The DJ. How You Go About Booking The Right One.
So things are moving along nicely with the planning of your big day, you have your venue and your photographer and now it is time to handle the next service provider. The DJ. The job of whom is a lot more challenging than we may think. The DJ will be the guy or girl responsible for your song as you walk down the isle, take the floor for the first time and last but definitely not least ensuring that your guests party goes all the way into the night as you celebrate your first few hours as Mr and Mrs.
For this we decided to sit down and chat to Rudi Prigge from Heartbeats Weddings DJ's, one of our favourite DJ teams and providers and an overall pleasure to work with, to breakdown what you need to know when it comes to booking your wedding DJ.
First we asked Rudi to tell us a little more about Heartbeats and their philosophy when it comes to making their brides day as special as possible.
"The secret to our successful business is listening to what the client requires and going above and beyond to ensure every bridal couple have their dream wedding. Heartbeats DJs assists every couple to create the smoothest transition from ceremony, canopes and reception tracks to create a flow of selected tracks for each individual couples needs. We have edited many songs to accommodate the customized dances and had only success after success. Heartbeats DJs uses only the best professional sound and microphone brands ensuring no glitches or sound issues."
We then asked given both the technical and emotional nature of the service you provide on the day what questions should a couple ask when seeking out a DJ?
1) What are the packages going to cost and what do they entail? Transport, accommodation, additional set ups etc. These can all fall into hidden costs. Much like ones venue hire it is really important to make sure that all your costs and Ts & Cs are stipulated upfront.
2) Couples need to know Overtime policies stipulated for both for venue and the dj. The dj is always happy to play later, but most venues have cut off times so to save yourself the headache it will be better to prearrange this with the venue should you want to party on into the early hours of the morning.
3) Taking Eskom in to consideration and the persistent powers issues we often encounter you should always ask venues and DJs for Alternative Power Supplies. We are well equipped with battery powered PA's to make sure we can keep the party going even when Eskom decides to put a dampener on things.
4) Song Requests and how do they work? It is always helpful when the bridal couple give us a few of their likes and dislikes, as every couple is different, which is why we include this question on our wedding planner list which we send to the couple. When it comes to the day we are always willing to consider requests from your guests, and appreciate the feedback, however the requests do not always suite the dance floor at a specific time, we will however suggest either different song or try our best to fit it in at a different time. We will always try to go out of our way to make sure that everyone is having a blast.
5) Be sure to specify on equipment. If there is no specifications you can insist on this information. For example, we always use cordless microphones for the speeches and ceremony to make it easier for the speakers and guests walking around, this is specified in our quote, if there is no specification you may end up with a cord running through your reception or ceremony area and a potential tripping hazard. This is just one of the many examples you could encounter if a DJ is not consulted on their equipment.
So that brings another weeks blog to an end where we could hopefully help you in picking the right DJ for you day. For more information on Rudy and his incredible team please feel free to visit his Facebook page on the link below and ask him anything you need. He is one of the more friendly and insightful guys you will meet and is always happy to help.
https://www.facebook.com/heartbeatsweddingdj
