12 questions to ask your Wedding DJ before booking

Prior to making a decision and signing a contract, go over these questions with every DJ Company that you talk to.

So you decided to tie the knot and now you are going through the entire process of picking out what vendors you want on your wedding day. This can be a task that is easier said than done because you've probably never done this before.

So we came up with a list of some questions that you can ask the Wedding DJ's that you'll be talking to, so that you can filter out the bad ones.

#1 Do you have my wedding date available?

Many of the DJ's that you'll inquire with might be a single-op, which means they can only take one event per date. So you'll want to find out right away if that particular DJ even has your date open.

#2 How long has the DJ been doing weddings?

Just because someone has been a Wedding DJ for 3 decades that doesn't mean they'll be the perfect match for your special night. However, it's always good to know how much experience someone has dealing with venues, different vendors and specific timelines because not all DJ's are created equal.

Being a Wedding DJ requires a unique skill set that is unique from being a Club DJ or Radio DJ. You'll want to make sure that the person you pick knows how to execute your vision for your wedding.

#3 Do you perform more than one wedding/event per day?

This one gets overlooked but it's really important to make sure that your Wedding DJ makes you the priority on the date you hired them.

There are some DJ's who might do a ceremony for one wedding then do a reception for a different wedding. So it'd be good to know if they do this in advance because this could make it difficult to make any kind of last minute changes to your timeline.

Also, I've heard of horror stories about DJ's that will purposely try to kill the vibe in the room early at the reception because they had a DJ set scheduled at a nearby club for 11 PM or midnight.

#4 Are you a single-op or multi-op?

You'll want to know if this is a one-person business or if they have multiple DJ's in their company. A multi-op might be more capable of assigning a particular DJ to your wedding that is a better fit based on your vision and requests. A single-op might give you a better opportunity to get to know your DJ throughout the entire process.

There's nothing wrong with either option because everybody seems to have their own preference. But one of the biggest downfalls of a single-op is if that particular DJ was sick or in the hospital, who would fill in for them?

#5 Have you performed at my venue?

Even though this question isn't very important, because DJ's perform at new venues all the time, it's still good to know if someone has an established relationship with the venue and your other vendors. You'll notice that if your DJ is acquainted with your venue owner or manager, then you'll have far less headaches.

#6 What do you former clients say about your DJ Service?

Sure, you can easily find their reviews on Google and Facebook but I think this question is a good one because it lets that DJ summarize the feedback they've received into one general statement. Then once you do your research, you should compare what the DJ said to what their actual reviews are saying.

#7 What is your personal musical taste like?

This is another question that isn't as important as some of the others on here but I think it's still good to know that your DJ shares some commonalities with the type of music that you like and listen to.

You'll find that most DJ's will have a pretty broad spectrum of the kind of music that they listen to. However, this one question might open up the floodgates for you to have a better understanding about their playing style at weddings, too.

#8 What other services does this include?

There are some DJ's out there that have Dance Floor Lighting, Photo Booths, Room Uplighting, Special FX and other stuff that go far beyond the music and dancing. You'll want to make sure you ask this because you might be able to find a lot of great services that are

already included by another vendor.

#9 Are you insured?

Not every venue in Nebraska requires insurance but it's good to know which ones carry liability insurance and which ones don't.

This is not only important for your event but what if something happened at an event just before yours where a mixer got a drink poured on it or a guest knocked over a speaker? You'll want to make sure that they have a plan in place to get the equipment repaired quickly, and asking about their insurance will serve as an umbrella question to know about other areas of their business.

If they protect their business then they'll protect your wedding.

#9 Do they bring backup equipment?

What happens if lightning strikes during the wedding reception and when the power comes back their mixer won't power back on? Do they have a backup in the vehicle? If not, what kind of actions will they take to make sure there are minimal interruptions caused by equipment failure?

Pay attention to the way that they answer this question because it provides you with valuable insight into how they operate as a DJ because hiccups happen frequently and the true professional will know how to troubleshoot on the spot so that nobody notices.

#10 How will you help me with the wedding planning?

Since this is your first time planning this kind of celebration, you may need some extra help from your Wedding DJ and not all of them are capable of providing you with this kind of support because they may just be doing this job on the side. Others might go into extraordinary amounts of details which would eliminate the cost of having to hire a wedding coordinator.

#11 What makes you unique?

This is probably one of the most important questions to ask because there are a lot of great DJ's out there and you want to know what makes them stand out from the crowd. Whether its technical capabilities, personality, etc.

#12 What does all of this cost?

Naturally, you want the perfect DJ to fit within your budget but you'll have to make sure that your budget is realistic. Some couples are only willing to spend $500 for a Wedding DJ and spend a lot more on other things, such as decorations or other services.

Try to think about how important the DJ is to your wedding and make sure that your expectations for the quality of service that you expect to receive are consistent with your budget.

Derrick Heydon is the owner of Crown DJ's LLC. Please follow @crowndjco on Instagram. And we'd love to be a part of your special night, check us out at crowndjs.com.