Weddings are beautiful, joyous occasions celebrating the union between two people. When planning a wedding, there is much to consider, from the venue to the menu. The decisions you make during the wedding planning process determine how successful your wedding will be. the venue, the food, the theme, and the music are things that can make a wedding a success. Music, in particular, is key because it forms a large part of the entertainment at your wedding. There are many event DJs, like Djs in Montana, with lots of experience performing at weddings. 

Hiring a DJ to handle music at your wedding takes the burden of figuring out the music off your shoulders, giving you the opportunity to focus on other things. In addition to playing music at your wedding, wedding DJs also serve as emcees, sound technicians, and event coordinators. That’s a lot of responsibility rolled into one job. What are some other benefits of hiring a wedding DJ, besides having someone else take care of the music at your wedding? Read on to discover seven benefits of hiring a wedding DJ.

7 Advantages of Hiring a Wedding DJ

Should you decide to hire a DJ for your wedding, here are seven advantages of doing so: 

1. They’re more affordable than a band: Live bands and DJs are the go-to options for people who want to leave the handling of the music at their wedding to someone else. If you want to hire someone to handle the music at your wedding and would prefer a budget friendly option, a DJ is the better choice. Hiring a DJ is cheaper than hiring a band because while a DJ is a single person, a band consists of several members, which means there are more people to pay.

2. They can work the crowd: With their mixing skills, and their emceeing abilities, DJs know how to work a crowd. They keep guests entertained with music, and know how to gauge the atmosphere and adapt to suit it. They’ll play up-tempo songs when the mood calls for it, and slow songs when necessary. 

DJs get the party started, and keep the party going. As emcee’s, they move things along so that there’s never a lull in the activities. With a good wedding DJ, guests will leave your wedding in high spirits, with the memory of it firmly lodged in their minds.

3. Access to a variety of music: Wedding DJs have a varied selection of songs in their arsenal to suit a change in the atmosphere of the wedding and in case of song requests. Their extensive music library ensures that they are prepared to satisfy the music tastes of the wedding guests. Having a vast collection of music does not just mean that they have a large selection of songs, but also that they have a large collection of songs in different music styles. 

4. Coming with the right sound equipment: A wedding DJ will typically provide the sound equipment for your wedding. He or she will typically provide speakers, mixers, microphones, and even lighting. Wedding DJs will have professional equipment to ensure that matter how large your venue is, the sound system can be heard by all the guests throughout the venue, and the number of guests in attendance, they’re also prepared with backup equipment in case of any malfunctions.

5. Dual-rolling as emcees as well: Informing guests of what’s going on, introducing speech givers, and making announcements are all part of a wedding DJ’s job. Wedding DJs save you the hassle of doing these things yourself, which would be less than ideal since you are the wedding party.

Another reason why having a wedding DJ emcee at your wedding is because they have the experience, and thus know how to go about the above mentioned duties. They move things along, gloss over hiccups, and buy time when needed, giving you a seamless wedding experience.

6. Song requests now become an option: You’ve given your wedding DJ a list of songs you’d like played during your wedding, in addition to what he or she has in his or her playlist—and it’s a varied playlist. While this is fine, sometimes guests might want to hear specific songs that haven’t yet been played, which takes them over to the DJ’s stand to request that these songs be played. The DJ will be open to accepting song requests and should have a large enough library of songs that most, if not all the songs requested are available for playing. Accepting song requests is one of the ways in which the DJ keeps the guests happy.

7. You have left the job for a professional: Perhaps most important of all is the fact that wedding DJs are professionals. They know their stuff and are able to provide you and your guests with quality entertainment. They are receptive to your suggestions and willing to go along with your ideas. They are professional, well-dressed, great emcees, and always ready with a backup plan.

What to Do and Consider When Hiring a Wedding DJ

1. Figure out your budget: Wedding DJs are generally more affordable than live bands, but this doesn’t mean they’re cheap. Figure out how much you’re willing to spend on a DJ, and work from there. The bigger your budget, the more experienced and popular the DJ is likely to be.

2. Discuss your music tastes: Your wedding day is about you. Let your prospective wedding DJ know of your taste in music. Do you prefer music that is trendy or old-fashioned? Do you prefer upbeat or slow music? If there’s a specific song or songs that you’d like your DJ to play, mention it, and if there’s a song or songs that you’d like your DJ to avoid playing, mention it as well. You should communicate with your DJ about these things so as to avoid unpleasant surprises or awkwardness on the day of your wedding.

3. Professionalism: Does your potential wedding DJ come across as unprofessional? Does he or she not take your wishes and suggestions into consideration and insist only on playing what he or she wants? Does he or she badmouth former clients? If yes to any of these, you might want to reconsider your choice of wedding DJ. Going with such a person as your wedding DJ would only lead to friction, and you need someone professional with whom you can work for the success of your wedding day.

4. Adaptability: When choosing a wedding DJ, you need to go for someone who’s flexible. A DJ who can adapt his or her style to fit your needs and the needs of your guests, and who can adapt when mishaps occur, finding a way around them. 

5. Expertise and experience: You need to ask your potential wedding DJ what kinds of events he or she typically does. Is he or she solely a wedding DJ, or does he or she mainly DJ at clubs? With DJs who specialize in weddings, they have the experience, so you’re likely to be confident that they can deliver. Hence, you might want to go for the guys with experience and expertise.

Club DJs might also have experience, but not in weddings, since that’s not their specialty. Additionally, their style of mixing will be different from a wedding DJ’s. Unlike weddings where guests are of varying ages, club attendees are of a specific age bracket. If you want something different from the traditional wedding experience, then you should consider hiring a club DJ.

Should You Hire a Wedding DJ?

If you’d like to avoid the hassle of trying to figure out your wedding playlist, then a wedding DJ is the right choice for you. If you’d like to have a hands-on role in deciding on your wedding playlist, then you might prefer to go the DIY route and make your own mix.