Brides – Does Choosing the “Right” Wedding DJ or Emcee for Your Wedding Make a Difference?

Apr

2010

Blog - Horizon Entertainment Blog

Written by Administrator

Thursday, 01 April 2010 01:16

Brides – Does Choosing the “Right” Wedding DJ or Emcee for Your Wedding Make a Difference?

Brides-to-Be - Does knowing how to choose the “right” wedding DJ make any difference?

How to Choose the “Right” Wedding DJ

Choosing the music or entertainment for a birthday party, graduation party, college dance, frat party or other private party or event is one thing, but choosing the "right music" for your wedding reception is a whole different ball game. Your Wedding Reception, which includes guests of all ages with very different musical tastes, requires a much more sophisticated and VAST musical menu, plus a more in-depth understanding and knowledge of music. The responsibility of the individual hired to entertain (the wedding DJ) and to whom you are giving control over providing the technical task of sound reinforcement, the Master of Ceremony function and musical entertainment obligation is not only monumental, but massive! A wedding DJ/emcee can make or break the success of your once-in-a-lifetime event! Even the cocktail and dinner music can be of good quality, poor quality, just okay... or EXCELLENT (and truly make the atmosphere of your wedding shimmer).

Now here’s the dilemma you face before hiring a wedding DJ/MC, entertainer. You will know what your wedding cake, wine and food will taste like. You will also know what your wedding dress, reception hall, flowers and table settings will look like... but despite all the promises, sales gimmicks, sales pitches, price quotes, brochures, music lists, slick advertising and slick looking website videos, you will NOT KNOW what the end results of your wedding DJ/emcee will be until you experience it first-hand... By then, if things don’t turn out the way you had envisioned, it will be too late! There are no dress rehearsals for your wedding DJ/emcee. That is why choosing the “right” DJ and a good DJ is always a complicated and critical matter.

After being in the wedding entertainment business for as long as I have (more than two decades) and taking calls from literally thousands of brides-to-be… I've found that most brides don't have any understanding of how different the end results can be from DJ to DJ. Most brides-to-be simply do not understand that many of the DJs that advertise today and cast themselves as being Wedding Professionals, are often simply nothing more than hacks or at best, amateurs. It takes a “lot” more than simply having a working knowledge of music, sound and lighting equipment or even natural talent to be a truly competent and successful Wedding DJ, especially now that today we have more than six decades of recorded music history behind us. Having great wedding entertainment/music and a “really" good Master of Ceremonies is instrumental and critical to the success of your once-in-a- lifetime Special Event. A truly great wedding DJ emcees your intros (grand entrance) cake-cutting, toasts, special events and special dances such as: the first dance, cake-cutting, grand march, bridal party dance, bouquet and garter toss, etc. The question then is, do you want a wedding DJ professional who performs these actions effortlessly, efficiently and flawlessly, or an ill at ease or overly theatrical amateur?

After being a wedding entertainer for more than two decades, it is my sincere belief that there are becoming fewer and fewer “real professionals” being developed because of the vast amount of historical knowledge needed today. To make things still worse, there are more and more amateurs passing themselves off as being "veteran Wedding DJ Professionals" because of how simple it's become to acquire and obtain cheap sound equipment and even digital music libraries that have been pirated through the internet. If you should become one of those brides that choose to hire an amateur wedding DJ, there is a very high probability that your wedding reception will be musically impaired and it's flow very choppy. You will also find that the choice of music being played will likely be (at least sometimes) somewhat, if not very inappropriate, limited in scope and narrow. Finally, depending upon the inexperience of the amateur, your wedding DJ will continually be searching to maintain momentum.... Ultimately, this will generally lead to a long, drawn-out, and boring evening for you and your guests. Stop and ask yourself: Have you ever been to a wedding reception like this???

Again, most Brides-To-Be only ask about price. They assume that all DJs are created equal and that a wedding DJ simply plays music and it's not really all that hard... Coming to these types of preconclusions and choosing a wedding DJ without asking some critical questions can be devastating, bringing potentially disastrous results and ruin what is supposed to be your’ once-in-a-lifetime Special Day!

It is my resolute and absolute firm belief that every bride-to-be should seriously consider this advice and take it to heart. Hire only a long-time, full-time, career DJ who specializes in Wedding Receptions. Remember, the best DJs are usually working for themselves and making a living at it because they've been doing it for a long time and they're very good at it.

Never hire a wedding DJ from an agency with whom you haven't spoken with or never met. When wedding DJ agencies charge a high price for their services, but only pay their wedding DJs the average going wage, what do you think the actual true value of the talent you will be receiving at your Wedding Reception is actually worth? The very best wedding DJs will not typically settle for what an agency pays them... They don't have to!

Always Remember: The choice you make for your wedding DJ/emcee entertainment will either make or break your wedding reception or rather, what is supposed to be the most Perfect Day of your life!