Great Sources For Wedding DJ Recommendations And What Each One Means To You

Venues

If you’ve already chosen the venue for your wedding, ask your coordinator for a few names of people they’ve worked with or recommend. All venue coordinators carry at least an informal list of preferred vendors and are happy to give them to you. The venue coordinator will remember someone who made things easy for them and knew how to run a schedule, this also tells you that the DJ is familiar with your venue and knows how to set it up for sound etc. Remember the DJ will also be your MC throughout the night, so knowing how effectively they can conduct a wedding is important. Asking a venue coordinator about the DJs music can be useful as well, but keep in mind that any good DJ will create a custom set for every client based on what they want, so depending on the coordinators taste this could be a bit misleading. Lastly don’t be afraid to ask other venues what their recommendations are even if you aren’t using them!

Vendors

Different vendors will have varying degrees of insider knowledge on DJs depending on the length of time they stay through the event. They also will potentially have a wider range of DJs who they’ve worked with before and thus a good feel on who does a nice job. Similar to venues, vendors also keep networks of people they prefer to work with.

Ask your photographer about DJs and they’ll likely recommend someone who kept them informed on all the important moments (i.e grande introductions, first dance, cake cutting etc..), so they didn’t have to rush to set up their shots. Photographers also interact with the bride and groom a ton on the day of the event, so if either had good or bad feelings about the DJ they’d likely know it.

Like the photographer, your caterer will care about organization- primarily how the DJ directs the meal line and release tables for buffets. Food has to be out when it’s hot and not before or after, so the DJ who can maneuver this will always go over well. The DJ also has to facilitate the cake cutting skillfully so it comes out in time for people to eat it and they are properly informed.

In general all vendors will have some input to give even if they don’t directly work the events. Being asked to recommend is very common, and no one wants to look foolish by recommending a poor choice so they’ll try to do what’s right by you.

Family and Friends

Sometimes the best resource can be simply asking your network of family and friends. If you’ve been to a wedding recently or know someone who just got married, ask them what their experiences were and who worked out well for them(or didn’t work out). Brides and grooms always love to talk about their wedding experience, and you can be sure they’ll never recommend anyone your way that they weren’t personally thrilled with.

Even friends and family who’ve simply been to other weddings should have something to say, and reaching out can be a nice way to catch up in the process. People feel strongly about DJs they’ve seen, so even if it’s just sending out a post over social media you might be happily surprised with the amount of response.

Whatever you do don’t stress out about finding the right DJ for you, There are a ton of great resources out there to help you make the right choice. By asking around within your personal and vendor networks you should at the very least be well informed in whatever decision you ultimately make, and in most cases you’ll find an awesome DJ who’s just right for you.