This year is coming along pretty good. One theme that I am finding out this year is that many people would rather chat via Facebook Chat, Text or event email to get their information for their wedding DJ.
Many people are making their decision based on that facebook chat or facebook business page chat or a few emails.
They seem to be making that decision based solely on budget. I’ve seen that if the DJ charges around 1,200 for their DJ services, the immediately stop all communications.
Some are generous enough to say it is out of their budgets, but others completely stop all communications.
Now Im not trying to say they should or are obligated to continue the communications, but sometimes we as business owners would simply like to know if they found their DJ or if we are still in consideration for an interview.
Common courtesy.
Good or Bad Idea?
Well, if you are to interview over 10 DJs over chat or email to move forward to meeting at least 3 of those DJs, then that’s a good way to cut down on the number of times you meet with potential clients
However, I am finding out that out of those 10 DJ’s they interview over chat, they decide on the one they will meet to finalize the contract and deposit.
I believe it’s important to have a face to face consultation with at least 3 Wedding DJs. There are many that a DJ has to take care of the day of the wedding that you are leaving to chance.
- Personality
You cannot judge personality over text on the screen. Sitting down with a person to talk about the wedding details can reveal a lot about a person. How they handle pressure, how well informed they are about the wedding planning process, if they only play music, how they interact with people, how they will represent you to your friends and family, etc…
Hiring a DJ based only on the lowest price on the screen can lead down a path that you may not want.
2. Music
Music is very important. I’ve done this for 15 years and I’ve gotten some great music lists from Brides and Grooms, I’ve gotten NO lists from brides and grooms, and of course I’ve gotten some lists that nee a lot of improvement.
It’s essential to talk about music from an experienced standpoint.
We know that there songs that can be dance as well as songs that cannot be danced, and we can consult you to the best decision of where to place those songs throughout the night.
For example, the popular song, Al Green’s – Let’s Stay Together.. in one event, it can be a song you play for dancing, however, at another event it can be a song that gets played during dinner, and maybe at another event its not going to be played at all.
That’s not decided by the DJ alone, but some conversation between the DJ and the clients can lead to the decision of where that song will be played the night of the wedding.
3. Timeline / Itinerary
The itinerary is critical to the overall flow of the event. If you have a wedding planner, then it’s more likely to flow better. But sometimes the wedding planner is out doing things in the background and cannot be present the entire wedding reception.
The only person that is there from beginning to end is the DJ, and we witness things that others do not witness.
One thing is the dance flow. The dance flow is important to the overall success of the wedding.
Just because the bouquet and garter toss are schedule for 9:45 pm does not mean it has to be done exactly at 9:45 pm.
The great coordinators allow a few minutes, even maybe an additional 30 minutes of leeway of dancing before the bouquet toss is done.
The Reason? The dance was slow to get going… the bride and groom are not ready… the party is going soo good that stopping it will be a big mistake for the event… etc.. many reasons.
We feel it since we are in sync with the dancing guests.
If there is no coordinator, then you have to make sure the DJ is experienced enough to be partial coordinator of the wedding reception.
As you can see, it can be really critical to the overall success of your event to meet with the DJ as they are involved in just about everything during the wedding.
From the Ceremony, to the announcements, to the music played, to the schedule, to the representation of the bride and groom.
Take the time and meet with at least 2 or 3 DJ for your wedding reception!
Francisco Perez