Photo: weddingwire.com
Photo: weddingwire.com

No doubt you’ve heard the complaint. It costs how much to hire a wedding DJ? Grooms and brides are already spending a pile of money on the food, the venue, the dress … they just can’t figure out why the DJ has to charge so much for something as unimportant as the music.

Uh huh. Well, I guess that’s the issue right there. The music is just as vital as the food, the venue and every part of that special day. We’ve all heard the stories of disastrous weddings where the couple decided on asking Uncle Harry or Cousin Joe’s friend of a friend to staff the decks.

Music and the DJ sets the tone for the whole evening. Those two factors work together to ensure that as many people stay at the party for as long as possible, that those people have an awesome time, and that the dance floor is occupied from the moment that dinner’s over until the end of the night.

A wedding DJ shouldn’t just show up at the time of the event and start spinning his tunes. The professional DJ is going to want to meet with the couple ahead of time to understand their needs. There are operational costs to consider as well. DJ companies have other DJs employed; there’s equipment to maintain or replace, and there are operational costs, like office space rental, and website and license fees.

So, when a couple expresses shock at how much you’ll charge them to DJ their wedding, itemize for them how professional your services are. Tell them how you select the music especially for them and create edits and remixes unique to their wedding. Don’t tell them about all the operational costs. That’s your business, and the cost of doing business. Just sell them on how vital your services are to the success of their special day.

Tell me your own stories of DJing weddings.