Selecting a Wedding Disc Jockey

By Ted Chamberlain,
Ted's Tunes DJ Service.

Selecting a disc jockey for what is arguably the most important event of your life is a bit like betting on a race horse. When you're at the races you read all about the horse, who, what and where he's been trained and you select the horse based on several things. His past performance, who he´s raced against and where. You review his performance history but in the end sometimes you just go on a gut feeling and sometimes that´s what it comes down to when selecting a disc jockey.

A successful disc jockey has to love his chosen profession and has to love music because if he/ she is just in it for the money they´re not in business long. Disc jockeys need to be thick skinned yet polite and tactful as some clients and guests can be difficult as the party progresses. This is why I personally recommend that my DJ´s don´t drink any alcoholic drinks while working. Disc jockeys don´t make large sums if you consider the time away from the job site that's involved with preparing and setting up for specific events and running a successful DJ Service which also includes equipment maintenance, music purchases and proper AVLA licensing. There is a lot of behind the scenes preparation involved , especially with weddings as every bride wants their event to reflect their taste in music. DJ´s often get lists of nearly 200 songs to play at the celebration which would take 4 nights to play. Sometimes the majority of these songs, while they may be great to listen to, won´t get the invited guests out of their seats and that´s where your DJ´s experience comes into play.

Brides need to ask the DJ what his experience level is with regards to weddings because if you hire a DJ with primarily bar experience you could be in for a disappointment. A DJ with wedding experience tends to be more multi-dimensional in his knowledge of music genres and therefore can more likely respond to the needs of a party with an age range of 8 to 80 years.I personally won´t hire a DJ under 30 years old because life experience and DJ experience at playing private functions are the two most critical components you DJ posses.

In the final analysis, DJ Services can boast about their quantity and variety of the music, their commercial grade equipment, their optional lights and fog etc. when all it really comes down to is the right DJ with the right kind of experience. There is no substitute for experience and you may pay a little more for it but you´ll be happy you did.