Do you offer a written contract?
For sure! Because:
Not all DJ’s have the same standards of professionalism. The Contract is an important step in establishing the DJ’s obligation to the Client and offers an opportunity to make known the DJ’s setup requirements or other factors related to his performance. A written Contract is a key tool in any transacted professional service to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Can we meet with you in person before we sign the contract?
We recommend it.
Many wedding DJs try to conduct their interviews only over the telephone and through email with no option of meeting face-to-face. It seems like there are two reasons a DJ would do this – either they don’t feel you are worth their time, or they have something to hide.
Some DJ’s are very different in person than on the phone or email, or even what is presented on their website. You should have the option to meet face-to-face, so you can judge for yourself whether they are a good fit for you. After all, you’re hiring your DJ to perform a huge service for the duration of your event and they will have a significant impact on the overall feel of the Wedding; you want your DJ to be the right personality, which is usually best determined by meeting in person.
How much of deposit do you require to secure our date?
Almost every DJ will require some sort of deposit or retainer in order to secure your date. This is for their protection and yours. If the contract language doesn’t stipulate a specific guarantee of services and clearly outline a cancellation policy, the DJ may only legally be responsible for returning your deposit (sometimes as little as $25) in order to back out of a contract. While it would certainly be considered unprofessional, there really isn’t any financial incentive for the DJ if he’s only forced to refund a small fee for backing out on you.
What's included in the price i pay?
We don’t charge for setup and teardown time. There may be a nominal cost included in your quote if the Venue is located outside our radius by more than 60min.
We offer a variety of music and lighting packages. Once you’ve selected the options that will best fit your needs, we will provide a quote that wont change unless you decide on-site to extend the duration of the services. We are flexible in extending mixing times (which happens…because we’re just that good:) for additional cost of $100per 1/2hr.
Our main goal is to make sure everyone has a good time; we’re more interested in that, not in nickel & diming our Clients. It’s always good to have options though, so be assured: we’re not going to shut down at the end of a set if our dancefloor is packed, without giving you the option to seamlessly extend the duration in 1/2 increments.
Do you handle the "Emcee" announcements for the event?
It’s a big part of what we do.
Any professional Wedding DJ should be comfortable with making announcements and serving as the MC for the Wedding; it is a standard part of the job. Some DJs however, are not comfortable with this and prefer to pass these duties on to someone else, such as a banquet coordinator, wedding planner or site manager, who may not have any experience handling this type of responsibility.
It is recommended to find out how much talking and additional commenting your DJ plans to incorporate throughout the event. We have seen many DJ’s who lean more toward being radio DJ’s who love to hear themselves talk or like to tell jokes and stories etc.
We feel this type of MC style only detracts from the overall quality of service that we’re there to provide and tends to be embarrassing for everyone. We prefer to let the music/mixing do the talking where possible and balance the talking only where appropriate in a friendly, comfortable way that conveys the needed information to keep things moving smoothly and seamlessly.
This can be a make-or-break factor for a Wedding and for your Guests, so it’s worth making sure you’re confident about this with your DJ.
Can we visit you at a performance prior to our event?
At first glance this might seem like a good idea for prospective Clients, however, the bigger issue here is that we value the privacy of our Clients This means that we don’t assume to invite other potential clients to our contracted Events, just as we will never invite someone else to your Wedding without your approval.
How involved can we be in selecting music for our event?
This is an important question to ask, because so much of your Wedding will be influenced by the music that is played.
We’ve developed a simple method that easily allows our clients to outline the basic ‘feel’ that they want for their event; from there we can comprehensively build a setlist that’s tailored to each of our clients style and flavor. We encourage as much feedback as possible when it comes to music selection, but we are just as comfortable with minimal input if building song lists just isn’t your thing. We’re freaky good at being able to read our crowd and move the music in the direction we know will help ensure everyone has a great time.
Will you take requests from our guests?
The short answer is – it’s up to you.
We like to confirm that option with our clients in advance. In some cases, there may be good reason for your DJ not to take requests (possibly even just from specific guests). We are sensitive to the nature of each event and have high regard for our responsibility to ensure that every song is appropriate for the occasion. Ultimately your DJ is responsible for what is played through his speakers, so ideally your DJ will take that responsibility seriously.
We do love on-site requests where appropriate because those requests reflect the direct pulse of your guests. We also recommend that our clients poll some of their valued guests ahead of time, to help build your setlist in advance. Our online planning tool actually has a whole guest request section that is ultimately approved by our Client before we play it. By ensuring that we have those special requests, we’re helping to ensure that your guests feel special too. It’s a win/win.
Can we give you a 'Do Not Play' list?
Please do!
Sometimes these ‘Do Not Play’ lists tell us even more than the ‘Request’ lists. We appreciate any and all feedback in advance of your event and will be sure to honor your preferences regarding any songs you would rather pass on. We know certain songs may be requested ‘not played’ just as a matter of preference or in some cases for very specific reasons.
Don’t hesitate to communicate any song preferences to us…we’re listening.
When do you arrive to setup for the event?
Our standard practice is to arrive 1 1/2 – 2hrs early. Depending on the Venue layout, music (and lighting) packages selected, we may determine to arrive even earlier. We also like to confirm arrival time with the Venue to ensure they’re ready to receive us; that way everything goes smoothly right from from step one.
Do you set up a sign or banner with your equipment?
Nope, never have, never will.
Shameless self-promotion looks tacky and is unprofessional. Some DJ’s attach signs or banners to their setup or even to their equipment or computers which will end up in your pictures and videos and detract from what should be an elegant and professional atmosphere. We feel strongly about contributing to the beauty and elegance of your venue.
Our performance and referrals are enough advertisement for us. We’ve DJ’d in the Central Valley for over 20 years without any of that stuff stuck to our gear. We trust that our clients and guests know how to find us. We discreetly do offer business cards if requested and also utilize a super easy QR code that is easily scanned with any smartphone so that interested guests can save our contact info without having to plaster our phone number with a cheesy logo all over your Wedding.