The Wedding DJ Saga (this actually applies to all DJs)

Jon: I think if you re-read some of the things you might find some more nuggets other than just DJMC... however, I think we all, myself included, did go off on a bit of a tangent from the original post....

But, really that's what makes ODJT so great... I don't think too many feathers got ruffled too badly we are all big boys and girls here and can take just as much as we dish....

But yeah, this was derailed by the whole $$$ vs $$$$ issue....

So let's bring it back if we can....

If you were asked: What makes your service different? How would you answer?

DJ Wes said:

No problem Chuck. Are you saying we should we all be holding private auditions for our potential clients?

Again, how should Tom Cruise answer the question 'What makes you different than other actors?' There IS a difference. But to put it in words, is not exactly easy. It's one of those intangible things, IMO.

Click to expand...

He invites them to see his previous (or current work).

He tells them how he can relate to the part.

He reads for them.

So far he does all the things that DJs on here say that they won't do.

He certainly doesn't call them up and ask them to take his word for it.

Besides we are talking about people who are good at what they do, not who are among the best at what they do. A more apt comparison would be to David Morse.

Mike

LOL...........I dont compare myself to other DJs...my clients do!


This turned a light switch on for me!


I dont cut other DJs down.....my clients know the "bad djs" and my clients are not afraid to let me know when I rock!

I talk about how good I am, then I deliver the event I promise! Simple as that!

So my WOM from clients is my hugest seller!


I have had numerous comments on 'You are the best DJ that has ever played here".....the comments go on and on!

It helps to have a list of things I offer, but being a kick ass DJ is all I really need to sell myself!


MAGIC TRICKS! GAY! I dont like magic tricks! I would be bored!

Comedy routine....that would interest me! But what kind of humor/jokes can you get away with??

Photography....cool..if I can get a discount and save money by booking both photo/dj! Cool.....

What exactly do you expect at your wedding reception??

Let me know what you want....and I will deliver what I can! You need to tell me what you want on your ship, and I will help you set the sails! Come on...speak up...I am listening!


See without me knowing where you want to go....I cant even begin to sell you my services. I dont know what you expect, and if I did, we could start turning pages together. Right now...I dont know what you want, or what you expect!

Again, open ears....I'm listening!

I'm one of those DJ's that would have smelled a rat, and politely declined, and hung up the phone.

Stuff like this is why i dis-like weddings, and choose not to deal with bride and grooms who haven't a clue

Mike,

Oh how wrong you are on Tom Cruise, Directors call him up and ask him if he is interested in a part, they send him a script and he decides if he wants it.

Before he became famous and had BO draw he went from audition to audition trying to land a part he took bit parts trying to break into the business, working for little to no money.

Wow..........I did miss something...

DJs are now being compared to actors/actresses??

Hmmmmmm?????

Am I on the right forum??

DJMN,

I turn down gigs that don't interest me all the time some for money reasons, some for personality conflicts and still other because of venues.

It certainly isn't because of being an elitist.

Unlike some DJ's I don't insert myself into the rectum of my clients, I don't try to become their bestest buddy, I don't want to be their big toe. I contract with a client to do a job and that is it. When I finish that job I am satisfied that I have been paid for my services and I thank them for having me DJ their event. I don't send them Christmas cards, Birthday cards, anniversary cards etc. because i don't know if a year later that the couple are still together or if one of them has died, or been arrested for child molestation etc..

By the same token I don't want former clients sending me Christmas cards, birthday cards, dropping by my house calling on Thanksgiving etc..

The biggest thing that bothered me about Ducky and Macs questions were the need to know about my life outside of doing my job the way it should be done (to facilitate the party, make announcements, and interact if needed) playing the music that needs to be played in the order it needs to be played in to have a successful event.

Am I confident in my abilities as a DJ, well who can say I have only been doing this a few years now (39) successfully!

Yeah, but I am older than dirt too!

Johnny Dee has us all beat!

DJ J Mac said:

...when they're asked the question what sets them apart from everyone else we've called, none of them can answer that question.

Click to expand...

That's a question that many times "can't" be answered. How many ways can somebody fill the basic DJ needs at a reception? Outside of performing some routine and offering extras (video, lighting, etc.), we're all doing the same job.

Personally, I can't stomach people asking me all those spoon fed questions from books and websites. Just tell me what you want and I'll say yes or no thank you.

If you were to ask me what set me apart from other DJs in my area, I couldn't tell you because I've been too busy paying attention to what I am doing. Not them.

Thunder said:

DJMN,

I turn down gigs that don't interest me all the time some for money reasons, some for personality conflicts and still other because of venues.

It certainly isn't because of being an elitist.

Unlike some DJ's I don't insert myself into the rectum of my clients, I don't try to become their bestest buddy, I don't want to be their big toe. I contract with a client to do a job and that is it. When I finish that job I am satisfied that I have been paid for my services and I thank them for having me DJ their event. I don't send them Christmas cards, Birthday cards, anniversary cards etc. because i don't know if a year later that the couple are still together or if one of them has died, or been arrested for child molestation etc..

By the same token I don't want former clients sending me Christmas cards, birthday cards, dropping by my house calling on Thanksgiving etc..

The biggest thing that bothered me about Ducky and Macs questions were the need to know about my life outside of doing my job the way it should be done (to facilitate the party, make announcements, and interact if needed) playing the music that needs to be played in the order it needs to be played in to have a successful event.

Am I confident in my abilities as a DJ, well who can say I have only been doing this a few years now (39) successfully!

Click to expand...

That is just a beautiful post. I am going to frame it and hang it over my bed.

Can I call you dad?

After reading all of this...my humble thoughts:

1) I'm surprised one of your considerations isn't whether the dj uses cd's or is pc driven?
2) I question if you, as a couple, really know what you want in an entertainer? (you want experience; you don't want experience). i think you are "thinking" way too much and making this process so much more difficult than it should be.....
3) I don't think you'll ever find a service that meets what you think you want....

I would suggest that you rent gear in the area and set up a laptop with a pre-programmed playlist..or hire a dj that will play your predetermined selection of music...

i just did a wedding for a "dj"; It was one of the worst experiences ever....His vision of what should/shouldn't be played differed greatly from reality and his insistence that I play what he felt should be played literally killed the reception..

They say doctors make the worst patients.....I agree

An Update and My Answer

Update: We have narrowed down our DJ search to 3 potential hires! We hope to meet with all 3 of them and make our decision during the week that we are visiting MA.

What do we like about these 3 DJs? Aside from having professional-grade equipment, being able to sign contracts, and offering the best bang for the buck (ex. lighting and MC work still within our budget), these DJs listened to me on the phone and were willing to work with me and the J Mac on our music choices. They aren't stressing that we need to adhere to a traditional format. Also, I got good feelings from them just from chatting on the phone (must've been that intuition that JT mentioned earlier).

My Answer: Out of confusion on price and the fact that many DJs have similarities in their equipment and package offerings, I have asked what sets them apart (assuming that they hadn't already answered that). Well, here's my answer. Note that all along, I don't call myself Ducky and Jon the J Mac, I use our real names; someone had asked earlier if I referred to myself as Ducky over the phone, so I just want to make that clear.

There are 2 DJs at every event, myself and J Mac. We pride ourselves on the ability to work as a team to make your event run smoothly. For example, for introductions, I typically stay behind the board in the reception hall, mixing music. In the meantime, the J Mac is out front waiting for the arrival of the wedding party. He lines everybody up, rechecks the pronunciation of names, updates me and lets me know that we're ready to start.

We have been praised by previous clients for being thoughtful, attentive, and for being genuinely friendly. We have great personality and we work hard to provide the best customer service that we can to our clients; that is what sets us apart.

thatmusicguy said:

After reading all of this...my humble thoughts:

1) I'm surprised one of your considerations isn't whether the dj uses cd's or is pc driven?
2) I question if you, as a couple, really know what you want in an entertainer? (you want experience; you don't want experience). i think you are "thinking" way too much and making this process so much more difficult than it should be.....
3) I don't think you'll ever find a service that meets what you think you want....

I would suggest that you rent gear in the area and set up a laptop with a pre-programmed playlist..or hire a dj that will play your predetermined selection of music...

i just did a wedding for a "dj"; It was one of the worst experiences ever....His vision of what should/shouldn't be played differed greatly from reality and his insistence that I play what he felt should be played literally killed the reception..

They say doctors make the worst patients.....I agree

Click to expand...

1) With so many DJs running laptops anymore, it's hard to find a DJ who uses CDs; we decided to remove that bias early on in the search.

2) If you look through the posts, you will probably see that we are looking for a DJ, not an entertainer or an Entertainment Director (despite the J Mac's poor example of Wes and his magic tricks).

3) We have narrowed down our search to 3 services. Each of them offer what we want. Unfortunately, there are a lot of DJs who do not provide what we are looking for, mainly because the person on the other end of the phone was not listening to me, made assumptions, was not interested in playing songs that I want to hear, or was not willing to stray from the traditional format of a wedding reception.

As for your comment about hiring a jukebox DJ or renting a laptop...

BLASPHEMY!!

I'm offended that you would even suggest that.

Thunder said:

Johnny Dee has us all beat!

Click to expand...

Johnny Dee did the uplighting for The Last Supper.










Just kidding Johnny, love ya bro, you rock and I mean that.

I've decided that the next time I am asked what makes me different, I'm going to be honest and tell them I don't wear pants.

BTW Ducky, I sent you a PM earlier yesterday, savy?

DJ Ducky said:

We have been praised by previous clients for being thoughtful, attentive, and for being genuinely friendly. We have great personality and we work hard to provide the best customer service that we can to our clients; that is what sets us apart.

Click to expand...

Sorry, but that sets you apart from rotten DJs only. Not myself and the majority of everyone here. Those qualities are to be expected from any business. So, unless you are suggesting that you're the only competent provider in your area the only thing setting you apart is DNA.

I find it funny how some of you are slamming my magic as gay, etc. My clients love the fact that I'm engaging and entertaining on so many levels. It gets me more work. Here's my latest testimonial from my Oct 11 wedding. I'm laughing all the way to the bank!

Dear Wes, I cannot begin to express to you the incredible job you did at Bekah's wedding. I cannot remember when I had more fun and when I saw my children have more fun. Bekah and Brian said all of their friends told them while they were getting pictures made back at the church, you were busy keeping the crowd entertained with great music and great magic tricks for the younger crowd! You definitely have found your niche. You are a professional who pays great attention to detail. You focused on making this night incredibly special for the newly married couple and I wouldn't think of throwing another party without you. Thanks for making our special night even more magical.

DJ Ducky said:

1)
As for your comment about hiring a jukebox DJ or renting a laptop...

BLASPHEMY!!

I'm offended that you would even suggest that.

Click to expand...

Why would you be offended? You've asked for a DJ, not an entertainer...so really all you are looking at is music selection right? Who knows you and J Mac better? You both know music; you know what you like?

So what exactly do you expect this DJ to do, besides play music. Remember you said a dj, not an entertainer....

That being said, if you want the service to make grand introductions and so on perhaps a "live" dj is needed. That being said, I've had many a wedding where the MC did the grand intro, with no music....

It's what the client wanted....

I'd be really interested to see your "do" and "do not play" list. How long are each going to be? Are you giving free reign to the dj as it relates to the dance portion of the reception?