What is it that brides want from their DJ on their wedding day?
Let’s go back a bit… why do you have a wedding reception?
Well, it’s a party held after the completion of a marriage ceremony, usually as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the Bride and Bridegroom receive society, in the form of family and friends, for the first time as a married couple. They are the Hosts and provide their choice of food and drink as well as entertainment for their guests.
The DJ can be part of, or, the entertainment.
The DJ is going to be responsible for probably about 1/3rd if not more of your wedding day, so is an important choice.
Meet your DJ, it really is important. You can establish their knowledge of both music and weddings, their passion and professionalism toward your event and make sure they are the DJ for you. You need to have a good match. For example, a young DJ may have great musical knowledge of current music, but may really struggle to keep your parents or other, slightly older guests entertained. Equally, a DJ may have great knowledge of Heavy Metal and love to play it, but is that what you’re looking for?
I’d class myself as an all-rounder, I have very good musical knowledge back to the 50s, but equally, keep up to date with current chart and subscribe to daily downloads of current music. If I had to pick, my favourites come from Soul and Motown…
Some DJs are now also offering to be your Master of Ceremonies, not to be confused with the red-coated Toastmaster you may have seen at some weddings. A Master of Ceremonies is there to Direct, Inform and Guide your guests and preside over the ceremonies. More on that in a later post…
But as a minimum, they should be able to introduce you and your new husband for your 1st dance, but not like they are announcing the wrestlers for a WWF bout!
So what is entertainment? Entertainment is something that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight.
OK, so how does the DJ do that? Well, at their fingertips are thousands of songs covering all sorts of styles and genres from several decades. their job is to select, from those “tools” the appropriate mix for your party. A bit like the cake maker selecting the right ingredients to make your wedding cake.
How are they going to do that? Well, they need to talk to you. You need to have a meeting where you sit down and explain what it is you would like for your wedding, what sort of music you like, what your family and guests like and how you want the evening to go.
You shouldn’t give them a huge list of tracks and ask them to play them all (especially not in a set order!) that is the equivalent of giving the cake maker a recipe telling them how to make the cake! You need to get across what you’d like and trust them to provide that.
It’s useful to give them a limited selection of your real favourites and obviously, they need to know what your 1st dance (and any other special dances) are to be. They also need to know what you absolutely, never in a million years, want to be played at your wedding!
I accomplish these things by meeting you and having an online planner that allows you direct access to my music database, so you can pick your music. It allows for must plays, play if possible, a category of play but only if requested, and as many as you like do not play.
Maybe you just want everyone to dance… Playing the YMCA quite often accomplishes that… but, do you want cheesy dance routines at your wedding? That’s a chat for another Blog…
So, what would you like?
One of my many reviews from clients:
Alan was Master of Ceremonies and DJ at our New Year’s Eve wedding and was absolutely fantastic! Our wedding would not have been the same without him. His DJ Set was brilliant and really got the party going. However, not only did Alan and his son ensure that the day ran smoothly, but his support and advice throughout our wedding planning process were invaluable.
If we were to do it all again, one of the first things I would do is hire Alan, and I’d recommend anyone else planning a wedding to do the same. Not only will you end up with a brilliant DJ and MC, but you will have someone who can help guide you through the process and put together a great wedding!
