You may be recently engaged or have been planning your wedding for quite some time now. This can be an overwhelming and daunting task. With so many businesses in the marketplace providing goods and services for your wedding day, how do choose the correct one? For some, the price is ultimately the deciding factor. The lower the better. For most, finding the right company with plenty of highly rated experience in the field is most important. Regardless of where you are in the planning process, finding the perfect wedding DJ that will bring you day to life should be number one on your list of priorities. To help you, I have outlined some of the qualities to look for when shopping around for a qualified DJ service.
So how much can a couple in North Carolina expect to spend for a DJ service to provide music for their wedding? The average cost of a wedding DJ in the state of North Carolina can vary greatly depending on many key areas. For example, you have your budget DJ, or “Craigslist” DJ that will often present themselves as the best option for your day. They will come in very low with an attractive pricing figure, which can be very appealing at a first glance. However, most often these DJ’s lack in experience and the quality of their overall presentation. They will not treat your event as it should and will often show up with subpar equipment and work ethic. These “Craigslist” DJ’s are relatively cheap, as they have undercut most of the professional DJ services to supply you with a price that seems “too good to be true.” These “hobbyist” DJ’s are often in it for the quick cash and have not invested the time in themselves nor their abilities to pull off everything that your big day will entail, the way you have envisioned it. Many of them simply do not care and should be avoided at all cost!
Your typical Craigslist DJ Setup
I’m here to help you distinguish the value of hiring a true professional DJ company versus the cheapest option out there. Remember, on the one day of your life, where everything counts, cheaper is not always better.
So, what does the average professional DJ service for a wedding cost in the state of North Carolina? According to Wedding Wire, the average amount spent on a DJ for a wedding ranges from $750 to $1400. There could be some determining factors that make up the price difference among vendors. Some vendors may limit the number of hours spent at your wedding and can therefore charge a much lower rate based on the number of hours they will be present at your event. Other companies such as multi-ops that have many DJ’s working for them can charge a lower price because their business model is set around the concept of booking in quantity, or multiple weddings on the same day.
The average cost of a wedding DJ in North Carolina is around $1099. There are a few key factors that go into this type of pricing.
Time invested in your event: A good DJ will spend a great deal of time assisting you with the planning process. Most often, when not working with a coordinator, a DJ will assist in the structure of your day from start of the ceremony to the end of the reception. A good DJ will also be able to understand your musical tastes and be able to help you develop playlists that will work for every portion of the evening. They will draft up a timeline for your day and spend countless hours organizing and retrieving music for your playlists.
Type of gear being used at your wedding: At Steel Impressions, we believe in using current top of the line equipment. Our sound systems are some of the best that money can buy, and our lighting is never some cheap knock off system. We invest in brands that have made a name for themselves in the industry and have a proven reputation of success. That gear comes with a pretty high price tag. It is not uncommon for a DJ company, such as ourselves, to show up at a wedding with easily $10,000 worth of equipment. You must have the right tools to get the job done!
Presentation: Our business was built on the concept of always presenting ourselves with the highest visual and audible standards possible. Having a great setup that not only looks amazing, but functions perfectly, is of the utmost importance to us. Think about this for a moment. You spend thousands of dollars on a gorgeous wedding venue, a beautiful cake, amazing linens, etc………and your DJ shows up with gear that looked like it fell off the back of a truck. It doesn’t matter what you do to your room, if your DJ looks like he doesn’t care, the whole room will suffer.
Personality: Your DJ should have a great, outgoing personality. They should be able to speak clearly on the microphone and be able to handle all the events of your wedding with ease. Your DJ should be engaging to your guests without being over the top and cheesy. Afterall, the wedding should never be about the DJ. It is always about the couple. The DJ should be there to enhance and assist in making the wedding day all about the couple they are working for.
Musical ability: Does your DJ truly understand different genres of music and what is appropriate for different points throughout the night? Can your DJ mix and beat match properly? Beat matching is when you have one song playing at one tempo or speed and the next song comes in matched at the same tempo without missing a beat. The dancing will never stop. This is great for keeping the dance floor going. Having the ability to beat mix is crucial for keeping your dance floor alive and your more professional DJ’s have invested countless hours in practicing this skill only to make your event that much better.
Insurance: Every DJ should carry insurance. This is an ongoing expense for A DJ company. The cost of insurance is an investment that every professional DJ service should have, and is often a monthly expense.
Enhancements: Aside from simply playing music, professional companies will also offer many ways to enhance the look and feel of your wedding. This can be done with certain types of lighting options such as cake lighting, dance lighting, up lighting and so on. Many companies even offer monogram projections for the wall or dance floor. Sometimes these enhancements are rolled into different packages that are offered, or sometimes you can request certain enhancements in an ala carte fashion.
In summary, it is very important to not always rely on the cheapest service out there. There are too many uncertainties that could take place when working with the budget DJ. Spend a little more and hire a professional DJ service that has made a name for themselves based on there track record of terrific customer service and love for what they do. If you do this, you can be assured that your wedding will be handled with the perfection, personal touch, and attention it deserves.