Tips for your wedding:
I have been DJing weddings for over 15 years and have DJ'd hundreds over the years.
Here are some tips for you or your wedding you or your planner concerning your wedding.
1.) Have the elders and children seated far away from the DJ during the dinner.
The elderly often complain that the music is too loud if they are right next to the speakers and the DJ needs to turn down the music so low that the people farther away can't hear the music.
Kids are fascinated with DJs and want to run through our booth or take our equipment which is why I suggest the kids to be farther away.
2.) The DJ should be set up close to the dance floor especially if it's an outdoor wedding.
Sound dissipates over distance (lessens) and people need to feel the music in order to want to dance. If the DJ is set up too far away, you will most likely get feedback from the speakers as the sound will have to be turned up so loud it will screech when the mic is turned on.
3.) 2 factors help people dance besides the DJ - 1. Liquid courage... yep, alcohol. 2. Darkness... people don't really want to be seen for the most part.
4.) Keep the timeline fairly simple and don't try to mix things up too much. Example: I DJ'd a wedding where the planner had me stop the DJing after 15 min. To have the guests go out to the parking lot for an ice cream truck. This is a huge mistake! When you get the people on the dance floor, keep them there!!! The DJ works their buns off to fill the floor, don't ruin it by showing people their cars and subconsciously telling them that it's time to go home by showing them their car.
5.) Make sure the DJ is always under some cover. 1. No DJ will play in the rain as it will ruin their equipment. 2. DJing in the direct sun can overheat laptops, melt microphone transmitters, and overheat speakers... it's also harder for the DJ to see their computer and the trackpad doesn't work well when the DJ's Hans are super sweaty.
6.) Requests throw a DJ off and often throw a wrench in the dance floor. I suggest choosing a great DJ that does not need day of requests in order to fill the dance floor.
Requests are often not dance floor fillers, they are dance floor killers and people will only give a few passes to a DJ at a wedding before they will think the DJ sucks and leave the wedding.
7. ) Feeding the DJ helps keep their blood levels up and they will have more energy for your wedding in the late hours.
8.) If you see your guests bugging the DJ too much, please help. DJs try to politely tell folks they are working but sometimes we get swarmed and it's hard to do a great job when you have 3 minutes to read the floor and find the perfect next song when you are down to 30 seconds. Ask the guests to treat the DJ with respect.
9.) Book the DJ for 30 minutes of pre-ceremony music if you hire the DJ for the ceremony as well because it helps create a nice chill vibe and when here announcements like cars that need to be moved or when it's time for people to find their seats, the DJ can make those announcements instead of a mother-in-law running around yelling.
10.) Hand held mics are great for the ceremony too. People are hung up on lapel mics but lapel mics create a lot more background noise since they pick up sound from all directions and when you have 3 of them it gets noisy especially in windy conditions.
11.) Place the DJ off to the side of the ceremony instead of in the back. Microphone transmitters are now on the same frequency as cell phones and when people get text messages or calls (even on silent) it will interfere with the signal of the mic and people will think the DJs equipment if faulty. The DJ can't stop the wedding to tell people that they need to shut their phones all the way off and people often blame the DJ.