Okay so you think it’s a little early to start prepping for wedding season, which means you’ve never planned or DJ’d a wedding. The truth is that weddings take a lot of planning—they don’t call’em Bridezillas for nothin’!—which means it’s about that time for wedding DJs to start auditioning for or meeting with, the wedded couple-to-be.
Regardless of how you feel about DJing a wedding, the truth is that it is a lucrative niche that will keep willing DJs working year round. In that spirit I’ve put together a few wedding DJ tips that will help you secure more of these cushy gigs!
References
While you think that your sold out night at the biggest venue in town should serve as proof positive of your greatness as a DJ, this is one of those wedding DJ tips that new wedding DJs often overlook. It is important—to the bride, usually—that you have some satisfied customers willing to attest to your magical skills…in writing.
Anyone with the gear can claim to be a DJ, and someone shelling out tens of thousands of bucks on one memorable day will want to know that you’re not going to spend all night spinning “YMCA” and “The Funky Chicken”. If you don’t already have a list of references for the bride (or wedding planner) to follow up with, get on it now because you will need it!
If you can’t divulge the names, a good alternative is to have some video footage of your last wedding gig. Give them a glance into you in the midst of DJing another wedding and let that serve as your reference. If possible, put together a clip of several different weddings, with different themes or demographics to show your versatility.
There’s always one caveat here; if you know the groom his word is usually good enough!
Current Tracks
Obviously this is a wedding DJ tip that will depend on the newlyweds. But with so many couples spending more time focusing on wedding & reception music, it is a good idea that you have current tracks sprinkled in with wedding reception classics. There will always be traditional couples of all ages who want to boogey down to old school wedding tracks, but more often you will get a bride & groom looking to turn their wedding reception into a celebration.
This means you should always suggest a few classics—to please mom, dad & grandma—but you should always have current hits to suggest that are wedding appropriate. Come up with a list of suggestions for your initial meeting, and tailor it as you get more information from the happy couple. It’s always a good idea to toss in new romantic songs like “You’ve Got The Love” by Florence + The Machine and upbeat love tracks like “We Found Love” by Rihanna. These are just examples but show the bride you’re willing to the work to give her a memorable soundtrack for her special day.
Professional Appearance
This is one of the wedding DJ tips I dispense most often to those just starting out. You want to wear clothes that are true to you as well as your DJ persona, but you need to temper that so you don’t scare off the bride, wedding planner and parental units.
So what do you wear to that first meeting that will say “hire me!”? A suit is unnecessary for a meeting but don’t go full on ‘club DJ’ with sunglasses indoors, brightly colored sneakers and a blasé attitude toward those present. Keep it simple with jeans and a plain shirt.
Most importantly, ask the bride or wedding planner what is expected of your in terms of dress. Do you have to don a tuxedo or will a coat and button-up shirt suffice? Don’t be afraid to ask questions, it’ll show them how focused you are on making the day about them.
Emcee Too?
In this age of totally unique weddings most DJs will have to emcee to secure a wedding gig. The person hiring you—probably the bride—will want to know if you provide emcee services and have access to a microphone.
This tip for wedding DJs can mean the difference between getting the gig or not. The bride will want to know if you’re comfortable interacting with the crowd because the job of a wedding DJ is to introduce the bride & groom, the wedding party, cake cutting, first dance, father-daughter dance and the chaotic bouquet toss.
Are you comfortable with this? If you’re not, practice or tell the bride right away that you can’t. It’s better to get passed over for a gig than to botch one.
Ideas
The best of all the wedding DJ tips you’ll ever get is to BRING IDEAS to the table. The bride, groom and wedding planner—maybe even the parents—will have ideas about what the wedding & reception should be. It is your job as the DJ to come with your own ides to make the reception what the couple wants it to be.
This means bring all good ideas to the table. If you have ideas about lighting, transition music, tracks that fit in with the wedding theme and lesser known tracks that you think are ideal for weddings. You want to show that you’re a professional DJ who can give each couple what they want instead of providing canned playlists for all.
These are just a few wedding DJ tips to help you stay booked solid during wedding season…and beyond.
I hope I helped you get more and more wedding gigs! Email in the box below to get access to Free video DJ lessons that will answer all of your questions on how to become a disk jockey and get the right DJ gigs!
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