Questions To Ask Your Wedding DJ

26 February

Questions To Ask Your Wedding DJ: So you are out doing research into what DJ best fits your wedding needs and budget. What do you look for? What do you ask them? Exactly how do you distinguish one DJ from the next? What is fake news and what is real?

What should you expect from your wedding DJ? Wedding planning can be so confusing – let us help you cut through the hype and find the perfect wedding DJ for your needs. Not every couple is the same and finding someone to match your style and vision is so important on your wedding day. No one wants a DJ Horror Story at their wedding. You should have your wedding venue chosen before reaching out to potential DJs. It’s difficult to know if they are available for your wedding date or what is logistically needed at your wedding until your date and venue are locked down. Why? A rectangular ballroom at the local Marriott might require a completely different setup compared to a two-level wedding at The Society Room of Hartford.

Is your ceremony onsite? Outdoor social hour? Are you having 50 guests or 400? Your DJ’s price and ability to cater to your specific needs might be drastically different from one wedding scenario to another. They might not even be able to handle your particular needs. Not all DJs have the same gear, experience or abilities necessary for every wedding. Here is a quick guide for the questions you should be asking your wedding DJ before you hire them.

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Social Proof / Do Your Research:

Check out their Facebook and Instagram posts. See if they have Pinterest boards similar to what you want your wedding to be like. You should be able to see if they actually have wedding experience or are just posting about bar karaoke and trivia nights.
Look over their reviews online from past clients. You should be able to easily see multiple reviews on Wedding Wire, The Knot, Google or Facebook.

Read through their website and blog posts. Again, if it looks like they haven’t done anything recently or their website looks dated—keep looking for someone that will take your wedding seriously. After all, this is your once-in-a-lifetime wedding day.

Don’t Just Shop Based On Price Alone:

Finding wedding vendors including DJs should not be based on price alone. Yes—we all have budgets that we need to try to adhere to. But finding the cheapest DJ won’t guarantee you a great time at your reception. There’s probably a reason why one photographer charges less than another or why one DJ is worth more than another. Wedding vendors are not all alike.

You could put different DJs with the same DJ equipment in front of the same audience and get a completely different result. Want everyone up and dancing at your wedding? Don’t settle for a Craig’s list DJ or the cheapest DJ listed on The Knot or Thumbtack—after all, you will get what you pay for.

BEST. DJ. EVER. (and best photo booth and uplighting)
“BEST DJ EVER. People dancing the entire time, which is what we wanted. We had multiple people ask who the DJ was the following day. He is super professional, but also laid back and just so nice! We also did the photo booth which was AMAZING. People also used it the entire night as well. Plus the uplighting made the vibe!! Our wedding was so perfect and a HUGE reason was because Rob was our DJ!!! Can’t recommend enough!!!”
Julie & Ian – The Society Room of Hartford CT – Wedding DJ, Uplighting and Photo Booth Rental

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Hear Them Before You Hire Them:

You wouldn’t think of hiring a wedding photographer before seeing some of their past work and you wouldn’t give a deposit to a wedding filmmaker before seeing their past work. Why would you hire a wedding DJ without hearing what to expect from them at your wedding.

No—you can’t be a wedding crasher. A professional wedding DJ should have audio recordings of them doing introductions or mixing music sets. Demand to hear something other than their slick promotional video on their website.

Know What You Need:

Is your ceremony onsite and in the middle of a field under a tree? You need a DJ that has a battery-powered system dedicated for your ceremony

Is your cocktail hour outside or is your venue broken up with multiple rooms? You need a DJ that has wireless speakers to extend the boundary to your party

Do you have more than 150 guests? You need a DJ that has a larger sound system (scalable for both small and large events)
Ask questions and make sure your potential DJ can handle the logistics needed for your wedding needs.

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Amazing! 5 stars!
“We had the most incredible experience working with Rob and were lucky enough to have Jim as our wedding DJ. Jim was so thorough and easy to work with. He even was able to edit our music for ceremony and a special performance by our friend. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the technicalities, did a rehearsal with our musical performance and made sure to play all of the songs we wanted to hear. I highly recommend their services!”
S&D – Haley Mansion, Mystic CT – Wedding DJ

Additional Questions To Ask Your Wedding DJ

Is my wedding date available?

There are only approximately 24 prime wedding dates each season and with most weddings happening on Saturdays, dates fill in fast for the most requested wedding DJs (and wedding venues/vendors)

How long have you been DJing weddings?

A wedding DJ doesn’t just grab some gear online and start DJing weddings the next weekend. You need to learn the craft from a seasoned professional. That takes time. Our associate DJs start out as assistants and work their way up to DJ with one of our seasoned MCs for years before they are ever entrusted going out on their own to DJ someone’s wedding.

How many weddings have you performed at? How many weddings do you do each year?

If they don’t have more than 50 weddings under their belt, then they have not experienced or learned enough about being a truly professional wedding DJ. If they are not doing 15 or more weddings each season, then they are not in the game as full-time wedding DJ professionals.

Do you DJ more than 1 wedding per day?

Back 20+ years ago, wedding venues would stack weddings on top of weddings and it was not unusual for wedding DJs to do more than 1 wedding per day. Imagine how tired they must be. Would they even remember if they had played 24K already at the current wedding? Or the couple’s names? That’s just too much and you would never want to be the 2nd wedding on a Saturday. Be sure they only do 1 wedding per day. We only do 1 wedding a day and normally limit ourselves to 2 weddings per weekend.

Will you personally be DJing our wedding? Who will be going over the details and organizing music for our wedding?

If you are not personally in direct contact with your wedding DJ and not working directly with them to go over things like name pronunciations and music selection, then run! There is no way that all the details needed for your wedding day can be relayed to your DJ via a form or a quick phone call the week of your wedding.

For our clients, you will be directly working with your selected DJ from the first time you reach out to us to the planning process which normally starts around 3 months prior to your wedding (and all the way up until your wedding day)

Have you ever worked at our wedding venue in the past?

We have worked at 100’s of venues throughout the New England area (and beyond) over the years. If you want, we can meet you at your venue and do a walk-through during the wedding planning process. Don’t worry, we have the gear necessary to work at both large, small, or broken-up facilities – both indoor and outdoor.

What makes you different than other area wedding DJs?

We don’t rely on cheesy DJ antics or line dances to get your wedding dance floor going. We don’t talk between every song and we are by no means your average wedding DJ.

Our clients are looking for a unique experience at their wedding and that requires a boutique-style or luxury wedding DJ experience that only we can provide to you on your wedding day. All our wedding DJs are trained by Rob Alberti to avoid the cliche and lean into the personalized experience we provide to all of our wedding couples.

Read our reviews online and dig into our blog and website and you will see and hear the difference that a luxury wedding DJ from Rob Alberti’s can bring to your wedding day.

Are there other services that you can provide for our wedding day?

We can provide music and microphones for your wedding ceremony needs so that your guests can hear the emotion as you exchange vows.

We also have photo booths for rental and custom lighting design from dance floor lighting to uplighting and string lighting for your tent and barn weddings. We even rent and install chandeliers and have custom wood arches for rent.

Are weddings your specialty?

Many area wedding DJs say they are wedding professionals but if you question them, they spend more time DJing at bars and doing bar trivia – that’s not us. Weddings are what we do.
More than 85% of our business are weddings. Sure, we do the occasional corporate and school event, but you won’t find us doing karaoke at the local dive or reading off trivia questions at the 99 Restaurant on main street. We are too busy doing weddings.

Do you have references? Testimonials from past wedding clients?

Yes – you can find reviews for us on Google, The Knot, Wedding Wire, Facebook and throughout our website

Do you have video or audio recordings from past weddings that we can see and hear?

Yes – you can look through our blog for REAL WEDDINGS including highlight video reels from past weddings. You can also hear us do wedding introductions and mix sets of music of various genres on our MixCloud accounts and throughout our website.

Will you offer wedding music suggestions during the wedding planning process?

Yes – we will start sending you suggestions about 6 months prior to your wedding to get you to start thinking of things like the style of music you want for cocktails and dinner and all the way from your ceremony music to the last song played at your reception.

You can also browse our online planning tools, blog for more helpful wedding music suggestions for your wedding day soundtrack

How involved in the music selection can we be for our wedding?

We have clients that can’t decide or choose anything and we help them narrow down their selections or we have clients that provide Spotify playlists for social hour, dinner, and dancing. It’s your choice how involved or uninvolved you want to be. We are here to offer suggestions on what we’ve seen that works and does not work based on past weddings that we’ve performed at. We’ll help fill in the gaps when you want us to.

Will you act as the emcee (MC) and make all the needed announcements at our wedding?

Yes – we will take care of the necessary announcements and keep both you and your guests informed as to what is happening NEXT at your wedding. Sit back and relax – we’ve got you covered!

What do you do if no one is dancing at our wedding?

We use subtle crowd manipulating tools to refocus you and your guests when it comes to dancing. There will always be an ebb and flow of energy on the dance floor based on what is going on. It’s our job to ride those waves and keep the energy going at your reception.

Sometimes it’s as simple as asking all the couples to come out on the dance floor for a slow song and then following it up with a fast song or maybe it’s changing up the genre of music to bring out more of your wedding guests. Either way, we’ll work within the scope of your PLAYLIST and NO PLAYLIST to keep with the flavor and style that you want to set at your wedding.

Will you take guest requests on our wedding day?

Yes – if that is what you wish. Some of our couples don’t want guests making requests at their wedding in order to keep to their style. Keep in mind, just because someone requests a song doesn’t mean that we will end up playing it. It might be on your NO PLAYLIST or it just might not fit with your feel. Of course, at any point in time at your wedding, you can come up and request the next song from one of our luxury wedding DJs.

What is included in your wedding packages?

On our price list and on your custom wedding proposal – everything that is included is clearly listed. No surprises.

Do you charge for setup and breakdown time?

Our packages are based on PERFORMANCE TIME (typically 5 or 6 hours depending on if your ceremony is onsite). We will arrive early to setup (1 – 2 hours prior) and will typically break down in less than an hour after your last song (for some custom lighting installations, we come back the next day to remove lighting – but that will be stipulated on our agreement/proposal ahead of time)

How much do you charge for overtime (extra hour after the scope of your signed proposal’s end time)

Our overtime rate is clearly marked on your proposal. You can add in increments of 30 minutes (half an hour rate) as needed on your wedding date. Overtime is normally paid that night via cash or Venmo if needed.

How much of a deposit do you require to secure our wedding date?

Our deposits normally range between $200-$600 based on the package price and will be clearly stipulated on your proposal. You can pay deposits online or via CC or check as desired.

Do you charge for travel?

Any travel fee will be clearly stipulated on your proposal. For most of our weddings in the New England area, we don’t require a travel fee. If logistics of your event require us to stay over, we will note that at the point of our initial quote.

When do couples normally secure their wedding date with you?

As soon as you’ve secured your venue and wedding date, it’s time to start looking at locking in your DJ and Photographer. Recently, it’s not unusual for us to book a year and a half out.
Most of our clients are securing their wedding date with their DJ at least a year in advance in order to guarantee that they get the best available DJ for their wedding.

Do you carry liability insurance?

Yes – many area wedding venues require that all your wedding vendors provide copies of their business liability insurance policy. We do this all the time for our couples.

What style and brand DJ equipment do you use?

We only use professional-grade DJ gear – no entry-level crap. Your wedding only deserves the best quality sound. Our goal is to bring the right style and size gear that matches your wedding needs. That’s not the same for every couple or wedding venue. For most weddings, we bring in nearly $10,000 worth of gear and we bring FULL BACKUP GEAR on top of our main system. That means, no matter what goes on, we have you covered.

How do you keep up on your music collection?

We don’t rely on Spotify, Youtube, or Pandora for our music. We have a professional music subscription with multiple DJ music pools so that we have the latest music as well as CLEAN VERSIONS of current chart hits and some of the hottest remixes available.

What is your favorite style of music?

It’s not about what we like as your wedding DJ, it’s about keeping to the tone and music style that you want set at your wedding reception and about keeping everyone dancing at your wedding. You do want to set a party atmosphere at your wedding, right?

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Great DJ Service!
“Rob Alberti’s Event Services worked out great for us. Rob was exceedingly responsive, and was able to quickly adjust to our needs as our plans evolved. Their digital services for communicating with customers and keeping track of the conversation threads is top-notch. DJ Justin worked our event. We paid only for the DJ services, and got just what we expected. The detailed form we filled out beforehand was great for setting the stage. Justin was excellent. He was very friendly and accommodating, and spent good quality time with us on the phone before the event to make sure he knew precisely what we were after. He geared the music selections accordingly, and was able to adapt during the event, as specific requests were made regarding particular songs, timing, and styles. Thanks for helping to make our wedding such a memorable event! Happy to recommend Rob Alberti’s services.”
Eric Herman – Valley View Farm Barn Wedding – Wedding DJ

What Questions Should Your DJ Ask You During The Planning Process?

Q: How did you meet? Where are your families from?
A: Knowing where you came from and where your guests are coming from helps us better understand the crowd in front of us. After all, if your guests are all coming from New York City it’s very different than if they are coming in from South Carolina.

Q: What kind of music do both of you like?
A: One of you might be into country and the other might be into classic rock or hip hop. Knowing some of your favorite artists, concerts or songs will help make sure that we get a little of both your music styles in your wedding day soundtrack of tunes.

Q: Are you planning on a plated meal, buffet, serving family-style or meal stations?
A: Knowing how your meal service is being handled helps us understand what order your special events such as first dance, parent dances, and cake cutting will make the most sense. We can even arrange to dance between courses to fill the time gaps and give you more dance time if you wish.

Q: Are there any special things going on at your wedding that we need to know about?
A: It’s never a good idea to surprise your wedding DJ/MC on the day of your wedding with surprises as the more information we know ahead of time, the better we can help guide you. Planning a dress change? Late night snack? Sparkler send-off? All of these things impact your wedding timeline and itinerary. Just keep us informed and we can help guide you and make all the necessary arrangements so that things flow smoothly on your wedding day.

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What Do You Do Now?

Contact DJ Rob today to find out pricing and availability for your upcoming event. We offer wedding DJs, Custom Lighting Design, and Photo Booth Rentals.

Describe your wedding in 3 words so we have an understanding of what you are looking for.
Send us an inspirational image of what you are trying to create for custom wedding lighting.
Tell us the style of music that gets you up and shaking your booty.
Let us guide you through the planning process.

Our stomping grounds are The Berkshires and Hartford CT areas, but we travel from Hudson Valley NY to Boston MA, and Southern VT to the CT Shoreline frequently. Get started today.

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