The opinions in this article are from the perspective of a DJ looking in. For over a decade, I have been doing Wedding Receptions, meeting DJ shoppers and talking to Newlyweds. It can get to be quite frustrating when couples don’t follow the basic rules for hiring their reception entertainment. I understand that this is all new to them and I will admit it can be very overwhelming. In a feeble attempt to give you some advice, I will use my knowledge of the wedding industry to break down some very simple things to look for when choosing the right DJ for your Minnesota Wedding Reception.

DJ Quantity (or Lack thereof) does not mean DJ Quality

Let’s start by being completely honest, there are HUNDREDS of Wedding DJs in the Twin Cities Area. Some are one man shows that work once or twice a month and others are Huge Corporations that put out over 20 shows a night. If you only want to save money and don’t mind how professional or experienced your DJ is, go right ahead and find your DJ in either of these categories. Otherwise, allow me to help you narrow down the choices of High Quality Entertainers that land in middle of those choices.

Wedding DJ choices at a Wedding Fair

On Sunday, March 18, 2012, The Twin Cities Bridal Association (TCBA) Wedding Fair is going to be at the Minneapolis Convention Center. There will be a large choice of Wedding DJs attending and trying their hardest to “sell” you on their company. The large corporations and small one man operations, have come up with Gimmicks and/or “Super Deals” to lure you into their clutches. They will be offering “Unbelievable Bargains” and/or Opportunities to get handed money while walking around, to entice you into filling out a form to “WIN A FREE RECEPTION”. An easy little scam to get your name so they can bombard you with phone calls and emails.

The Mobile Wedding DJs that steer clear of gimmicks, only offer reasonable discounts, and give you the opportunity to Hand-Pick your DJ, those are the ones you need to talk to. In most cases, these middle of the road, High Quality Entertainers, are at the TCBA Wedding Fair because they want to be. They are there to meet their next clients. Clients that the DJs themselves will enjoy working for. These are the Experienced DJs. The ones that have personally done a couple hundred weddings. The Entertainers that get the Majority of their Wedding Receptions in Minnesota by Word of Mouth Referrals, those are the ones you approach for more information.

Wedding DJ Shake Down – Give Them the Third Degree!

You would not believe how often I am NEVER asked any more questions than

“How much is it?”

Quite honestly, those are the people I show the price to and then point them to the “Super Cheap” Huge Corporations. It really isn’t hard to ask the questions you really need answered. Just get in there, bombard them with questions and make a wise decision based on their answers and not on their gimmick.

Let’s start with a very simple question that rarely gets asked.

Can I choose my own DJ?

From my perspective, this should be one of the first questions that is asked when approaching a DJ for more information. This will allow you to see whether or not they offer personal service or is shoveling a bunch of stuff in your way to side step the question. The High Quality DJ Companies will let you choose your DJ. They will also allow you to meet the DJ face to face. When the question comes up, their response should be in the realm of, “Yes you can. You can choose me or one of the many talented individuals you see in front of you. Pick the DJ you feel comfortable with.” Granted, that is a really long answer but it beats the, “We will choose the DJ for you based on the answers you have given us in our questionaire. Would you like to win some money?”

How will you be dressed for my wedding reception?

To me, this is a very good question. I have been doing weddings for a very long time and have had the occasional opportunity to spy on the competition. Sometimes they are rather nicely dressed but MOST of the time it is completely appalling. My team and I always show up in a very nice Mandarin Tuxedo Shirt purchased at a local Bridal Shop. It comes complete with fancy buttons and even cufflinks. Along with black pants and black fancy dancing shoes, I believe this is the proper attire for a Wedding DJ to be wearing. Seeing DJ’s in gawdy ties and bright orange button down shirts makes me think of the person that asked, “How much is it?”

What if something goes wrong with the music sound system?

This is a very tricky one. Either you will get the pattern answer, “We will send our on-call technician out to save the day.” or You will get the PROPER answer,” I’ll fix it and you will never know something happened.” I can tell you this, PM Enterprises maintains all their equipment regularly in order to eliminate the possibility of any problems at your event. Every PM Enterprises Wedding DJ has back-up gear at each event, so that you’ll have outstanding sound and the music keeps the party going, no matter what. That plus an experienced entertainer that can actually fix it themselves. Come to think about it, not so tricky.

 How much Experience Doing Weddings does Each DJ have?

I feel this is also an extremely important question to ask. Over the years, I have worked with many different companies and DJs. None of these have ever compared to the quality of Entertainers as PM Enterprises has. The proper answer to this question should be, “I personally have over a decade of experience doing weddings almost ever Saturday during the Wedding Season.” The Huge Corporations will give you the Patented, “Our DJs have the Experience of ALL the DJs before them.™ They each go through a rigorous 2 week training course to learn all of this information™” Not to step on any toes but I taught that rigorous 2 week training course. It was alot of, “This is how to do the Chicken Dance.” & “This is how to do the Macarena.”

To break down all of the fluff, the only Experience you should concern yourself with is the Individual Experience your DJ has. I can train a monkey off the street to play music and do the Electric Slide. I can not teach them how to read a crowd and motivate the unmotivated. That comes with actual experience.

Will you allow me and my guests to make requests?

This should be a no brainer. If your DJ does not allow you or your guests to make requests then have chosen the wrong company to hire. That being said, I find it absolutely necessary to get requests from your guests. This is the best way to verify that you will have an awesome reception that people will be talking about for years to come. The reason is simple, how can I play to a crowd of strangers if I don’t know what they want to hear? The Largest Companies in Minnesota will tell you that they already know what the crowd wants to hear. They have a proven system that will get any crowd rolling up out of their seats and get them on the dance floor. The plain and simple, “Cookie Cutter Wedding Reception”. Everybody wants to hear The B52′s Love Shack at Evry Single Wedding they go to. Right?

Wrong. In our Music Request list, there is a small section known as the “DO NOT PLAY OR I WILL STAB YOU WITH A SPORK!” List. The popular songs on that list are the frequent wedding songs your parents and grandparents grew up with. To make special note, in fear of Sever Spork Stabbing, not a single song on your “DO NOT PLAY OR I WILL STAB YOU WITH A SPORK!” List will ever get played if you chose one of the Experienced DJs with PM Enterprises. See how I mentioned YOU chose. See question #1 if you are reading this backwards or just skipped ahead to see the work SPORK in all caps.

Final question I will give you is this one,

When do you arrive to set-up?

The answer to this is only proper in your own mind. I will say this, if your DJ says they will be there 1 hour before start time to set-up, then wonder what will happen if your guests arrive at the same time? The DJ you hired will most likely look ratty and dissheveled because setting up is no easy task. Count on them looking very unprofessional and normal. This is common among DJs setting up. It’s a dirty job and we don’t want our fancy DJ clothes getting all mucked up. That is why PM Enterprises, came up with a very important question to ask you once you have hired us, “When are your guests arriving?” This allows us to be at the Reception Venue 2 hours earlier than your guests so when the very first person walks through that door, we are already setup and in our Fancy DJ Clothes. This helps set the tone for the evening and helps with the Super Cool DJ Effect we all aspire to.

There are a few more questions that need to be asked but they are rather common. Here is the link to PM Enterprises Frequently Asked Questions. www.twincitiesdj.com/faq.html

Wedding DJ Prices – The Good, the Bad & the OMG!

As stated earlier, hiring your DJ based on price is not always the wisest decision. If you think of DJ Companies like Retail Stores, you can get a better idea of what to expect. After all, your Wedding DJ will make or break your whole reception so you might want to have people there into the wee hours of the night instead of getting the manufactured, everybody is out before 10 pm reception.

Companies that lay the claim that they are the largest company in the Twin Cities, the Country or the Universe, are basically telling you they are like Walmart. All of their DJs are bought really cheap and in bulk so the savings can be passed onto you. Most of the Wedding DJs just got out of school or used to do parties for their buddies in the basement of their Mom’s House. All in all, they are getting the Crash Course of Wedding Things and then pushed on to play at somebody’s wedding. The most important night of their life and they went cheap. To each there own.

I have a problem with these companies. Having a multitude of inexperienced “DJs” allows them to stake the claim that they do the MOST shows every year than any other DJ company in the Twin Cities but that does not claim they were good shows. Once they have you in their grasp, it is too late to back out. The highly sophisticated contracts written by a team of lawyers can only set you free by death but that is now in dispute. Even after death, you will still need to pay.

Then there are the High End Retail Stores like Macy’s or Saks Fifth Ave. There you will find unique designs in limited supply. The prices are higher because they have less to sell. The DJ companies like this are going to be supurb because they can only do a handful of shows a year. Limited DJs to play at the event so the prices are higher. It would be worth it but it will be expensive.

Finally, the middle of the road Wedding DJ companies like PM Enterprises. These companies are similar to Target. The products are very nice and the prices are low. Companies like Target take the time to research what they are buying to make sure the consumer is satisfied and they have a great reputation to build from. Same with the Middle of the Road DJ Companies. They hire Wedding DJs with years, even decades, of experience and still offer competitive prices. The Twin Cities has less than a handfull of these Wedding DJ Companies to choose from so you will need to do your research and ask the questions.

Hopefully I gave you enough information to make sure your special night is one to remember for a lifetime and more. This was all based on my experience as a wedding DJ in the Twin Cities and beyond.