Questions To Ask Your Wedding DJ Before Signing The Contract

 

So you’re finally getting hitched. You’ve said “hell yes” to your soulmate. You’ve squeezed into your perfect dress (or tux) with the mental note to drop five pounds. You’ve managed to snag your first choice, picturesque venue. You’ve both drooled over and ordered your photo-worthy cake. But now it’s time to make the important decision: Who are you going to choose to be your wedding DJ? This isn’t a decision to take lightly, my friend… do you want a room full of wedding guests who are glued to their tufted linen lined seats bored to tears the whole night while Neil Diamond croons through the speaker or worse yet, an uninventive DJ who engages the crowd with nothing but Party Center props and 90’s line dances?

 

 

Here are 10 Must Ask Questions Before Saying “I Do” to your DJ:

 

1. First and foremost, are they insured?

You want your wedding to go viral on TikTok for all the right reasons. Not because a two hundred pound speaker came crashing down on Great Aunt Millie during “Tiny Dancer” and your uninsured, fly by night DJ couldn’t swing her hospital bills, thus leading her to have to liquidate the family potato farm you were due to inherit just to pay them. Avoid such a senseless tragedy: before you commit to your wedding DJ, make sure their liability insurance is up to snuff.

 

2: How much experience do they have?

Years in business shows dedication to their craft for sure, but more important is time spent specializing in performing at weddings in particular. Nightclub DJ’s are all about showmanship that might not be the right “flavor” for a wedding, whereas Wedding DJ’s are more formal, have wedding etiquette down pat, know how to run and follow a wedding timeline, know how to work with other wedding vendors and know how to manage all other logistics of putting on a successful wedding to ensure it’s the day you’ve always dreamed of. Before you sign the contract, ask how long they’ve been in the wedding DJ business specifically.

 

 

3. What are their backup plans (if any)?

This is an especially crucial question to ask in today’s climate. But what if the DJ eats some bad Taco Bell en route and gets sick? What if there’s an equipment failure? What if they forget their laptop cord? (it happens!) What is the back up plan if these events were to occur? Any DJ worth their salt will have an extensive plan in place to cover these unforeseen events… but best to get it in writing and in the contract just to be safe.

 

4. Will you play “Don’t Stop Believing” for me?

Ah, yes… song requests. Ideally at a wedding, a DJ should just play and keep playing what is working for the crowd. Musical tastes vary so greatly, you have Aunt Sandra tipsy off a couple glasses of Chardonnay repeatedly requesting Air Supply and then on the other end of the spectrum you have Cousin Joey fresh off his first semester at New Jersey Community College fist pumping and requesting Tiesto. Neither of which is going to go over well with the overall crowd. It’s best to just let the DJ do his/her job and play a mix that will satisfy the majority. A good DJ will however, customize a song list of song “do’s and don’ts” with you prior to your wedding day.

 

 

5. So, do you come here often?

Before committing to your DJ, you should ask if they’ve ever performed at your wedding venue before. Your DJ might say this doesn’t necessarily matter as long as they have floor plans prior to the event, but it might put your mind at ease knowing they are familiar with the landscape and know the venue staff.

 

6. Can we come watch you perform prior to our wedding?

Imagine your wedding day arrives and you’re mortified to discover that your Wedding DJ drops F bombs like a sailor. This could have been prevented had you asked for videos of their past performances beforehand. Most DJ’s will either let you come observe them in action at nightclubs or other open venues, or provide links to videos of past wedding performances.

 

7. What else you got?

Most DJ’s are more than just a one trick pony and since you’re bleeding money everywhere else it’s in your best financial interest to inquire about any other services the DJ may offer including uplighting, dance floor lighting, photo booth, videography, drone media, etc. By bundling services, you can get a custom package deal and save hundreds if not thousands of dollars of your total package price. Make your wedding a one of a kind, custom EVENT to be talked about and envied for years to come..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Maybe they weren’t “the one” after all…

Nobody wants to think about the worst case scenario on their wedding day, or even have to ask this question but you’ve gotta do it. What if, worst case, you have to cancel your wedding. Wedding vendors sell their prime dates as inventory in this industry and lock in that commitment via contracts, therefore reducing the available prime date inventory that those in this biz rely on. What is the DJ’s cancellation policy? Is there a full refund? A partial refund? Make sure what ever the policy is, it’s spelled out in the contract before you sign.

 

9. Does the DJ have any references or reviews?

A good entertainment partner should have a list at the ready of several past clients who are willing to vouch for their professionalism and talent and should gladly make them available to you. There’s nothing quite like the words of past satisfied clients to put your mind at ease that you’re making the right decision. Reviews are easily found on the internet by doing a google search of sites like google, theknot.com, weddingwire.com, and even facebook.com.

 

10 Does your wedding DJ love what they do?!

This is probably the most important question to ask. You want an energetic DJ, full of enthusiasm for their job giving you everything they’ve got. Not a sullen, bored, miserable DJ who hates their job and is in it just for the paycheck. Ask them if they love their job, if they enjoy what they do every day and what is it that motivates them to perform each and every day. The answer should be that they love to see so many people enjoying themselves and having such a great time as a result of all the hard work and effort that went into putting on the event. That right there is motivation enough and makes it all worthwhile

 

 

Stressing about the forecast of your wedding day long before the local meteorologist has the weather models prepared? Check out our partner Ironic for your wedding meteorology confidence report!