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“Thank you for calling xxxxxx Wedding Service,how may I help you?” “Hi, how much do you charge for a wedding?”
This is how most phone calls to wedding professionals start. We’ve grown accustomed to it and realize it’s not your fault. No one taught you how to shop for your wedding so you go with the first thing that many brides think to ask and that is, “what’s your price?”
Hopefully, by the end of this article you will have a better understanding of what questions to ask and as a result get the wedding you really want as opposed to the one you end up with because you didn’t know what to ask. The key to the wedding you want is communication.
Since I am a disc jockey, most of the information discussed here will revolve around the entertainment, but the information can be used with many wedding vendors.
Going back to that initial phone call, many brides start off with asking about price. Truth be told, there are a lot of factors that go into determining the price of a product or service so it is not a question that is quickly answered. Many wedding professionals offer a range of different services for weddings
depending on what the couple wants from that service. Put in a different perspective, it would be like going to a restaurant and asking, “How much is dinner?” Or, in more wedding related terms, going to a bridal gown shop and asking, “How much is a wedding gown?” At the beginning stages of the relationship between wedding couple and wedding professional, it is an impossible question to answer accurately for your wedding, simply because we don’t know anything about what you want…yet.
When shopping for your wedding services, it is best to first find out if the company you are interested in is even available for your date. If they are already booked, then price won’t matter much. Keep in mind as you shop also, that some services book earlier than others. For instance, disc jockeys typically get booked anywhere from six months to a year or more in advance. If the entertainment is one of the most important elements of your wedding, consider shopping for your DJ earlier so you have the best availability. Once you find “the one”, get your contract signed and put your retainer down to guarantee your date. While it is true that most DJs do book well in advance, there are some brides who either don’t have that long to plan for their wedding or have put off booking the services they need. You may still find quality services just be aware it may take you longer to find it and you may have
to settle for your second choice.
In today’s society, a lot of professional grade gear is available to anyone with a credit card. If you wanted, you could go to the store or go online and buy the necessary gear and call yourself a professional DJ, photographer, videographer, etc. Most Industries are full of people who have done just that. But owning the equipment, even if it is “state of the art” does not make you a professional anything. For instance, I own very expensive cookware, but I am a far cry from a master chef. If you as the customer don’t know what to look for, you could end up with less than you want and a lot more stress.
We already went over the first question to ask and that is, “Are you available on my wedding date?” Let’s look at some other key things to ask.
How were you trained in your profession? In the DJ world a lot of disc jockeys did just what I mentioned above. They bought some gear, illegally downloaded a bunch of music and now think they are a DJ. So now they book a bunch of weddings and “wing it” while they learn as they go. Sure, they’re going to make a mistake now and then (who doesn’t after all) but they say they have been in business for years so they have experience. What they have done is just gotten better at making the same mistakes.
Another popular way to learn is to go to work for a larger company that provides in house training, usually done by the owner of the company. Some of these companies have done a fairly decent job at turning out some good entertainers but I always wonder who trained the owner.
The third way to learn is to go to school. There are a few professional DJ schools that teach all the nuances that go into running a successful wedding reception as well as how to solve some of the challenges that could come up at any time.
Is the business licensed? Most counties and some cities require businesses to have an occupational license (it goes by different names in different counties) to operate legally. While not a guarantee of any quality, working with a licensed business at least shows some level of seriousness on the vendors’ behalf.
Does the wedding professional belong to a local or national industry association? There are two major national associations a DJ can belong to, the largest being the National Association of Mobile Entertainers (NAME) & American Disc Jockey Association (ADJA) and at least one active local association, The NJDJN (New Jersey Disc Jockey Network). Being a member of an association shows that the company meets the requirements necessary for membership. The NJDJN for instance has as one of its requirements a minimal educational standard as well as annual continuing education to maintain membership.
Does the business carry liability insurance? More and more venues are requiring DJs and other wedding professionals to maintain a liability insurance policy. In a world where someone can win a lawsuit because of spilled hot coffee why take the risk of not being covered if someone were to get injured at your reception? You don’t want to hire a DJ who won’t be allowed to perform at your venue just because they don’t have the required insurance.
Will the company you are considering show respect to and work with the other professionals you have hired? Let’s use the cake cutting as an example. All professionals at the reception are involved in this event. Before announcing the cake cutting to the guests, a great DJ would make sure you and your husband are actually ready to do it, let the banquet staff know it’s coming up so they can be ready to cut and serve it, the photographer needs to know in case he/she wants to change lenses and the videographer needs to know in case he/she needs to swap batteries or tapes. If the DJ does not do this, then you and all of your guests could be by the cake waiting for the other professionals to get in position. This makes them look bad, but it is actually the DJ who made them look that way.
Will the DJ do the wedding the way you want it done? We have some clients that want the DJ to do nothing more than play music and make some announcements. If people dance, they dance. We have others that want us to do just about every interactive dance in the book and do as much as possible to get the guests out of their seats and onto the dance floor. We have some guests that only give us a handful of music requests and we have some guests that want to program the entire reception’s music and the order in which to play it.
There are some DJs out there who will say, “I’ve been doing this a long time. I know what I’m doing. I’m the professional, I, I, I.” and completely dismiss what you want. If you feel the DJ you are speaking with is going to let his/her ego come before your wants, continue your search until you find someone you feel confident will do your wedding the way you want to. After all, you are hiring the DJ to work for you, not the other way around. Having said that, I offer this caveat; whether it is the DJ or another wedding professional you are working with, use the benefit of their experience to guide you. You very
well may have some fantastic ideas, but history may prove that they do not play out as well in reality. Work with your professionals to come up with a solution that will incorporate your vision, yet still lead to a successful reception.
Will I receive a written contract? It is amazing the amount of calls we get from brides days before the wedding because their DJ just backed out. Usually when I ask, “What did the DJ say when you told him you have a written contract for him to perform” I’m told there was no contract. At this point I now have to tell the bride that she never had a DJ booked (at least not a professional one). I know it sounds like common sense, but it happens enough that it bears mentioning; get everything in writing. This protects both you and the DJ (or any other wedding professional for that matter). Also, if a DJ does not require some type of retainer fee or down payment, chances are your date is not going to be held. In addition, you want to find out if any interim payments need to be made and when the final payment is due.
Now you know some better questions to ask before finding out the price. In order to give you an accurate price however, you will need to be asked some questions as well. Some questions you may get asked are:
Where will the reception take place? Depending on how far the reception is from the DJ’s place of business, there may be travel fees associated with the price. Also some venues are more difficult than others to load equipment in and out of which could factor into the price as well.
Will you be doing the ceremony on the same property as the reception? If yes, would you like the DJ to provide the ceremony music? Is the ceremony in the same room as the reception or outside/in another room? A lot of weddings take place at the same location as the ceremony. Most DJs are
capable of providing ceremony music as well as reception music. Often times, when I ask that question, the bride never thought to ask the DJ about providing ceremony music. What I find interesting is the number of times I’m not the first DJ the bride has talked to and no one has even bothered to ask.
What are the times of the reception? Your DJ will need to be set up and ready before your guests arrive and finish at the end of the party. Receptions typically run 3-5 hours and there is usually a difference in price depending on how long a reception is. In any case, you want your DJ there from start to finish. This should be spelled out in the contract along with any fees associated with going overtime if necessary.
How many guests will be at the reception? What might be a great sound system for a wedding of 50 may not be adequate for a wedding of 300. This could affect your price if a bigger sound system is needed.
Will the meal be buffet style, served or just heavy hors d’oeuvres? While this may seem like an odd question for a DJ to ask, knowing the type of meal you are planning will help determine how much time you may need. For example, it will take more time to serve your guests a four course dinner than it is for them to go through a buffet or hors d’oeuvres stations.
Today’s DJs may also offer more than just music. It is not uncommon for a DJ to provide not just lighting for the dance floor but up lighting for the head
table or cake table as well as your monogram or names projected on the wall or dance floor. An increasing number of weddings are doing video montages. If this is something you are planning on doing, ask your DJ if he/she offers projectors and screens or plasmas for rent.
These are just some of the things to ask and expect to be asked when planning the wedding of your dreams. Hopefully you can shop for your wedding professionals with a little more insight as to what goes into providing you the service you want. If I can leave you with just one more thought, it is this:
When you find the right wedding professionals you will know it in your heart. All other things being equal go with who you feel comfortable with rather than who is cheapest. Re-work your budget if necessary. There are no do-overs in weddings. If you try to economize on what is most important to you, you may discover it is the worst money you have ever saved.
We’ll see you on the dance floor!
Marc Burgess is the owner of Marc Burgess Productions. He is only one of two DJs in the state of Florida to have earned the Endorsed Professional Entertainer designation from the National Association of Mobile Entertainers. Marc has served on the board of directors for the Wedding Professionals of
Central Florida, is the founder of the Florida Entertainment Alliance, currently sits on the Advisory Council of the National Association of Mobile Entertainers and is the Senior Instructor for the FAME DJ School. He may be reached at 407-322-8884 or marc@djmarcburgess.com
