Of all the decisions made in planning a wedding, the most difficult always seems to be the entertainment. Most clients will ask the question “Band or DJ” first. Once they determine which route to go to, a whole new set of questions are presented. What type of DJ do we want? Have they worked at our venue before? What type of music will our guests relate to the best? And my personal favorite, “How much should I spend on my DJ?”
Obviously one of the most important aspects in planning a wedding is setting a budget and sticking to it. But how much of that budget should be allocated to a DJ? Recent studies (TheWeddingReport.com) have found that 70% of the overall success of the reception is based on how talented the entertainment is. However the average budget for the Entertainment is less than 6% of the entire wedding budget.
The most important decision you and your fiancé will have to make is the priority of your vendors. You will have to decide if the Photographer, the Food, or the Music is the most important aspect of your wedding reception. That will help you decide on how much time/money to allocate to it.
In my opinion the most remembered part of your wedding reception is the time your guests had. No one ever leaves a wedding saying, “wow that wedding was great, the cake was very moist!!” Nothing against bakers, but taste/design of a cake can only go so far. Typically a guest will remember if they danced all night and enjoyed the food/entertainment. The DJ can make or break the reception. The difficulty in this part of the planning is deciding what makes $700 DJ’s different from $1400 DJ’s.
Both offer similar packages with similar time constraints, yet are priced completely different. So what is this invisible factor that makes the two different? TALENT. This is what will define your DJ and further define your reception. One can argue that the type of equipment, the management, and the broad range of music also play a factor, but the most important is the TALENT of your DJ.
Talent is being able to read the crowd and select the right music to play.
Talent is the ability to mix the music together so that the best parts of the songs are playing at the right time.
Talent is having the skills to speak on the microphone so that the guests are attentive without being overbearing.
The only way to be able to determine your DJ’s talent is to meet with him in person. Ask him/her the “what would you do in this situation” questions. This will help you determine if you should invest more money into your DJ or not. If your wedding budget is $30,000 and the majority of the success of the reception is depended upon your DJ, would you want to take a chance on a $700 DJ?
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