What to Look For in a Wedding DJ

Episode 1: What to Look For in a Wedding DJ

You're newly engaged, the Pinterest boards are filling up, and it's time to start booking vendors — but when it comes to choosing a DJ, you're not quite sure what to look for.

In this first episode of DJs, Dancefloors, and I Do’s, host Shane Griffin (a professional wedding DJ and MC with over 20 years experience) breaks down exactly what separates an average DJ from one who can truly elevate your wedding day.

Learn what questions to ask, what red flags to avoid, and how a great DJ does so much more than just play music. From timelines to tone-setting, Shane gives you insider insight that will make your vendor search easier — and your celebration unforgettable.

 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The top qualities to look for in a wedding DJ
• The red flags that signal inexperience
• How DJs help guide the flow of your event
• Why entertainment should be one of your first bookings

Whether you’re starting from scratch or fine-tuning your plan, this episode is a must-listen for any engaged couple wanting a packed dancefloor and stress-free day.

Learn more or book Shane: letshaneentertain.com 

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Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll
License code: DUOMBVOBY9S1CI7A

Producer: Rob Duren Productions

Transcript

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Welcome to DJ's Dance Floors and I Do's, the podcast that helps engaged couples like you plan an unforgettable wedding day one beat at a time. Hello there, I'm your host Shane Griffin, professional DJ and MC with over 20 years of experience and every week I'm here to give you real advice, smart planning tips and behind the booth insights to help you feel confident, organized and ready to celebrate your big day. Congratulations. Whether you're just getting started or deep into the planning process, you are in the right place. So let's dive in. Welcome to episode one, what to look for in a wedding DJ. Be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast and we'll drop new episodes every week. Let's start this episode with why the right DJ changes everything before and during your wedding. Number one, your wedding DJ will be your de facto wedding planner if you don't have one. The right DJ has a planning process in place. They help you with the planning forms, the timelines. They also help you talk about music. The right DJ will have a planning call with you as well to go through that planning form, the timeline, and talk about music and what your expectations are. And the right DJ will help tie up any loose ends before the event. Typically, that happens the week of as we're getting closer to the event date. So, number one, your wedding DJ will be your de facto wedding planner. if you don't have one. The second reason why the right DJ changes everything before and during your wedding, well, he or she will be your day of event flow coordinator. The right DJ shows up early, a couple hours before time, sets up sound checks and mic checks, and makes sure everything is set and in place and ready to go before the event even starts. The right DJ will confirm details with the wedding planner, if you have one, as the night goes on, talking about the timing and Have things changed in the timeline as we're moving through? So that coordination is also very important with the wedding planner. And then making sure that you and your fiancé, your bridal party, your family are ready for events that are coming up in the timeline. Nothing is worse than hearing, hey, it's time for the cake cutting, and the bride and groom is not even there. So coordinating with the wedding planner is a big point. Number two, your wedding DJ will be your day of event flow coordinator. And the third reason why the right DJ changes everything before and during your wedding, make sure the dance floor stays packed and active. The right DJ knows how to transition between cocktail and dinner and dancing, and the right DJ can also read the room and knows the crowd going into the night because we've had the planning call And we know the average age of the crowd, what genres they like and don't like. So understanding the crowd and reading the room goes right along with making sure that dance floor stays packed and active and is the third reason why the right DJ changes everything before and during your wedding. If you like what you hear so far, give us a like, please, and subscribe to this podcast as we drop new episodes every week. We're talking about what to look for in a wedding DJ and we kind of set the foundation with why the right DJ changes everything before and during your wedding. Now what I'd like to do is give you six key qualities to look for. If your perspective, DJ or entertainment company has all six of these qualities, hire them. You ready? Here they are. Number one, experience with weddings. The right DJ has experience in hundreds of weddings and knows the different venues, knows the different circumstances because he or she has been there and done that. Think about if you're having heart surgery. Do you want a surgeon that's done one heart surgery or do you want a surgeon that's done hundreds of heart surgeries? The answer is obvious and the same as with wedding DJs. The more experienced your DJ is, the better the odds that your night is going to go as per your expectations. So number one, experience with weddings is a quality of a top DJ. Number two, MC and host skills. You know, a DJ may have a great music library, may be a great mixer, but if he or she cannot engage the crowd and get that party going through mic work and music, then the night is going to suffer. Engaging the crowd and displaying confidence in front of that crowd is important, as well as what I call directing traffic. Something like, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to be cutting the cake in about five minutes. Those types of announcements are important because not only are they engaging the crowd, but also helping with the event coordination as we move through the night. So MC and host skills, engaging that crowd is quality number two. Number three, music knowledge and reading the room. The right DJ has a knowledge of just about all top genres and has the ability to genre hop during the event. You know, as we move through the course of the night, every part of the night has a different vibe, a different feel. Cocktail is different from dinner. Dancing is different from dinner. And a good DJ has the ability to be able to move around to different genres recognize what he has or what she has in that room as a crowd, and have the confidence to make song choices there in the moment. Top quality of a top DJ is music knowledge and reading the room. The fourth quality of a top DJ is planning support. He or she will help with pre-event planning forms, help you fill those forms out, answer any questions that you may have, also help you build out a timeline from beginning to end, Also helps you and your fiance with the planning call. When we jump on that planning call and we walk through the planning form, we talk about the timeline, we go through music, we talk about expectations. What are songs that you would like for us not to play? Are line dances okay? Are they not okay? So that planning and those questions in that planning call is a quality of a top DJ, planning support. Number five is equipment and backup plans. Professional speakers and microphones are important for the sound, but also the presentation. How does the DJ booth look? That is something to consider. The ability to move around to different locations on site. The days of setting up one DJ booth and that's it are long over. For example, I had a wedding about a month and a half ago where the groom wanted me to be playing music in four different places at the same time, and I had five different setups on site. So, A good DJ, a good quality DJ, has the ability to move around and be nimble and flexible with his equipment. How about backups, backup mixers, cords, wires, speakers? If something goes wrong, what are the backup plans? So equipment and backup plans, the fifth quality of a top DJ. And finally, number six, communication style and personality fit. How does the DJ communicate with you, confirming things as received, whether a contract or contract? the retainer, the music, whatever the case may be, responding quickly to all communications is a quality of a top DJ. They follow up. There's that discovery call prior to, and you feel a personality click. That discovery call with your potential DJ is very important because on that call, you can decide, I think I do want to move ahead with him or her, or I may want to look at my other choices. So communication style is And making sure there's a fit with your personalities before you sign a contract is the sixth quality of a wedding DJ. So there you go. That's the six key qualities to look for in a wedding DJ. Now let's take a look at the other end of the spectrum and let me give you some red flags to watch out for. First, I want to say thank you for tuning in to DJ's Dance Floors and I Do's. I'm your host, Shane Griffin. Professional DJ and MC with over 20 years of experience. Be sure to like and subscribe as we drop new episodes here every week. Ready for the red flags? Let's go. Number one, the wrong DJ is all music and no mic work. The DJ mixes may be good, the music library may be strong, but if they cannot engage through mic work and they seem uncomfortable and nervous, it's going to make your night not be as well as you had expected. Number two, they have no planning system or process in place. They don't and won't help you with any kind of pre-planning. The wrong DJ doesn't use technology to help couples build out timelines and planning forms in music lists. The wrong DJ just plans to show up and kind of wing it. You know, this is your big night, so you need to be sure that you select the right DJ that has a planning process in and then a process in place to ensure success at the end of the night. Number three, low pricing and no backup plans. If you find a DJ that has an amazing discounted offer or is somewhat cheaper or even a lot cheaper than everybody else in the market, then that certainly is a red flag. Also, the wrong DJ doesn't have a plan if something goes wrong. There's no backup speakers, no backup microphones, no backup mixers. If a piece of equipment goes down, your night could potentially be over. So low pricing and no backup plans are a red flag to be aware of. Number four, the wrong DJ cannot provide happy customer reviews or even a website or even pics and videos of events that he and she has done in the past. You can certainly go online and find just about any kind of information you want on your prospective DJ, Google reviews. You can go to Bark, Eventective, Thumbtack, The Knot, WeddingWire.com, There's a ton of wedding websites out there that you can find information on DJs. And if you find nothing or the reviews are bad, that's going to be a red flag. If they don't have a website where you can go and learn more about this DJ and or this company and even see transparent pricing, that's also going to be a red flag. And no pictures and videos. They can't provide you with actual proof that they've entertained people. So not being able to provide happy customer reviews or pics and vids or even a website is another red flag. That's number four. And the fifth red flag and the final red flag, they're vague about timing, gear, and coordination. And as part of that, they have bad communication skills. They don't return phone calls, emails, text. After a conversation with them, you really don't have the confidence that they're going to be able to perform at the level of your expectations. And I've even had some brides say, I've had conversations with prospective DJs where when I hung up, I wasn't even sure if they were going to show up after I paid them. So the wrong DJ is vague about timing, when he's going to arrive. I'll get there about half an hour before we start. And he's not sure about his gear. He's very vague about it. And his coordination is lacking because he has no process and no plan. So those are five big red flags to be on the lookout for when looking to hire. I hope today's content has been helpful to you. If so, give us a like, please, and subscribe as we'll drop new episodes here every week. If you're an engaged couple and still making decisions on entertainment for your upcoming wedding, this podcast was built for you. So please feel free to come back, join us again, and we thank you so much for being here. If I could leave you with one thought today, remember you're not hiring a playlist. You're hiring a personality, a planner, and an entertainer. So please, do your due diligence to make sure the DJ you hire and the company you bring on has your best interest at heart from the first communication and the first phone call. For us, this is just another night, just another gig. But for you and your fiancé, it's your one big night. And the entertainment is quite possibly the biggest part of the evening, so make it count by hiring the right wedding DJ. I, again, want to say thank you so much for tuning in. This was our first episode. Hope you enjoyed it. Lots more to come. DJs, dance floors, and I do's. This is a presentation of Shane Griffin Entertainment. You can check us out on social, Facebook, and Instagram, and also at our very transparent website. See what I did there? LetShaneEntertain.com. That's LetShaneEntertain.com. Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us next week. We'll dive into what you're wedding DJ really does on your wedding day. We'll talk then.