Wedding Advice

Most days of the week I receive at least one email enquiry that reads something like the following;

Hi, I am looking for a quote for DJ services for our wedding. Look forward to hearing from you.

Hi, Just after a rough price for a wedding DJ for ‘specified month’- reception goes for 5 hours. Thanks.

Hi there, was wondering if you could send me your wedding packages.

Or

Hello, I was hoping to obtain a quote for a MC/DJ for a wedding on ‘specific date’.

It would appear, that the main criteria for these couple’s in making their wedding entertainment decision is price – no real issue with this as I fully appreciate individual circumstances may restrict the satisfaction of wants and desires. However I am a loss to understand why there is a general reluctance to wanting to speak with wedding entertainment providers. It is my belief that the best way of assessing the suitability of any wedding provider is to meet with them. Should this not be possible, an in-depth telephone conversation is recommended. Ideally, you would have both – an initial telephone conversation, followed up with a face to face meeting.

With limited information and not having at least spoken to the bride and/or groom, it is extremely difficult to provide a quotation let alone ascertain that I am able to meet the couple’s basic requirements and how this fits in with their wedding day vision. Accordingly, a polite response is sent requesting a contact telephone number and an appropriate time to call or giving them the option of calling me direct. In this way I am able to have a nice chat with them and determine exactly what is desired. Once I have established that I am able to meet (or exceed) all their needs and wants, I happily provide a quotation. Yet I am certain that these couples will receive quotations from other DJs without these DJs having any specific information about the wedding or understanding what their vision for the wedding is.

Of course, in many instances following my reply, I never hear back from the couple, having been discounted from further consideration because I have not provided a price and requesting the opportunity to speak with them to ascertain if I am the best match for their vision of the wedding. I have no issue with this whatsoever, but sometimes I wonder whether they got exactly what they actually needed and/or really wanted for their wedding.

It is unfortunate that the majority of replies received by these couples with a price will be from DJs that provide a very basic ‘cookie cutter’ type service. They simply turn up and push play, have had/will have very little communication with the couple, have not taken the time to find out exactly what is desired, nor are they prepared to put in the effort that is required to ensure their vision becomes a reality. Simply, price on its own will not convey if needs and wants can be met, nor will it provide details of inclusions. Of course no price (high, low or average) is a good price if the quality service needed is not received.

This leads to the question; Do they care enough about your wedding to put in the effort required to fulfill your vision?

It is a sad reality, that there are DJs in the profession simply because it is an easy way to make some quick money. Many see it as good money for little effort or the wedding as ‘just another gig’ and it is treated accordingly. Others truly appreciate and acknowledge the significance of the occasion, have a great passion for weddings, absolutely love what they do and will dedicate all the time and effort necessary to ensure that the wedding is nothing short of perfect.

So how can a couple discern between the two types of wedding DJs?, Well the initial thing to look for is their interest. When you first speak with DJs, pay close attention to the first few subjects that are raised. If money is one of them, it is possible that you may be speaking to a DJ that doesn’t really care about you or your wedding and may just want to know what you can afford. If a DJ claims to be one of the cheapest, or offers to match/better any other quote you receive, you’re almost certainly dealing with a DJ that is not concerned with anything but securing the booking. These DJs will need to cut corners and the resultant quality and service delivery will be negatively impacted.

What you want is for the DJ to ask about you and your wedding. Maybe he/she will offer congratulations on your engagement. They will certainly ask things like where you are getting married, how long you’ve known each other, how your envisioning your wedding and maybe how you and your fiancé met. If this happens, it may be time to finally let that smile emerge, because you may have just found yourself the right DJ!

The right DJ will also ask about your musical tastes, which is very important to know if they are going to perform successfully, yes? They may also offer some suggestions to assist in avoiding pitfalls as you go about organising your special day. Any experienced DJ that really is passionate about weddings will have more than a few bits of advice and tips to dispense to eager knowledge-seeking brides and grooms. And what’s more, good DJs really like to share this knowledge without any guarantee that you’ll hire them. This is a good thing; it shows that they genuinely care about you having the best wedding possible.

Now how would anybody be able to gauge any of these things if no conversation took place. Conversation will give you an initial feeling as to whether the DJ cares enough about your wedding to dedicate all the time and effort necessary to ensure that the wedding is nothing short of perfect. Follow this up with a face to face meeting to re-confirm your feelings and then decide. Entertainment is responsible for a large percentage of the overall success of a wedding day; those that do not wish to speak with or can’t be bothered speaking with their wedding entertainment are often left disappointed and usually end up with someone who also…can’t be bothered.

Recent economic conditions has caused wedding budgets to be tightened like never before and as a result, some couples seem to think that wedding professionals should also reduce their prices accordingly. After all, any money saved is money that remains in your pocket, yes? Many couples therefore believe that wedding professionals should accept a booking at a lower rate rather than them losing that business altogether. Well this thinking is not quite right – just think about how you would feel if your employer came up and said, “Sorry, but things are a little tight at the moment, so I will need to reduce your pay by 25% for the next few weeks, but you will still have to come in and do the same amount of work.”

What couples need to appreciate is that wedding professionals are in a service industry. Negotiating the price when buying a new car, for example, is an entirely different scenario. In this instance, you are simply asking the car dealer to lower their profit margin. They pay a certain amount for the vehicle, factor in any overheads and sell it for a higher price. The higher the price, the more money they make, and so the listed prices are typically inflated to leave room for negotiation. A wedding professional, however, is essentially selling themselves. They provide a service and base their pricing on the time, effort, and resources required to provide that service. By asking them to lower their price just because you are unable to afford it, you are in essence devaluing them, requesting them to provide a level of service and quality that is compromised. Most wedding professionals certainly do not appreciate this.

Another issue is that more often than not, couples have absolutely no idea the amount of work individual wedding professionals put into their wedding. All that is seen is the finished product. For example take a Floral Designer, couples don’t see the hours spent searching for component products to use, or the time spent designing, planning and calculating their customised wedding. They have no idea that it takes at least three-four hours, or more, just to unpack their flowers, cut them, and prepare them for working with them. They can’t comprehend the number of actual hours it requires to make all of those boutonnières, corsages, bouquets, centrepieces or displays, and to add detail to them. Add all of those glass, cylinder vases and candle holders that have to be washed, boxed, loaded, unloaded, and unpacked on-site. All that is seen is the beautiful bouquet or wonderfully decorated room.

You really need to think of negotiation as a compromise: this is where both parties agree to give something up in order to get something in return. For example, should a certain photographer be out of your budget, you could ask for a reduced rate in exchange for less hours of coverage at the wedding, or fewer included photographic prints, or a smaller album. This way, you pay less and the photographer spends less time and/or resources on your event, and the quality of the service does not need to be compromised. Everybody wins – this is a partnership, and both the wedding professional and client need to feel that they are winners! This is important to keep in mind when negotiating with a wedding professional.

Unfortunately most couples when searching for a DJ/MC to provide the entertainment at their wedding, don’t know anything about what they should look for when hiring one! From experience, in nearly every case, the very first thing they ask when the DJ picks up the phone is, “How much do you charge?”. Most have not even considered that the concept of price is only one of three factors that dictates the economic standards of competitive enterprise. These three components are PRICE, QUALITY and SERVICE.

Many couples want a cheap price, but the highest quality and best service for their wedding celebration. More often than not, for a cheap price the couple ends up with a cheap celebration and cheap quality which relates directly to the minimal fee paid for their chosen DJ. It is important to understand that when one of these three components is compromised, it inadvertently impacts one or both of the other two components in a negative way. Higher prices are almost always associated with quality – in the case of a DJ Entertainer this translates to extremely professional, polished performances, strong customer service efforts and great attention to detail. A DJ service that charges a higher fee for their talent and skills, usually has earned this right due to great public and industry respect gained over a long period, by continuously meeting and exceeding customer expectations.

Not surprisingly, most professional, reputable DJs will charge a higher fee for their services than a hobby or part-time DJ who is only looking to make a few extra dollars on the side. For the reasons explained above, you should fully question a DJ service that is low in cost…as most likely, quality and service will also be low. Accordingly, there is a very good chance you will be putting the success of your wedding celebration at risk in order to save a few dollars. Also, bear in mind all the time and money you have already invested in your wedding day and the impact the DJ/MC has on it’s success. If the venue was just average, the food was only ordinary, the speeches were far too long, but the entertainment was exceptional, your guests will still always remember your wedding as one of the best they have ever attended.