Choosing the right wedding DJ can mean the difference between a insipid, wedding DJ’s middle of the road set that a handful of your guests bop along to, or a high energy flow of floor fillers that gets talked about for years afterwards. Start looking for wedding DJs as far in advance as possible; the good ones may get booked up a year or more in advance. Take your time and interview at least three or four DJs to get a good comparison.
Drawing up a list of questions will help you to compare wedding DJs. Here are some wedding DJ questions you could ask including questions about practical arrangements, costs, experience, musical style, and appearance. You don’t necessarily need to ask each DJ every question, just choose the ones that are most important to you.
Questions about practical arrangements
- Are you available on our chosen wedding date?
- Have you performed at the reception venue before?
- Do you have a back up DJ to attend the wedding if you are ill on the day?
- How long do you need to set up?
- Do you have back up equipment if something goes wrong?
- Do you have liability insurance?
- Can you play throughout the entire reception?
- Can you take on the role of Master of Ceremonies?
- Can we use your microphone for the speeches? Is it wireless?
- Will you personally be the DJ for our wedding, or will it be one of your colleagues?
Questions about cost
- What is included in your cost?
- What deposit do we need to pay and when?
- When do we need to settle the bill?
- What do you charge for overtime if the reception runs late?
- Do you charge for travel etc?
- Do you expect food / drinks to be provided?
Questions about DJ’s experience
How long have you been a wedding DJ?
How many weddings do you do in a year?
What other types of event do you perform at?
Do you have a recent personal reference we could contact?
Can we attend an event that you are performing at?
Questions about DJ’s musical style
- What is your specialist music genre?
- What makes you a better choice than other wedding DJs?
- How do you motivate the crowd if nobody is dancing?
- Do you do guest requests?
- Can we have some input into the play list?
- When do we need to send you our ‘please play’ and ‘do not play’ lists?
- Can you play music to suit our wedding theme?
- How do you keep your music collection up to date?
- What type of music will you play during your breaks?
- Do you play group interaction songs such as Y.M.C.A?
- What styles of music will you play during different parts of the reception?
Questions about DJ’s appearance
- What will you wear on the day?
- What lighting will you bring with you and will it fit with our theme?
- What size is the equipment you will bring with you?
- How will your equipment look at the venue; can we see photos?
