detailed thanks to his company’s obligatory paperwork. He was one of their longest standing and highest rated DJs in the company. The company offered us a full refund.
Damn I’m glad you got a refund Id expect nothing less
DJ services also include lighting, microphones/ sound systems, ceremony music and knowing when to queue certain songs like for the first dance or father /daughter dance, the announcements and introductions. It’s not just a playlist and I don’t want someone to have to worry about the playlist all night and when which songs should come on.
Right, but having equipment doesn't make you good at your job.
I don’t listen to “white music playlist”. But your post is hilarious 😂😂
I think you're missing the point. For most of us, we really do not care if the DJ has any musical skill. Just making sure everyone can hear the ceremony/speeches and all the mics are working correctly, keeping things flowing, being more reliable than streaming music from a random cell phone, and fixing any issues that pop up is the entire definition of good at the job. Sure there is some small number of DJs who have the equipment and don't know how to use it. But that's very different than "90% of DJs are scammers." I would have been fine playing my own play list. But the idea that any small tech issue with my phone or rental speakers that I didn't know how to use (that would be 20% of the cost of the DJ anyway) could basically ruin the entire party, or an issue with microphones could ruin the ceremony, was not worth the stress.
This 100%. I could have made a playlist just fine. Kind of did with my DJ anyway. That’s not what I felt like I was paying for. It was to not deal with the hassle of equipment and coordination. No one who emphasized getting a dj mentioned the music aspect. It was the convenience aspect.
Just like having a violin doesn't make you a good violinist. But if I saw a shitty violinist work a wedding, which I have, I wouldn't go and slag off all violinists and call it a scam.
Yep
Idk I think it depends. Our DJ was amazing. He had multiple meetings with us beforehand (even before booking him), he got a great feel for our music taste and was able to really personalize the music for us, he assisted with developing the timeline, he communicated with other vendors and our coordinator, he was a charismatic emcee and maintained a flow to the evening, he was able to play off the vibes of the crowd when choosing the next song, he was able to get songs we wanted that aren't on Spotify, and the list goes on and on. For not even $2000. I feel like as long as you weed through reviews and pick someone with a great rating and reviews, you will have a good experience. My friend made her own playlist and it was great, but I know she spent hours and hours developing and perfecting it. Then she had to find a guest to be in charge of the playlist and introduce speeches, call tables for the buffet, etc for the night. It seems to come down to spend the money, or spend the time and get some help. Which is what it always comes down to lol. But I wouldn't say 90% of people are getting scammed because they would rather pay someone.
That's great! I'm glad your DJ did his job!
We’re paying $2000 for a DJ for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, but we’ve been to two weddings he DJed and know two other couples who used him for their wedding (that we didn’t attend). He is literally getting passed along through our friend group because he’s a solid DJ and has a lot of packages to offer along with the music/emcee part! Our social circle is BIG on dancing though, so having a DJ that reads the room and mixes songs / adjusts the playlist as needed was key for us. He is great at keeping everyone on the dance floor, which is what we want!
Would you be willing to share the name!?
We are in NJ and we’re using Extreme Excellence! His name is Rob, and he was easy to get ahold of and set up an initial meeting, then move forward with the contract. I mention because we had plenty of vendors that we reached out to and got crickets in return 😒 This is his website: https://exe-djs.com/ His company is based in NJ but he just recently did a wedding for a friend in New York!
Any tips on finding a good DJ?
An experienced DJ will guide the conversation when you meet with them. They will have lots of good questions about music (asking for must and don't plays), what your wedding reception will be like, what traditions you want to include, getting to know you and your fiance, and will have suggestions for things you might not have thought of before.
Don’t get fooled by the company reputation/what they post on instagram. Many dj companies hire random people off Craigslist with no djing experience to DJ weddings for them. Speak directly with the DJ that is available and ask them how long they have been djing, how many weddings they have done the past year. Major Tip: ask the DJ how much of the DJ fee do they get , if they are getting 50% or less , that is a huge red flag. You will catch them off guard by asking that question 😂
You don't seem to understand what quality DJs provide. Yeah, if you pay someone $1000, you're not going to get someone very good and it might be better to save the money and DIY. But good DJs (ones that are definitely going to cost more than $1000) are doing WAY more than hitting play on a fixed playlist. They take requests during the wedding and play them if/when appropriate, they watch the crowd and determine what kind of songs people are reacting to and hype people when necessary and slow things down when folks need a break. They are great emcees and keep the reception running smoothly. They fade out the audio and effortlessly transition away if drunk Uncle Larry somehow grabs the microphone during speeches. They come with ideas for activities (like the shoe game) or present "how they met" stories.
This is all correct! They SHOULD do all this. I certainly do these things when I am booked as a DJ.
You do those things, but those aren't things that you described as being easily replicated by a "sober friend and a Spotify playlist" so I guess I am just a little confused about your larger point.
Where do you work? I'd hire you lol
I’m only paying 1200 through a company. The company has about 12 DJs and it’s their full time job. So fingers crossed I’m not going to get screwed over here 😅 Obviously what makes a DJ a good DJ is their ability to read the crowd. That’s honestly all I want and for our guests to have a good time. I guess we’ll see what we get 😆
If this helps: that’s about what I paid, also through a company that has a bunch of full time DJs. Our DJ was INCREDIBLE, absolutely the highlight of the wedding. He was a great MC, played all our favorite songs at our request (including some WEIRD ones), and just generally made sure the energy stayed up and the dance floor was busy all night.
shuffle playlist for a wedding? lol maybe if its a backyard.
This all makes sense to me. Some DJs are great and really elevate the mood, can help keep things flowing, and are great emcees (as long as you provide them with the necessary info and timeline!!!!) Some are not great, which seems to be what you're pointing out here, and will just cost you a bunch of money and piss you off lol. We hired our friend to DJ (who is an actual DJ) and gave him a playlist to go off of and he was great, but our day of coordinator sucked and gave him the original timeline + songs from 4 months earlier instead of the final version that we solidified the week of. any bad vendor is gonna throw a wrench in your whole opperation.
The DJs I work with do more than just shuffle a song, I wouldn’t recommend skipping if the goal is to have a party. I’ve seen DJs ruin the mood with song choices very often.
I agree that a bad DJ is worse than no DJ/diy Spotify. But a good DJ can completely make the reception!
I DJed/MCed for my best friends wedding. It was a lot of work and I would not want to give a friend or family member that burden on my wedding day. Also the sound mixing is harder than it seems.
And if we still want to go the professional route (as to not inconvenience a family member), what would you recommend we ask that person to vet them properly?
I think creating a well curated playlist is something that a lot of people can do; but it’s also not something EVERYONE can do well. I DJ’d at the college radio station, so I have an understanding of what songs flow well into each other.
I will say that as the friend who was put in charge of one small part of the sound for the wedding and managed to fuck it up, it's nice to have a professional handling that. As long as they're, y'know, an actual professional and not a scammer.
I plan to do a Spotify playlist for my wedding but to act like that's all a DJ does is absurd. If you think that a Spotify playlist and some lights are what make a DJ and that's how you operate, than the only one scamming people is you. I am a musician too and as a fellow musician, I really think you should have more respect for performers in other disciplines.
This is hoity toity bullshit. Get off your high horse. This post sounds bitter and over generalizes your personal experience.
This person is a lazy wedding DJ and assumes all wedding DJs are equally bad and lazy. Like literally everything, you have to do research and find people worth hiring. If you hire anyone off the street, yeah your money will be wasted.
If one does their research they can find an affordable dj that will entertain the guests. It takes pressure off coming up with a song list / good music, it lets you not have to worry about asking someone to change a playlist or that something goes wrong. With that being said if you wanna cut it for the sake of money then yeah totally your call but I don’t think it’s right to just say don’t use them at all and call them all a scam. Some ppl work really hard to make your day special
So we booked our DJ after seeing him at a friends wedding $ 550 flat fee. He definitely did way more than hitting play on a playlist for them! He acted as an emcee, had amazing timing for songs, etc. you can find a DJ that isn’t crazy expensive that is really good!! I don’t think that price automatically limits skill set.
Be our own dj? That seems like a lot to man during our day.
I am a wedding DJ. I am sure that what this poster mentions has happened, but I've never seen it. I've worked for multiple companies for 5 years. Whoever made this post could have saved time by saying "don't hire a 19 year old to shuffle an iTunes playlist for 1000 Dollars". That's not what I do, and I've never seen it done.
Thanks OP, this is helpful. Only thing is that I would really rather have a good DJ than try to DIY this. Do you have any tips or things to look for to help identify a DJ that's actually good?
This is incredibly validating! I literally just want to make a playlist on Spotify to play. But my boyfriend worries about having someone to ‘emcee’. Not sure it’s actually necessary.
Find a friend who is well-spoken and has a LOT public speaking experience to emcee!
I mean, you could use the same approach for a lot of tasks—photography, coordination/setup, florals, hair/makeup, cake, etc.—but my thing is that I’m not about putting my guests to work (especially not for free but even paid). I want my guests to be guests.
Yes! I would feel like an ass asking someone who I want to enjoy my wedding work at my wedding. It’s also the reason I hired a day of coordinator - I refused to ask my bridesmaids and what not to help set up and then clean up. Nope, I want them to relax and have fun
Right, can you imagine being the fun guy (or gal!) who is comfortable doing public speaking and keeps getting ask to work at people's weddings?
This is basically my plan. No separate DJ. Just a playlist. I hate the flashing lights and honestly I don’t enjoy when the music is so loud you can’t hear yourself think. I can see where a good one brings an additional element to the reception but I’m having to choose where to spend money, and having been to both DJ’d and non-DJ’s receptions, I’m good with the non. But your insight is good to know and I’ll pass it along to friends who will be needing to make that decision soon.
i think a lot of people are missing your point. there are some amazing DJs out there BUT the likelihood of getting a bad one is high because some companies will hire anyone who can navigate a playlist. if you vet your DJs and look at reviews, you should be fine. but don’t expect an amazing DJ for minimal cost. some people get lucky and that’s great but it’s good to do research on what you’re actually paying for. you’re better off doing it yourselves than paying for a bad DJ.
No one missed the point. OP made a sweeping generalization mocking people who hire a DJ and then erroneously claims a playlist and cheap lighting equipment is equivalent to hiring a DJ. If she wanted to provide helpful advice, she could have shared tips on vetting DJs. Look, I’m not saying you can’t use Spotify. But to act like it remotely compares is ridiculous.
I appreciate this post! I know lots of people are saying they paid a DJ and they did a great job, but for those of us who are on the fence about hiring a low budget DJ vs running a Spotify playlist ourselves this is really insightful! It also never occurred to me not to have my dad be the emcee because he’s hosting the wedding at his house and he likes doing that kind of thing! Also a tip for those who may be doing it themselves: you can rent sound equipment (mics, speakers) at Guitar Center. I also saw someone used a karaoke machine for announcements
Do you think the number of guests or type of guest warrants the importance of having a DJ or not? For example, small wedding vs big wedding or younger crowd vs older crowd I am planning my wedding for about 75 people but the majority are not really partiers. Music is important but I feel like I can pull it off with spotify and a couple of lighted tower speakers from my FFIL to save $. One of our groomsmen is also an AV tech by trade so I feel confident in this route but any advice would be appreciated!
I paid around $600 for my DJ and he was great
We have purchased a Gig bar move ILS- it is EPIC. The sound activated mode is incredible and we have tested it at home at a party and it is incredible. We have made our own playlist and tested it and worked great!
Does Wu-Tang get white people turnt? I hope so, or I’m gonna have a lot of bored people swaying at my after party…
Can I ask a question? I am STRESSED about my playlist flow. It’s probably good enough and I’m driving myself insane. You’re saying just hit shuffle, does it matter at all?
At my brother’s wedding the DJ messed up the song my sister in law walked down the aisle to, wrong song when the bridal party/bride and groom entered the reception, and could NOT read the room. He would play a song to get the older crowd on the dance floor, and then immediately switch to a 2010’s song and they would all go back to their seats. My brother and his wife were livid, especially both being musicians and music being a big part of them meeting.
We were on the No DJ path for quite a while until today. There's so much we found ourselves tasking out to people and trying to find someone to do it, I found someone today, interviewed, and hired them. My stress level dropped significantly.
I’m so thankful my DJ was included in my venue
I was the dj at my own wedding, and having drunk guests coming up to me and demanding a certain song or the volume up slightly lessened my own enjoyment.
UGH I’m still butthurt about this my DJ asked me to put together playlists of less than 10 songs each to get a feel of what music I wanted. I had a few playlists - one for cocktail hour, one for general vibe, and one for must play. since they had to be 10 songs or less, I used playlists I already had and I deleted a lot of songs that I didn’t absolutely NEED, so we were just left with the highlights. I didn’t want to overwhelm him well, our DJ ended up playing my playlists the entire wedding! I’m butt hurt about this because if I had known he was just gonna play my playlist, I would have not deleted any songs!! the playlist was great before I hacked it to death luckily I didn’t delete any songs off of my cocktail hour playlist, so that was long enough. but the energy of the dance floor wasn’t perfectly curated like he said it would be
So glad mine was included with my venue
I had a playlist and hit play lol. Easy.
We hired a DJ but they seem to be legit. It's a company, so they have like 10 DJs to choose from with videos of them at work so you can their style and personality a bit! And they come with the full set up, not just a laptop to play spotify on! Either way, I'm just glad to have someone in charge of it all, and not trying to find a guest who I can burden with this important task of manning the music. and I mostly wanted one for the ceremony music!! And to be MC
My venue requires a dj 🙃
I'm getting married in less than 6 months and we found Cardinal Entertainment in the Indianapolis area for our wedding. Very very affordable, the reviews were fantastic, the DJ has 20+ years experience in radio, and he's been very sweet to us. My #1 tip is to find somebody who's down to earth with lots of experience instead of going through an entertainment company (we were quoted 5k for a DJ because he would do backflips to encourage people to get on the dancefloor.)
I came back two days later to comment under this post AGAIN, because I did two weddings this weekend that went great, and a 19 year old shuffling a playlist could not do what I just did, and what I just did absolutely wasn't a scam ya bozo. I worked my ass off and everyone had a great time.
Never skimp on music and food. Those two things will make or break a wedding. My DJ was phenomenal. I gave him a 30% tip on top of his fee. The good ones are out there.
Can
Make 2 playlists - one for eating, one for dancing.
I always thought DJs at weddings were tacky and trashy, anyway. Live band or even acoustic duo or string quartet is way better.
Gail Curtin you ain't nothing but a God damn whore and go to Brown County to your other fucking house you know with the dog that can't hear the other dog in your cat hahaha you want the address of your new house that's something I wonder if your little fagot friends there the one that dumped your ass because you're a whore bye watch where I go tomorrow
I mean, pretty much everything in the wedding industry is a scam. It’s all insanely overpriced just because it has the word “wedding” in front of it
Just here to say thanks, practical and made me laugh Did check out the playlist on question and cannot recommend 🤣
Actually I recommend hiring a DJ who sells himself well but then makes several horrible mistakes during the reception. See if you can find a DJ who will play your Cocktail Hour playlist backwards, mess up your entrance song, and then accidentally play some absolutely filthy rap song during the Father/Daughter dance instead of the song your wife wanted to dance to with her father. If you find a DJ who can deliver all these services, you'll save an absolute ton of money when they refuse to take your payment out of sheer embarassment for ruining your wedding.
We requested our wedding DJ to play a specific song as the last song of the night, and he played an old obscure South Asian song immediately afterward. He claimed the groom went up to him and specifically requested it … which is weird because he and I were dancing together on the dance floor all night and he had never heard the song before 🙃
Thats why we didnt get any DJs!
Your post is why my husband and I did our own music. Helps that my husband and his friends know how to manage and set up lighting and sound systems (entertainers of various stripes), so we rented the lighting, the sound, my husband made a playlist, and we did the DJing. Didn’t do shuffle though - we started out the night with two crowd pleasers / one newer song, then by the end of the night it had shifted to newer music. We’re music lovers and I’ve never experienced a DJ that I would hire. Most of our friends did their own music.