Should I hire a DJ????

[autjo]

Have you read mine or J&Ms reviews? The DJ that Dreams PV provides is HORRIBLE! Do not waste your money. I gave them a full playlist and he only played a handful of songs from the list, the wrong song for the ceremony, and wouldn't even let people suggest music during the reception. Go with the ipod hook up, make your own playlist and assign it to someone in your group.

[Rachel&Chris2011]

thanks for the info!

[tanyasdream2010]

Just some thoughts for anyone looking at hiring a DJ. I hope this helps!

 

Sorry, I know this is long, but I think everyone here will find a lot of value in this!

 

My friend is a wedding DJ and has been for well over 10 years, not sure exactly how long though. From everything that I have seen him do, it sounds like a lot of people on this forum have not hired a DJ before & really don't know what kind of value they are getting when they hire a DJ... or at least if they hire a good DJ. So hopefully this will truly give you a new perspective when & if you make a choice to choose a DJ.

 

Thankfully, I have seen some of the DJ work he has done and I think you will agree that if you can find a DJ like this in your area, I would recommend hiring them immediately, before they are no longer available for your party.

 

Here are some things that I have heard him talk about that I believe will help everyone here when choosing their DJ:

1. Don’t hire a DJ on price alone. SERIOUSLY!!! I personally have been to several of my friends weddings and I am here to tell you (which you probably already know from your own experiences) the  DJ can either make or break your party. Here is a valuable tip for you. When you are buying a product, such as a television or CD, it is okay to buy these things based on price alone because they are all the same exact thing, regardless of where you purchase it from. But when you are investing in ANY KIND of service, there are generally no 2 services that are exactly the same. So when comparing price, you aren’t comparing apples to apples. From what he has told me, the same is true in the DJ world. That is why you may find a DJ as cheap as $300 or as expensive as $3,000. The cheap DJ will most likely be in-experienced, possibly un-professional, and use un-professional equipment and the top-of-the-line company will hold your hand through the whole planning process giving you tips & suggestions along the way, and possibly incorporating theatrical aspects to the party (like low-flow fog for the first dance and light it up so it looks like we are floating on clouds(which our DJ is doing… this is going to be sooo cool. I hope our pictures turn out as good as some of the pics he showed us)).
2. I guess the most common misconception that I have notice everyone here speaking of is that a DJ ONLY handles the music. Well, maybe if you are looking at the low-end DJ's, this may be true. But this certainly is not true for my friends company. He teams up with the caterers, photographers, videographers, and anyone else that he feels he needs to and makes sure everything goes smoothly. He is also in charge of keeping our timeline, so things don’t drag out too long (I have seen this happen way too many times before, especially when I have been to an “Ipod Wedding†LOL). He is also handles the introductions, toasts, and various other announcements. Also, he is going to personally control all of the lighting for our wedding (I can’t wait for thisJ). Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about, he is going to project our wedding colors all throughout our hall. Also, he is going to have a projector that will light up our initials on the wall. I think he called this a monogram. And to top of this off, he is going to be in charge of projecting & maintaining our photo-montage. So, as you can see, there are a lot of other things some DJ’s do.

 

I could probably go on and on about some of the cool stuff I have seen him do but I am sure this post is long enough. If anyone has any questions though, he is a really nice guy and I am sure I can ask him if you just post what you would like to know about.

 

I hope this helps anyone in their decision to go with a DJ or not.

[hat0112]

tanyasdream2010 - thanks so much for the information!

 

[tanyasdream2010]

No offense to anyone but I seriously can't believe so many people are considering using a Ipod rather than a DJ. After seeing this video & actually personally attending some of those events, I would happily spend the money on a good DJ. Hopefully this below video could possibly save someones wedding day. I have seen too many people try this and what always seems to happen is after dinner everyone leaves. Who wants that? Actually, would you really want to attend a wedding like this?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXj4P3iz2yg

 

To be honest, I can't see why anyone wouldn't get a DJ for their reception, regardless of the cost. To me the DJ will be one of the most important parts of our party, considering they will control pretty much the whole reception. In fact, this is where I am spending a pretty good portion of our wedding budget because we want to make sure everything runs smoothly & everyone has a good time.One of the main things I want at my reception is for our guests to have fun, not confusion. I think that this is where the memories are going to be made. But that is just my personal opinion.

 

Just to give you a better way of thinking about this, what do you think you and your guests are going to remember more: The $20 - $60 per plate that is being served for dinner or your reception entertainment? If you think about it logically, if the avg DJ costs $1000 for their services and you have 175  guests at your reception, that works out to be about $5.72 per person. My way of thinking would be to down grade your dinner by $6 per plate & then you could afford a good DJ. Then all of your problems would be solved.

 

Again, I hope I didn't offend anyone. I seriously just think sometimes it is best to have another point of view.

[mimi73]

Ugh

I just watched part of that Youtube clip....completely 'cringe-worthy' ! Glad we are going with a DJ

[bizzyangel]

I wasn't but I am reconsidering it now! 

[lisa203]

Our families love a party so a good dj was probably the second thing we looked into. That said, my vote is for getting one. Either way, good luck with whatever you choose to do!

[lyndsay_h]

Ack, this is something I'm having a hard time deciding on.  We'd originally thought of course we'd just use an ipod but now a dj sounds so much easier.  But our ceremony doesn't start until 6 and we were told we could only go until 10 so I don't know if 3 hrs of djing is worth the $800.

[shan0487]

Good info thanks!