If you are planning a wedding in Austin or the surrounding areas, it is very likely that you will need to find a DJ, or band to make your reception a fun experience for both you and your guests. If you’re planning your wedding now, don’t worry! It’s not too late to find the best DJ for your wedding. Let’s discuss some of our top tips to help you find the perfect DJ for your wedding day.
Things to Consider
There are many factors to consider when choosing a wedding DJ. Do you want a DJ who will help you plan and remember all the details for the big day? Or are you looking for a DJ who will keep the reception moving and the guests entertained? Perhaps you want a DJ who will play all your favorite songs and keep people on the dance floor until the very last song? In our opinion, your DJ should be able to easily do all of those things!
While you can certainly hire a professional DJ from a wedding DJ service, you may also want to consider asking your friends and family if they can recommend a wedding DJ. Personal referrals are always great since they have direct experience with that DJ or company! If you are working with a wedding planner, consider asking your planner for any recommendations he/she has for a DJ who will be perfect for your wedding.
How Much It Should Cost
The most frequently asked wedding DJ question is “how much does a wedding DJ cost?” While the prices can really vary in every market, nationally, couples will pay an average of around $1000 for a wedding DJ.
The only issue with the average is that it’s simply an average. There are certainly higher-priced DJs and lower, budget-priced DJs. That number also doesn’t take into consideration the location or the number of hours. We can safely say to budget 8-10% of your overall wedding budget.
How to Find a Local DJ
If you’ve decided that you are going to hire a DJ instead of a band, it’s time to find a good local DJ. Be careful with simply searching “DJ near me.” Google will show you DJ companies literally near you. Though they may be nearby, they may not be the best fit for your needs.
You can look on Google, or even visit wedding websites like The Knot or Wedding Wire, to look through reviews, price ranges, etc. Once you’ve narrowed down your top 3-5 DJs, contact them and see what they have to offer. Remember that the lowest-priced DJ isn’t always the best (nor is the highest price). Find out how they can best meet your needs and why they are a great fit for your wedding!
Why Use a Wedding DJ
We generally don’t tell people this tip, but we’ve noticed that more and more, it’s needed. While the DJ at the bar or restaurant you visit may be awesome and always play your favorite songs, he/she may not be well versed in weddings. Weddings are very different from bars. A bar DJ may not be a great wedding DJ, and vice versa.
What to Look for in a DJ
As stated above, if you’re going to hire a DJ, be sure to find out how much experience he/she has with weddings. It’s very important! There are so many details involved with weddings, and your DJ is critical to making sure everything goes just the way you want it to. If you don’t have a planner, it’s even more important!
Next, consider looking at reviews. We’d recommend hiring a company with at least 15-20 reviews, or more on one platform. Ideally, they will have reviews on various platforms. Look through the various review sites for consistency, too.
If a DJ says they’ve been in business since 1991, yet they only started getting reviews in 2019, you have to wonder why. Chances are, they deleted their old review account due to bad reviews, and then just started a new one. This happens far too often. So be aware of this.
Also, 4 stars or above is ideal. Look for how recent the reviews are. If they haven’t had a review in over a year, you also have to wonder why. Don’t completely eliminate DJs who may have had a bad review. Find out how they responded to it, and if they have gotten good reviews since then.
Also, be sure to ask about the price. We discussed it above, but remember that you have your budget. If a DJ is completely out of your budget, find out if they’re willing to work with your budget. They may be able to!
Tipping Wedding DJs
The last thing to think about with your overall budget is tipping. Some wedding companies have mandatory tipping included in their contracts. Be sure to ask about this. We do not require a tip and don’t really think it’s fair to do that. We certainly encourage our clients to tip, if they feel it was earned. We also appreciate a 5-star review for the DJ, just as much as a tip!
Overall, these are our top 5 tips. We hope we were able to answer the how do I find a DJ for my wedding question, thoroughly. Feel free to contact us if you have more questions. We’re always happy to help!
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