So last fall I did my first wedding ever, I wasn’t super stoked on it and it was for a family friends in a small town, I felt very unprepared and since they’re family friends I never set a price cause I didn’t know what to charge. They ended up paying me $500 which was a shock and they told me that was pretty much the cheapest competition they found. I couldn’t believe it, based on what I’ve seen from wedding djs I wouldn’t pay anymore then $200 dollars, at least where I’m from (side note my cousin also paid around $1500 for her wedding dj).
Anyways the point is I realized I can do a much better job then the guys I’ve seen here. I was outraged when I heard how much my cousin paid because the guy was not djing. So I’ve decided to jump into that scene and actually do a damn good job and blow away the competition.
So getting more into this I feel like there is a lot of new ground to cover. Transportation costs, lighting, speaker setup. For those of you who do weddings is there standard lighting and speakers that you always use. Do you rent? Is it smarter to buy lights? I’ll have more questions but for now I’m in class and also need to focus haha.
Wedding DJs charge that much not because of mixing skills. There is travel expenses, equipment, insurance(vehicle, equipment, liability), advertising, phone, set up and take down, appropriate clothing (suit or tux) etc.
Alot also have a website where you pick the music you want for your wedding from a list and that is what they will play as well as requests for Cupid Shuffle and Electric slide etc. And some weddings may want country music. Essentially you are the bride an grooms and guests jukebox.
The other part of it is the MCing the event. Announcing the couples entrance, giving the mic to a best man for his toast, announcing the cake cutting etc.
All the above is why they charge what they do.
Now to your original question. Some charge for different set ups. They will have 2-3 levels of equipment they will bring and set up, and prices that reflect how much equipment they will set up. The more lights and speakers, the more they charge.
You could start off renting untill you make enough to purchase your own which should be your goal. That way you are making the money from the equipment instead of some one else.
Insurance. I have also heard of some that have a contract that says the person hiring you is responsible if a guest damages any equipment. Not sure how all that works, but cover your bases so in the event the worst happens, you will not lose out.
I say they etc., because I am not a wedding DJ. Like you I have done a couple of small weddings for friends. I have shopped for and hired some as I have been married 3 times lol. I also run 2 small businesses and know a little about that aspect of it.
I forgot to add in my first post business licenses & accounting. To be profitable, you need to cover everything you have to pay for in your fees.
There was a thread on this a while back, google search DJTT forums for it.
Ya I thought in terms of having a few different price points depending on what your looking for. I also figured that filling requests wouldn’t be too bad since I could just have wireless connection through my phone and download request through iTunes. This will also require a lot more music as well. Van gogh do you personally do weddings?
I always thought about venturing into that market sine on average can charge 800 and after a few gigs would pay for all your equipment. I always thought buying your own lighting and sound would be best since after 4 gigs would likely cover initial costs.
I would assume could talk to an insurance brokers and insure your whole setup and based on some weddings I’ve been to wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Side note I found more expensive wedding djs offer pa system for ceremonies ad such so might consider some wireless mics and likely be good to have a way to record as if they are having video they may like having a direct feed recorded for the crew doing it.
Alot have several external drives containing each genre the previous poster nailed it the head you are a jukebox so have lots of everything and like said make sure to get an ideas from couple on what kind of music is expected from you
Well I for one always considered it prior to having kids now I don’t know if I could work into my schedule but always peaked my interest. Plus would be cool to do it to cover cost of equipment and then could do some killer outdoor party’s
When I first started djing I gagged at the idea of ever doing a wedding. But looking into Lon term it’s growing on me. After all I do like playing oldies I definitely couldn’t play in a club. There’s very easy money in it, but as I was telling my gf being rich to me isn’t about money. Rich to me is being in control of your time and being able to choose to work or not. If I can do a few weddings and comfortably pay bills and put food on the table and have more free time then money then I’ll be a happy man.
i dj, my friends dj, my cousin dj’s also with me but i didn’t ask them to do my wedding. the dj i hired is about $2,800-$3,000. weddings should be elegant and formal. i don’t like do dj weddings because i don’t want to cheapen the look of a nice wedding. unless the bride and groom are ok with it.
MCing is probably the hardest part when it comes to dj’ing a wedding. usually i see one guy dj’ing and the other one MCing. find a buddy that has charisma and a good voice
I completely agree. The MC could make or break a perfectly good wedding. Hypothetically speaking, I for one wouldn’t volunteer as an MC unless its a super tight budget and the bride and groom understands that I may sound somewhat boring over the mic. MCing would be my biggest obstacle if I ever play at weddings or other party events. as much as i love playing music I am not charismatic enough to pump up the crowd naturally.
This topic is pretty awesome. Its getting me more pump up as beginner DJ.
I hate doing weddings, and would not do one for under 500. It’s easy money but you dont know what the hell your gonna get. As stated before, you will get A LOT of varying requests, many that dont make since. More times than not, people wanna hear the same ol cupid shuffle crap.
I do my best to make it fun, by asking before hand what the bride and groom want to hear. I make them send me a list of songs that I will incorporate into my set. It’s a part of the deal. Then I mix that up as I see fit, trying to make the best of their playlist.
That said, even if your killing it, sometimes weddings are just full of dull people and it seems no one would care if you are there or not, and NO one dances sometimes.
However I have played at least 2 weddings that were A LOT of fun and everyone danced. I had my friend DJ Sober spin at my wedding at it was great.
Lastly, I’ve always thought it to just be good practice with shit crowds. If you can rock a wedding without a hitch, you can play for any crowd.
Please understand that what I’m about to say isn’t criticizing you or your desire to get into this market. You should want to, as there is good money to be made, and people should always do what they like. That being said…
The fact that you feel you can do better with virtually no experience right off the bat, and admitting the one time you did it, you felt unprepared, speaks volumes of how much you really do not know about the trade you are looking to get into. The big thing is that you are going to be the entertainment for what is one of the BIGGEST events in a persons entire life. You can either make it pop off, be loved, and get references out the wazoo… OR, you can ruin the most important day in the life of a woman (only second to giving birth), be hated, and possibly sued depending on how bad you screw up.
This isn’t a bad thing though. Learn. The “skills” that DJ’s on this forum consider important to be a good DJ are literally the least important “skills” that a wedding DJ’s have. As for the most important things for a wedding DJ, one is programming. The most important thing at the wedding is making the guests happy. Contrary to what people think, the reception (DJ part) is about the guests first, and not the bride and groom. It is, but what makes them happy (regardless of what they tell you) is a bumpin party where their guests are happy and having fun. Sure, you have to cater to the newlyweds somewhat, but there is a lot of other people. That’s why programming comes in. How do you smoothly go from something like the Chubby Checkers to Tito Peunte to a commercial house song within 30 minutes? Seems ludicrous, but that’s the musical range and time that weddings allow.
As for the super high prices that they charge, there’s reasons for it. You should (if you want to do it on a respectable level) have a backup of EVERYTHING. That means extra speakers, laptop, hard drive, etc… Then there’s the time invested. You need to be prepared to meet with the couple 2-3 before the day even happens. Initial interview to sell yourself, and another few times to go over everything. Another part leads into what you were asking about renting or buying. If your serious, you need to buy. Also, it depends on what your looking to do. If you want to do low end weddings, and offer a cheap cheesy setup, the overhead isn’t too bad. If you want to do mid-level to high-end set ups, the overhead can run well above 10 thousand dollars.