I went to a wedding today and the DJ sucked!!

I have three priorities - Awesome DJ, Awesome Photographer, and Awesome Food.

especially the DJ because weddings where noone dance are so lame!

I want to dance at my wedding and want my guests to dance too.

Thank you to those that understand the DJ's worth. Unfortunately there are a hundreds of horror stories out there that are documented by lawsuits after lawsuits and brides are non the wiser because they only hire a DJ once in her lifetime. Everyone should do themselves a favor and google their DJ's company name BEFORE hiring them and interviewing at least 3 DJ's before hiring any of them. If the DJ doesn't have a business name BEWARE, you will not be working with a professional. If they were a Pro they would have a registered company name, insurance, & pay taxes. You can find some questins in my WW profile. Some say that the DJ is expensive and I disagree. The DJ is usually the least expensive vendor at the reception. Most of the time the cake costs more than the DJ. Take a look at all the former brides selling their wedding dresses on this forum alone, then check out Craigslist. Your dress likely costs between 4-10 times the cost of the DJ and they are being sold after the event.

It's refreshing to see brides here that get it. If your cake costs more than your DJ...I wish you well.

Think of a DJ as an investment or insurance policy. If the food is cold, or the flowers wilt, people will forget all that if the entertainment is good and they have a great time. A DJ is 80% responsible for the overall outcome of your wedding, yet get's paid about 5% of your total budget. What do people remember most about a wedding? "FUN!" If the DJ is horrible, what will they remember most? "NOT FUN!" (being nice)

What's your priority for your wedding? If it's having the best time for you & your guests, invest in great entertainment. The average price for a good wedding DJ, $1,200. If you pay less, your gambling. You only get 1 chance to get it right, on 1 of the biggest days of your life.

How do you want you day to be remembered?

There are NO requirements to becoming a DJ. Many print business cards, and set up their home stereo equipment and start charging brides for music. You get the entire gamut of personalities and skill levels when looking for DJ's... so you have to do some homework first.

The $300 craigslist DJ is typically an amateur, looking for beer money, and they don't care what you think of their performance. When you hire a low budget DJ, this is one of the dangers. Sure, you may get a diamond in the rough, but typically you won't.

It is rare that brides will admit that they hired a "dud" for their wedding, but since many of you here seem to "get it", I'll give you some tips:

Do your homework... check out your DJ's credentials. Here are some sure fire ways to determine if your DJ is a beginner or amateur, versus a professional. (continued)...

Professionals normally have: nice web sites, performance insurance, high tech equipment, legal music libraries, high skill levels from years of training, membership in professional DJ affiliations, networking sites with training... on and on...

Check out your DJ on the Net. Does he/she have a business plan or license? Google their name and see how many hits you get on them... then check out every hit you find. Read their blogs, and search for them on FaceBook, YouTube and every other site you can find.

If you want a true professional, be prepared to pay for it. Pros don't charge $300... they typically start around $600 for basic services, and go up to $3000 or more (depending on the options you want).

Hope this helps.

I definitely think it's the most important thing! This weekend my mom and I were visiting our venue to work out some details, and our DJ happened to be there with another couple walking them through everything. It was so nice to how well he knows his stuff.

I was a BM in a wedding with a horrible DJ! I requested a song that the bride asked for and he told me no. I told him that the bride wanted it, and that she was paying him, so he better do it. Then, after the garter/bouquet toss he wouldn't do the part where the guy puts the garter on the girl because he was black and she was white! He ruined the wedding. The bride was in tears.

ARe you serious???!! I would have let my crazy uncle have my bridal fit for me! (can't do it myself in white - photos)

Have to admit yall are scaring me. I have a professional DJ (I think). I booked him through a booking agent - he was nice, very professional, over 20 years of experience, and he had a few good reviews on WW (both him and the booking agent). I already signed the contract. Ugh. Now what?

Ana, I totally agree with you! DJ will make or break the wedding. A year from the weding no one will remember the food/dress/centerpieces. But everyone will remember either it was fun or not. And good upbeat dancing and happy atmosphere made by music/dj IS what gets remembered as fun. Photography and DJ were my two main priorities for that reason

MrsJ- don't worry! If he has all taht experience and good reviews, I'm sure he's great!

Experience isn't everything. My brother is a DJ and has been for more than 20 years but I would not define him as a Professional. He has no web-site, no insurance, no education (in the field of Djing), not planning to learn anything new, you get the picture. Good reviews are one thing, but they should have more than a couple with 20 years of experience. I would hesitate to bet the farm reviews anyway. I would insist on speaking to their references. references should be a live person, not just a quote or two. I've been playing golf for 20 years and people will tell you I can hit the ball as far as anyone else can but it doesn't make me a pro golfer because it usually lands in the woods very far from the tee.

Good point Alpha... Ladies... also make sure you get a signed contract that you UNDERSTAND! It protects you under almost every circumstance except "acts of God". You want to be able to recover any loses (heaven forbid) if they occur. "Hacks" and amateurs, probably won't have a legal contract if at all.

Please please ask to see you DJ in action before the wedding - some will let you! THey may seem good in the office, but may be very different in action. If you can't preview, definately get 3client references who are not family or friends. And think very carefully about a "club DJ" 2 out of the 3 that I have used because the family really wanted their friend the club dj were HIDEOUS! One wa good, but he is a business owner & very, very professional.

Good points Studio. If a bride asked to preview me at another brides wedding, I couldn't let that happen. Here is the reason why. For my company, every wedding reception is a custom one off event. Everything is tailor made specifically for the Bride and Groom. Their tastes may be and probably will be different than the potential clients tastes. Besides, I will not invite someone that the current client doesn't know and hasn't approved to attend at her private event even if it's only for a short period of time.

What Alpha said above, and it also creates split loyalties, who is the DJ performing for now the client or the potential client.

Olga, you it hit right out of the park, you are exactly right.

Mrs. J as long as you met with Your DJ(the one that will be at your wedding) and you are completely confident & comfortable with him you should be fine. Remember he is representing you as your spokesperson on your wedding day.

Another good point Alpha made about his brother; I've been playing basketball for over 35 years but I'm far from a professional. DJ entertainment is a talent based business, & professionals make their job it look easy. Not just anyone can do what we do.

A true full time professional wedding DJ fee will normally start at $1,200 for a 4 hour weekend wedding. That's less than 5% of a total average wedding budget.

I have to agree. Dont slack on your dj. They are pretty much the one in control of your guests good time. Even if you are getting married other than somewhere in Orlando you can give us a call and i will help you find a good one. I have been djing weddings for 14 years now at www.shoutindj.com

My DJ was the bomb! Everything I could have hoped for and more!