Somewhat new to Wedding DJing — What are the 101 steps I need to go from zero to book

Hey DJs – I’m about to officially start my journey as a DJ/wedding DJ, and I want to make sure I’m not missing anything major before I launch. I’ve done a lot of research and I’ll soon be purchasing a DJ controller and JBL speaker/subwoofer setup.

Speakers: JBL EON715 15-inch Powered Speaker and EON718S 18-inch Powered Subwoofer PA Bundle

DJ Controller: Hercules DJ DJControl Inpulse T7 2-deck Motorized DJ Controller - Black

These are what I’m familiar with.

A little about me:

I come from a musical background — I used to be the drummer in my dad’s band growing up and helped my brother become a DJ years ago (he’s since quit and sold all his gear). While I didn’t focus on the mixing side back then, I was the main MC and speaker, handled client meetings with couples, and took care of the flow of the night. My brother wasn’t comfortable speaking, with the culture, the language or engaging with the crowd, so I took the mic and made it work.

We’re no longer on speaking terms, so I’m going into this solo, building my own path. I had to step away from music for a few years due to my career as a firefighter, but now that I’ve got 10 years on the job, I’m ready to fill that creative void again. I’ve been MCing community events and open houses, so I’m very comfortable on the mic — just not yet behind the decks.

🎧 What I Need to Learn:

I’m looking for real-world advice from DJs who’ve done weddings — from gear choices to contracts to what you wish someone told you at the start. Here’s my current list of questions — feel free to add anything you think I’m overlooking:

🎛️ DJ Gear & Music

• Do I need backup gear (second controller or speaker)?

• What mic setup is ideal for ceremonies and toasts? Wireless handheld? Lavalier?

• Do I need a separate mixer for mics or is my controller enough?

• What music pools do you recommend? (I’m looking into BPM Supreme)

• What’s your workflow for legally downloading and prepping music?

• Do you bring a hotspot or backup plan for venues without Wi-Fi (esp. outdoor weddings)?

• How do you organize your music crates for weddings (ceremony, dinner, dancing, etc.)?

💼 Business & Legal

• How should I structure the business for taxes? (LLC? Sole prop?)

• Do I need liability insurance? If so, who do you recommend?

• Do you use a contract or booking form? Any templates you’d share?

• How do you structure payments — deposits, due dates, refund policies?

• What’s the best way to track expenses and income? (QuickBooks, spreadsheets, etc.)

⚙️ Logistics & Setup

• What kind of cart or case setup makes your load-in easier?

• What do I need for backup power or outdoor setups?

• How do you mic up officiants for the ceremony without dealing with feedback or dropouts?

👥 Client Experience

• What questions should I ask during the couple consultation?

• Do you send a music planning form or let them build playlists?

• How far in advance do you prep for weddings?

• How do you handle last-minute song requests or drunk guest requests mid-set?

💸 Expenses I Might Be Missing

• What were some early costs you didn’t think about?

• What non-DJ items made a big difference? (Booth façade, signage, foam lights, uplights, etc.)

• What do you bring to stand out and elevate the experience?

I’m genuinely excited to start strong, learn the ropes, and build something great. If you’ve been in this game for a while, I’d love to hear your honest advice, war stories, and “don’t skip this” wisdom.

Thanks in advance!

Hey there. Done quite a few weddings, birthdays and company gigs.

• Do I need backup gear (second controller or speaker)?
You can never go wrong by having a back up (spilled drins, broken cables, faulty software etc. we've seen it all)

• What mic setup is ideal for ceremonies and toasts? Wireless handheld? Lavalier?
Get a decent set of wireless mics (there often will be more than 1 or 2 speakers, so Lavalier is impracticable

• Do I need a separate mixer for mics or is my controller enough?
You don't necessarily need a separate mixer, but i would recommend it, as the Hercules doesn't have any EQ's for mic use. But this also really depends on what else is going on that night. Is there a band playing etc. 9 out of 10 times, i played a wedding i only needed to bring my controller and some spare cables, because the venue had a PA/sound guy/mixer/booth ready.

• What’s your workflow for legally downloading and prepping music?
I dig for music. If there's something that catches my ears, i buy it from whatever online music database has it. Download it, sort it, analyze it in Traktor and that's about it.

• Do you bring a hotspot or backup plan for venues without Wi-Fi (esp. outdoor weddings)?
No. I don't use any type of online streaming for djing. Just my phone for personal use.

• How do you organize your music crates for weddings (ceremony, dinner, dancing, etc.)?
This is a question of personal preferences. Some may only sort their music in playlists in a software. Otheres (me for example) already presort their music in actual folders on their Laptop/pc/hard drvie.

• What questions should I ask during the couple consultation?
Ask them what their time table will be. What they wan't to listen to during dinner, ceremony, party etc.

• Do you send a music planning form or let them build playlists?
I always ask them to send me a playlist (Spotify works best for me) of 30 songs max. that they definetly want to hear at the party. Nothing worse than a drunken and angry bride/groom not getting their favorite song.

• How far in advance do you prep for weddings?
Depends on what i need to bring or what not to. Most of the times, where i only need to show up with a laptop (Most of the times i get in touch with the venue and tell them what i need for the dj booth (CDJs, Mixer, Monitor) i check the playlist the send me a couple of days ahead.

• How do you handle last-minute song requests or drunk guest requests mid-set?
"I already played that."

• What do you bring to stand out and elevate the experience?
Years of experience, stellar mixing and crowd reading skills

But in the end, if i was you I would focus on learning to dj at first. Ap to a point where you feel comfortable mixing songs on the fly and don't have to rely on premade playlists. Maybe even land a few smaller gigs at first at your local bars. Maybe don't shove all your money into but firstly try to get a hang of mixing.