DIY DJ?

We're having a small designation wedding (under 40 people) with very relaxed reception to follow at our beach house. Thanks to spotify I will have 2 or so hours worth of playlist and will be using this awesome Bluetooth speaker from costco. And guess what? If it doesn't go 100% perfect I am TOTALLY OK with it.

What do you think a good price budget for a DJ for a wedding of only 60 guest?

Honestly we are going to DJ our own event because we are just having 4 songs played. We are having a very short, simply, and affordable wedding. There is no way I would ever pay someone that much money to play music at my wedding. We will have a very good friend to control the music. It will be the MOH or BM that does it during the dances but I will start the walk out song as I go out. I will be downloading the app on my phone and I know some people that have DJ their own wedding and it worked out very well. Good luck and I hope everything goes well for you.

Have you tried joining facebook groups. See if there's any discounts. Or maybe Craig's list or thumbtack. If you go diy I would have a back up in case. So iPod then phone then CD . Maybe ask that outspoken guest of yours that's not in wedding party to make announcements.

I love thumbtack and have found great vendors that way. It's definitely worth trying to see if you can find one that fits your budget.

I would reccommend going big on the entertainment - we went to a wedding last year and there was one, sad solo DJ and it was awful...

I wouldn't recommend a DIY DJ solution, unless dancing gives you anxiety and you're certain no one is going to dance at the reception. At worst case scenario, if your venue's PA equipment is powerful enough (say 500 watts RMS 15" cabinets) you can hire your favorite club / bar DJ for a few hundred dollars to bring their top case and mix for the dancing portion. Unfortunately, you can take it for granted that he will be completely clueless when it comes to the grand entrance, first dance, father daughter, mother son dances, cake cutting, bouquet and garter toss, etc, and is highly likely that he hardly ever speaks in front of large groups on a microphone. Even if you have a public speaker in your family who is happy to perform as an MC for you, they will lack the experience of handling logistics of a wedding reception, and will have to coordinate with your DJ to make sure they understand each other's cues, which can be a hit or miss.

A wedding DJ will prepare your music, announcements and timeline, and will keep an eye out for things like making sure the champagne is poured before starting off a sequence of events that include the toast, or making sure the cake knife, plate, napkin and champagne flutes are laid out on the cake table, that the bride is wearing her toss garter, and the where-abouts of the toss bouquet is known before going into Cake, Bouquet and Garter Toss. These are all unseen background duties the DJ (or coordinator) performs to ensure that the event goes as smoothly as possible, and though it is not rocket science, it does take a few seasons of being in the industry (both DJ and coordinator) to truly master, and pride in one's work to care for the client's interest.

Lastly, good sound equipment isn't cheap, and it's unlikely you'll get it without a premium. For example, each of my wireless microphones cost $700 to replace, and you still need cables to connect it to a PA system, and the know how to use the features to make the best of it. I have venue managers calling me on my cellphone once in a while because, though they have the high end equipment, no one on staff knows how to work them properly and everyone thinks it's broken.

Ceremonies commonly use three, one for the officiant, one on the groom for vows, and one handheld for readings or other announcements, which makes this issue three times bigger. I'm not saying that every DJ company should use broadcast grade equipment like the Kodak Theater does for American Idol, and technicians to run it, but there's obviously a difference between the quality and reliability of equipment that is offered to you for free, verses ones that you have to pay for.

I'm not sure what your venue is providing you for speakers (not to mention who is setting it up) and if it's appropriate for the number of guests you have, but it would be advisable to ask a professional. Most DJs are happy to answer brief questions for free, including myself, but if you want an opinion from someone who is not trying to sell you something, call the speaker department at your local Guitar Center or Sam Ash.

Wow that was long! Hope it was helpful! Please don't hesitate to reach out if I can answer anything at all, email is best. Best wishes and take care!

This thread is fantastic! So much great advice in here. My company 'starts' at $1500 to DJ a wedding. That's our bare minimum. You can't believe the amount of time and prep that we put into each and every wedding we do. $800 is barely the cost to cover the equipment if you were to rent it.