Top five questions couples never ask the DJ

There are many articles out there of questions to ask your DJs that are great. But this article focuses on questions I have taken note of that never get asked, and maybe had they been asked it may have saved someone some headaches. 

Now you ask yourself why this is important. Well, first off if someone is in business it is a wise business decision. It is there to protect the DJ and the business from expensive lawsuits and third-party claims. Plus more and more venues are also starting to ask for this from any vendor coming into their establishment. The last thing anyone wants is to experience an accident, but they happen and if the DJ caused it, having the liability insurance in place is just some peace of mind. Best to make sure there are no surprises, and that your DJ says I do.

This question should interest you very much because many DJs take on more than one event per day. Now let’s think about it, do you think that someone is going to have the same level of commitment to your event after just finishing a four or five-hour event before yours? Or maybe you are having a great time and you want to extend your event, but the DJ cannot stay because they have to leave for another event. Plus what happens if some equipment breaks during the event they just did? I am sure they have backup equipment, but if they are using the backup equipment for your event, now what backup equipment do they have left if something goes wrong?

I am going to tie this question to the previous question, but first let’s address this one. So many couples go through the process only to be surprised the week of or on their special day when the DJ is someone they never met. This is because the person they met sold them on what they can provide them, only to turn around and contract the work out to someone else at a lesser rate. This is something that is becoming common. Everyone is trying to make a buck, but this is not what you signed up for. Now let’s pull the previous question (#2) along with this one. I say that because what is becoming very common is hearing couples at the last minute getting the dreaded call or email from the DJ that they thought they had locked up saying… "I am sorry, but I overbooked and I cannot DJ for you." Well, there are two unfortunate reasons for this.  One is that the great rate they thought they got for the DJ just got outbid, and the DJ prefers to take the other job because it pays more. Second they intended all along to contract out the work and for whatever reason, it fell through or they could not find anyone to take the job. Neither should happen but it does. Make sure you have a signed contract and language in it stating if they do not show up how are you compensated. Especially if you paid for the services way in advance.

Wow! You would think this is no brainer. Well not really, nowadays where everyone with a laptop, with a library of music, and a pair of speakers, they think they can do this job. There are entirely too many DJs out there who will plan your music days before, which they should. But where it differs is that there is a group of them who will plan which songs they will play and in which order, even how they will transition them. They have decided ahead of time the song sequence, and they will not deviate from that plan. The plan should be to have an idea of which songs will be played based on your musical tastes and their experience, but they still need to read the crowd and change up accordingly. Taking requests at your reception is to make everyone there have a feeling of inclusiveness in the festivities. To maneuver the musical eclectic tastes of those in attendance, not to just play some playlists they created ahead of time. You might as well have created your playlist and hit play.

The look on their faces is priceless when you ask the question. Everybody should have a backup plan for any instance of equipment failure. May it be that they have another laptop on standby with a backup of their library or they have an iPad with backup music... I will give you an example of what I mean, I have my main laptop with music, I also carry an iPad with a backup of the important dances and music for those events occurring during the reception, along with a library of the most popular songs, and your requests. Just because I believe in a backup for the backup I also carry a flash drive that is connected to my system ready to go with the same library as the iPad and it can be employed in under 30 seconds. You are paying your DJ to not only entertain your guests but also to have a plan and be prepared for unexpected incidents. To keep their cool and keep the reception going.

I hope these questions help you in your search for a DJ for your wedding reception.