How much does a DJ cost

The DJ I wanted quoted me for $1200 for the evening which includes the cocktail hour and the entire reception so about 5-6 hours plus lighting. I really don't want to spend that much on a DJ so hearing other people is really helping me think that it's too expensive. I guess it's back to googling more DJs...

I'm paying $750 for 5 hours of coverage.

They're also doing lighting which includes our monogram on the dance floor.

We are paying 400.00 for 4 1/2 hours...they will set up at noon, start at 1:30 (wedding starts at 2 pm) and then everything ends at 6 pm. We didn't want any light package or fog machines (for an extra 100.00) because we have mainly an older crowd and didn't want it to seem like a school dance.

My dad and uncle DJ on the side, and they charge $75-$100 and hour. However, if it is more than 5 hours they cap it at $550 or so. Hope this helps.

Hello,

I have been a professional dj for 23 years and play 75-80 weddings a year and I have some advice...

Take your time and interview perspective dj's. Price should be the last question you ask. You really need to find someone who will work with you to make sure that all of your plans are followed. If a dj tries to pressure you into booking them or gives you a line that you need to book now... do yourself a favor and move on.

When I meet with potential brides, I simply explain to them what I do and how I can make their day fun, stress free and memorable.

One thing to remember is that your guests typically do not remember the flowers, the food they ate, and most never see the pictures... sure, all of these are very important but the one thing they remember about your wedding is if they had fun or not. Because of this, you need to do your homework and hire then best dj you can. If that's me, great. Hire the best dj you can.

Say hi @ www.djmagicmoments.com

Scott

Your wedding DJ will be the person who makes your wedding day a success or a complete failure. I've been a wedding DJ for more than 17 years. Most of the time, people don't seem to realize how important my job is. You need to take great care in selecting your wedding DJ. There are a select few who can make your wedding day a dream come true. There a many more who lack experience and are still learning. Those are the DJs you need to identify and avoid. With the economy in distress there are many people buying DJ equipment and calling themselves "professional" DJs. I've noticed lately many of these beginner DJs are now advertising themselves as "wedding" DJs. Beware: They won't have a clue how to handle your wedding properly. The national AVERAGE for a wedding DJ for (4) hours of reception performance time is $1200. Please note this is only average. The best of the best can charge near double this amount. If the price is too low - beware.

Here are some links worth reading about DJ pricing.

http://www.audioparadiseentertainment.com/djs/interestingweddingstatswed.htm

http://www.audioparadiseentertainment.com/djs/insight.htm#additionalinfo

http://www.audioparadiseentertainment.com/djs/insight.htm

$250 for 3 hours!

Anybody know of any in Worcester Ma. area? I've gotten alllllll different prices from 300- 1400 you just gotta look look look. That's what's killing me!!

Hi Brides, Grooms and fellow DJ's. Renee R, you are 100% correct that you will find DJ pricing all over the place. Noting the post from Taryn - Louisville, KY (That's my market and what made me see this post) $235 in the Louisville market is low. The average price for a seasoned DJ in Louisville,KY (Mid-West, USA) is between $700 - $1300, but go as high as $2500. Pricing in your area may be different, but the end result should be the same. You should feel comfortable and happy with who you choose no matter what you pay. Every DJ has a different style and approach to the business. Take the time to speak with a few DJ's and setup a meeting or two.

Yes, some may ask you to sign a contract (I personally do not bring contract to my initial meetings) but you will learn a lot about that DJ/company and if they will be a good fit for you, your fiance, family and guests. You'll be happier for choosing someone who will work with/for you. This goes for all wedding vendors too. Good Luck!!! - Ed

NJ ocean and monmouth area DJ only $400 very good quality sound and lights 4 to 5 hours

email at *******@*****.***

Who is everyone using for these DJ's?? This is one of my next steps and I'm just having trouble...can I email them for quotes and who are some of these dj's for these prices?

Well here's my thoughts on price!

I have been a professional Wedding Disc Jockey for many years performing all over the Tri-state area. Here's what you should look for in your DJ; They must be a seasoned professional Wedding DJ; Dressed in Tuxedo / microphone personality-voice inflection and etiquette / Smooth and fluent with Introductions and announcements / professional equipment / library of digital music from Big Band through today's present, maneuvering the tempo of the music to keep you and your guests dancing throughout the night!.. Knows how to Orchestrate to keep the tempo of your Wedding seamless while communicating with all vendors. It is our responsibility to ensure your Wedding Day is seamless and successful similar to a Broadway show with your guests raving. That's the DJ Entertainment company you want to hire!!

Now that you have a snapshot of the criteria of a Professional Wedding DJ; What do you think is a fair price?

Yours for a successful Wedding;

DJ Alex

As a vendor, I do feel the need to comment on this. My company charges around $1200 for DJ Only (with an average of $1500 per event and 200+ events per year). We do have things like Up Lighting, Additional Dance Floor Lighting, Photo Booth and Video. I understand that we are not for everyone. Talent level, customer service, experience, long standing reputation, style, and results are just some of the many factors to consider….not just price

As we are in the business, it may sound self serving to comment here?

Do you know that both Weddingwire.com and Theknot.com budget calculators estimate 10% of your budget on entertainment. Meaning if you are spending $15,000 on your wedding... $1500 is a good budget. If you are spending $30K, $3K on Entertainment.

Next point. If you live in any of the top metro areas (NY, Philly, LA, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, etc). A skilled, experienced, insured ($1MM) DJ with Emcee skills and professional grade equipment that actually knows how to mix will fetch <$1000 for four (4) hours. And may average $1500 to $2500.

Point 3. Reviews usually do not lie and give a clear picture of what you will get.

4. One man show. Most brides book there DJs 6 to 18 months out. What do you do if your one man breaks his leg or gets into a car accident the week before your wedding (or on the way). Companies have back up DJs (and equipment too!)

5. When most brides call the our focus on the reception only. Not the ceremony (prelude music), cocktail hours in different rooms with supplemental sound systems. Typically, a wedding has about 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours of coverage.

6. After wedding polls in Brides magazine list the number #1 thing newlyweds wished the spent more money on was... (Drum roll) ENTERTAINMENT. Please research this fact?

Lastly... THERE ARE NO DO OVERS! This is a day where a LIFETIME of memories are made! You want quality and in most cases, you get what you pay for? So if you find a great DJ/MC with all the above for $800 book him. If not, INVEST in peace of mind.

An old man once told me a saying that is applicable to most any noun?

A CHEAP steak aint GOOD and a GOOD steak aint CHEAP. Now insert DJ, cake, wedding dress, invitations, honeymoon or MAN (LOL!!!)

So please be diligent, thorough and not frugal in this process to hire a professional. We wish you all your dreams on your Big Day!

Don't make the same mistake I did.

Here in Arizona....my rates START @ $850 for 4 hours and go up based on time needed and any extras they may want included such as upgraded lighting packages, additional sound, photo slide show packages, etc. Our average 5 hour wedding with lighting is in the ballpark of $**** for a Saturday evening. A wedding is a one time thing...dont base hiring your DJ off price alone. Most GOOD professional DJs know their worth and are worth what they charge. Check DJ references, make sure who you talk to is who will be showing up to do your wedding, ask what the price includes and most importantly get a feel/vibe for the DJ who will be doing your wedding. Do you want to save a couple hundred and have a disaster DJ or spend a little extra and get a DJ who knows what they are doing and has quality equipment (and backup equipment should an issue arise). Price always seems to be the #1 factor when in reality it shouldn't be. You only get married once...do it right.

There are a number of tools out there to find specific pricing in your area since pricing can vary from city to city. However finding a wedding DJ should be more than just price, but the value that they add to your experience. But you need to beware the lower prices all together because frankly those deals are usually to good to be true. There is a significant amount of overhead for a DJ to run their business including equipment costs, advertising, insurance, etc.

https://pariscreative.com/dj-pricing/

And let's not forget that a wedding DJ does far more than simply pressing play on some music. If you are booking a professional wedding DJ for 5-6 hours of performance, they are typically investing 15, 20, even 40 hours into your event

https://pariscreative.com/what-does-a-dj-actually-do-at-a-wedding/

I Dj Weddings professionally. 18 years of paid experience and I'm 32 years old. I was lucky to start in 5th grade being paid to DJ for 300 to 400 people twice a month. I did that for over a 1.5 decadew while I grew my business. I currently DJ Weddings and awesome Proms in CT, RI, NY, VT, and MA (Boston) where I currently live. My price is from $1200 to $1800 typically. I have done weddings for $3000 but those are not often. A large wedding I did for $3000 required 3 sound systems and sound support for a band flown in from San Fran to the east coast. This wedding was published in Martha Stewart's Weddings Magazine, so there was a lot of money being spent that day. The amount of money you spend doesn't mean it will be a great wedding. It's all about the guests you invite, then open bar, then the music. The rest is icing on the cake. If the music is great then you could have just ok food and it's fine for most people, you could do top notch food and of course it's great but if there bad music then yeah the food is tainted because the music is taking over your senses. Hire a level headed DJ, have open bar, tell your photographer to be chill and not to leave all their bags next to the dance floor (makes the DJ look sloppy even though it’s not their gear). Most importantly - if you're a calm.cool.collected couple DO NOT expect your reception to just naturally be calm.cool.collected. Send the vibe to ALL of your vendors that you want them to be professional, nice, and outgoing. Too often i see photographers that are just rude to me as a DJ, they're pushy, and want to go home as early as possible, they try to rush the reception. I see catering staff/waiters/waitresses whose leader never told them "hey i know we do a lot of weddings but today is their biggest day so go out there and smile and act like it's yours." I recommend that in order to have a smooth seamless wedding you need happy vendors, maybe not the ones that are slick rick weirdos. There are plenty of affordable photographers/DJs/Wedding planners that won't rip you off, who are down to earth, and who don't panic under pressure. I've seen the "Pros" get all worked up when we have had to change the itinerary during the reception. Don't hire robots, they fail under pressure. Many wedding planners don’t do anything and a good DJ like myself acts as a wedding planner, they really just format the reception on paper for you. Itineraries are great but parties happen in real time reality folks so hire people that can adjust, multi task on the fly. In closing ask your venue manager if they're the type to freak out when the party goes 10 mins past the end time. There are far too many rude money grubbing "professionals" out there who can't comprehend that it's your wedding day. It's just another business day for them and I've seen them freak out over the smallest things. The last thing you need is corporate America seeping in at your wedding. I had the power cut off on me while DJing my friends’ wedding, the dinner came out 45 minutes late, the dancing portion was cut to under an hour (awkward – hope dinner was good bye now! party over!). They were spending an easy $35k and that manager didn't care at all that his kitchen dropped the ball. I wanted to play a few more songs to ensure an appropriate non awkward ending to their reception and he wasn't having it so he turned off the breaker at a nice hotel(Old Saybrook CT). The video of this is great, 200 guests continued singing Don't Stop Believing for 3 mins after the power had cut off the sound system. You see! The right guests, open bar, and good tunes takes the prize. I'm sure that manager doesn't want me back but he wasn't my client, the wedding couple was, I got a rock star tip that evening for caring about the big picture. Most vendors will do anything to get the gig but you should keep them to a high set of standards to ensure your wedding goes smoothly. If the worker bees are working hard behind the scenes because you demand that of them, then your guests will surely enjoy a great reception and the vendors will be head up looking for places to help and provide. Good luck shopping for vendors and don't be afraid of hiring people who are hip verses all them slick rickers out thar!