Red Flags to Watch When Booking a Wedding DJ
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This article is part of a series about wedding DJs and all the behind the scenes!
View more articles about your Chicago DJ’s behind the scenes:
You can tell pretty easily if a DJ is worth reaching out to. DJ should make your life easier, not harder. Are they professional or amateurs.
1. No clear client process listed on their website
The first thing you should look for on a wedding DJ website is their client process. Do they have a list of steps that tell you exactly what it looks like to work with them? This should be easy to find and should clearly explain what to expect from the initial consultation all the way up to the day of the event.
Can’t find a process on their website? That’s a clear sign that the wedding DJ in question is either not a professional, not experienced enough or simply not very organized.
Either way, it’s not worth the risk. Cross them off your list and move on.
2. Suspiciously low rates
When you find a wedding DJ charging unusually low prices, there’s usually a reason for it. They may not have the required experience. They may be a club DJ dipping their toes into weddings for the first time. They may not have professional-grade tech and sound equipment to actually get the job done right.
If a wedding DJ is charging under $1000 in Chicago or another major metropolitan city, you should be aware that the service will likely have some glaring holes.
3. Don’t ask you a lot of questions about your wedding
Wedding DJs do more than play music. They play host while you run around doing Important Newlywed Things through the night. Now, that’s a pretty important role!
During your initial consultation call, make sure to notice how much they ask you about you, your guests and your overall vision of your special day. If they seem more interested in talking about themselves on that first call, that’s a fairly clear sign that they’re more interested in making a sale than collaborating with you.
The quality of questions your wedding DJ asks you matters a lot too. An experienced professional will ask lots of detailed questions that go beyond music and vibe, such as venue, event schedule, budget and give you things to think about.
Check out our blog that goes into detail about the questions a DJ should be asking →
4. Poor or inconsistent communication
If your wedding DJ is not being responsive to you — that includes not replying to your emails in a timely manner — you should take them off your shortlist immediately. A professional wedding DJ knows that planning a wedding is exhausting. Part of their job is to take things off your plate, deliver on time and make themselves available to you by email or phone.
It doesn’t matter if they’re the best wedding DJ in Chicago. If they’re inconsistent or difficult to work with, they’re showing you that they’re not reliable. Take the hint and move on.
5. They don’t have wedding experience
It takes a whole different set of skills to run the show at a wedding than it does to keep a party bumpin’ at 2am at the club. Many DJs have general party experience, but that doesn’t mean they can handle the intricacies of a wedding reception.
When you’re interviewing wedding DJs, make sure you ask them about whether they’ve hosted or emcee’d weddings before, how they tend to work with planners, and to explain their client process on the call. If they can’t do that with confidence, you should take note and consider that a red flag.
6. Upselling “add-ons” that should already be included
A wedding DJ’s base rate should include all services and equipment to run the show smoothly from end to end.
Every wedding DJ company has its own set of packages, pricing and add-ons, which can make it confusing to figure out what you actually need and to nail down the final cost.
If they keep telling you to buy “add-ons” for things that should be included with your service — including MC services, uplights and setup + breakdown time — that’s a red flag! You shouldn’t feel like you’re getting nickel-and-dimed.
View all of our add-ons on our wedding page →
7. They’re talking more than listening to you
On your initial consultation call, make sure you pay attention to how much they listen to you vs. talking about themselves. While they should definitely take some time to introduce themselves, their experience and approach to working clients, their focus should ultimately be on you!
If they don’t seem like a good listener, they probably won’t be a very helpful or attentive vendor throughout the rest of the process either.
8. They’re weirdly low-key judgy
Your wedding DJ should never make you feel embarrassed about your taste in music! Some couples love Bruno Mars. Some couples specifically request to ban Bruno Mars from their wedding reception entirely. In fact, I’ve had couples ask me to put popular music from artists like The Beatles to Taylor Swift on their do-not-play lists.
If they think those artists are overplayed or cringe, that’s fine! It’s your wedding. If your wedding DJ makes you feel weird about it or worse, judges you for it, then you should say “thank u next.”
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