I have been experiencing weddings just being big Dance Parties. Hardly anything on the timeline any more

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One of the reasons I didn't question the lack of "events" at my last wedding.
I hadn't done the garter and bouquet in YEARS.

Even longer for Dollar Dance.
Some of you remember doing ALL of that stuff EVERY gig.
 
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I have seen at one time on Craigslist 2 hours for a wedding. I don't know what can be done in 2 hours that they need a DJ.
 
I have seen at one time on Craigslist 2 hours for a wedding. I don't know what can be done in 2 hours that they need a DJ.


A few different possible scenarios for this request to occur.

They have musicians are a band covering their ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner. They want a DJ to come in and just have a dance party for 2 hours. This scenario really does not work out with their budget because the DJ in 90% of cases will need to arrive, and set up their equipment before the guests enter into where the reception area will be.

They don't dance much, or not into music during dinner/cocktail hour, and am just getting a DJ for after dinner for their guests

They are older, and don't want any music on during dinner so they can easily have conversation with their guests. They have been to too many events where the DJ blared music way too loud during dinner so they are not even bothering with having a DJ at their event during dinner.

I only see 2 hours making sense and being workable at a bar, OR a lower caliber event venue like a basic catering hall, or American Legion/VFW. Any wedding venue or higher end place is going to require the DJ load in and set up before guests enter the reception/cocktail area which makes the vent truly not a 2 hour performance time job for any DJ. Which means the cost for the DJ is generally going to be the same as booking them for a 5 or 6 hour event.
 
In some markets, it's at about the 2 hour mark that police arrive to break it up.
I see you missed it. The ad said the wedding is for 2 hours. If you were to be the DJ for that wedding what would you do for that wedding and how much would you charge? For me I was just amazed at seeing such an ad and I have seen more than one of those. Not in a long time but I have seen them. Then again I don't look on Craigslist like I used to for a potential client looking to book a DJ.
 
I have seen at one time on Craigslist 2 hours for a wedding. I don't know what can be done in 2 hours that they need a DJ.
I do ceremony only several times a year, not all DJs have the right gear to do ceremonies properly, especially where lack of power is an issue, those gigs are typically 2 hours, it’s a quick $400
 
Wow. So little imagination in his thread.
I think many DJs are stuck in a 1985 mindset. It's time to change your flux capacitor for a Mr fusion an get into the present/future.

There are a lot of unique locations and timelines for events these days. I can easily see a 2 hour DJ gig for a wedding, with no need to setup before everyone arrives.

Right here in my area people can hold their wedding at the Boston Public Libraray - a gorgeous historic building with multiple spaces. Ceremomny in the central fountain area, cocktails in an adjoining room with a cafe' that converts to a bar, then dinner in the research study, followed by dancing upstairs in the larger 2nd floor event space. The notion of having to stay in one room for an event is very outdated. I think it may be decades since I worked an event thay used only a single room/space.

If you are reliant on traveling across a wide region to find bookings, and/or selling a long list of novelty items like up lighting, photobooth, etc. - that's really an issue with your business model not the customer or their location. Working more often with a core servcie is generates better referrals than less frequengt gigs with a bid circus of extras. More frequent audiences = more sales. Local work = less time wasted and more billable hours.

In essence - paid travel time generates no referrals. Distant gigs generate the same (more travel hours.) Add-ons are not NEW business. they're more like loss leaders.
 
Not everyone lives in a metropolitan area, some of us must travel to the people. I am 45 miles to the closest city with a population over 10,000 people

Nevertheless, it's still a choice not an imposition.
The responsibility to develop a product or service that works within a chosen area still falls upon the proprietor not the customers. Location is a convenience customers value. If the model we propose appeals to city dwellers and yet we are many miles away from the city - those target customers may have a threshold for convenience that is even higher than the DJ's threshold for remuneration. It's easy to say people "won't pay my rate" but money is not the only burden a customer measures. I think the best choice is too develop a local solution to a local interest.

One of the destructive forces of online marketing and social media is that (if you allow) it grossly distorts our perceptions of local markets. "What's trending" is generally not what is truly popular, and with time it's quite clear that "reality media" is not very real at all. It's typically the bizarre exception.
 
Nevertheless, it's still a choice not an imposition.
The responsibility to develop a product or service that works within a chosen area still falls upon the proprietor not the customers. Location is a convenience customers value. If the model we propose appeals to city dwellers and yet we are many miles away from the city - those target customers may have a threshold for convenience that is even higher than the DJ's threshold for remuneration. It's easy to say people "won't pay my rate" but money is not the only burden a customer measures. I think the best choice is too develop a local solution to a local interest.

One of the destructive forces of online marketing and social media is that (if you allow) it grossly distorts our perceptions of local markets. "What's trending" is generally not what is truly popular, and with time it's quite clear that "reality media" is not very real at all. It's typically the bizarre exception.
There are simply not enough events on a regular basis within a 20 mile radius of me. I am the entertainer of choice at 80% of the weddings in that area if I am not its either because they can’t afford me or I’m already booked elsewhere.