How much should a DJ cost?

Sorry... $700 for 3 hours sounds reasonable for a professional, qualified performer. but, again... it all depends.

So you can get an appropriate compairison... here's what $2200 will get you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdHBWY6P4rU

$700??? Not going to happen!

This is the reason why brides get advise from other brides and not wedding vendors, especially DJ's!!! I can find a gazillion videos on YouTube that look just like the one posted above. A DJ with a ton of lighting & audio gear playing music with people dancing. CONGRATULATIONS!! I think Jessica is now convinced $700 is reasonable for a DJ. Now the trend of getting advise from other brides (whom most likely have never planned a wedding before, have never had to hire a DJ in their life, and have yet to actually see their DJ perform at their own wedding) will continue. I apologize for hijacking your thread Jessica.

I think it depends on your area, as stated above, but it also can take some digging. I live in Metro Detroit, and was looking to hire for our 7 hour reception. I was quoted upwards of 1500 from one company (a well known company in the area) and around 1000 from a few more. Ultimately, we crossed our fingers with an up and coming company (Orange County Entertainment) at a rock bottom price of 595 for the 7 hours....and I could not have asked for better! Great communication before the event, perfect introductions, mics ready for speeches, grace, and then Tony kept the dance floor packed ALL night! We actually had to start kicking people out at 1am, when we were supposed to be out of the hall, because they were still out dancing. I guess us taking the chance could have not worked out... glad it did though! Long story short- do some digging...good prices for good companies are out there!

@ PMEDJ... I'm not sure what point you were getting at. Were you pro or con on spelling out what you get for how much money? Is there something that you want "kept" from brides?

PMEDJ - not sure why you assume that none of us on this board have experience hiring DJs or why you think their equipment doesn't matter to us.

I have planned my wedding as well as graduations parties and other parties wherein I have had to hire a DJ. I have taken advice from friends as well as read countless reviews. I met with various DJs as well before making my final decision.

Jessica, I live in the Chicagoland area and I was charged $1500.00 for 6 hours. I had the DJ and an assistant and had three separate meetings with them to discuss all my music needs.

If you would like more details, please feel free to PM me if you have further questions.

@Tyrone.. Point is, there are 1000's of videos on YouTube that look just like yours. There are 1000's of DJ's that have the same type of equipment, most of whom charge less than $2,200, & some at half the cost. All that video says to me is "Look at my set up, I charge $2,200 for great audio & lighting". ANY DJ CAN PONY UP MONEY TO BUY COOL GEAR. If I didn't know any better I would think your a rental company. To me you justify your price based only on the amount of DJ equipment you bring. Sure I would charge more if I had to bring that much gear... around 4 to 5 thousand dollars. Jessica could look at that video and think about how she wouldn't want all that fancy lighting and audio equipment that takes up nearly half of the room, when she could pay half for another DJ with a smaller set up. To answer your question about keeping something from brides, No! I have nothing to hide. If you are talking about my equipment, I will show them my set up if asked, but they rarely ask about it.

We're paying $920 for 12 lights (uplighting) and 5 hours of service.

We found ours on gigmasters.com, and he also worked a friend's wedding (so I know his work is good).

@Tyrone.. WHY? For the same reason you don't ask your dentist to check out his equipment before he cleans your teeth. He's a professional, you just assume he uses the proper professional equipment. If you are a professional you use professional equipment. I'm not here trying to sell my services, I'm here to educate brides. Which leads to answer Kelly M.'s post.

@ Kelly M. This is my 21st year as a wedding DJ/MC entertainer full-time single op. I have entertained over 1,200 weddings alone & interviewed 1,000's of brides. Not here to brag, just to make a point. I would say a little over 95% of all brides I've interviewed have never hired a DJ before in their life. You are part of the 5% that have. How many times have you hired a DJ for your wedding? Weddings are much different than any other type of event. A wedding DJ has much more responsibility than a DJ playing for a grad party. I could go on about the difference. It's all in my blog. When you were searching for your photographer did you check out their cameras or did you look at their portfolios? Ever been to a bridal show where the photographer laid out all their gear on the table and not pictures? When you go to Home Depot to buy a drill did you really want a drill? No, you wanted a hole. Brides want a fun successful party, my equipment is just a tool we use to make it happen.

Con't.. I don't sell my tools, I sell results. Kelly, you did your homework when selecting a DJ, most do not. I've seen a bride on this same forum talking about how she got such a great deal on her DJ, informing other brides.(guessing she thought she got a reasonable price). After her wedding was over she posted about how bad her DJ was. It's much better to get advice from other wedding professionals who work with various wedding DJ's at weddings on a consistent basis. Why? One reason vendors not not like working with amateur DJ's. They see the good and the bad all the time. They have much to compare to. A little side note, when client hires me it's not for 4, 5, or 6 hours, it's anywhere from 21 to 32 hours. Day of the wedding it's unlimited playing time. Most of that time is spent planning & preparing before wedding.

@ Kelly M. Curious, you posted 5 reviews on weddingwire, none of which was your DJ, just wondering why?

I agree with PME DJ Service a great way to find a DJ that you can trust is to speak to professionals that work with them. You can always get the best review that way. Also dont go off what pricing is the best you can find.... go with what you can afford then search. A lot of vendors I work with are willing to work with their brides to give them the best service for their money. That shows you they are honest about what they do. I hope this helps.

That sounds very reasonable to me. I have a cousin who is a DJ and I had asked him about DJ'ing my friends wedding and he told me he charges $700 or $800 (don't remember which but it was one of the two lol) for 4 hours. So I don't think your being over charged if that's what your worried about. If you are in a larger city I can see why it would be more around $1k like other ladies are saying, I am from a smaller mountian town not a big city, so that could be why my cousin charges less.

PMEDJ - I won't debate with you on how certain brides choose to hire their vendors and further, I don't feel the need to hijack Jessica's thread. You are lumping all brides into one category and I just didn't think that was fair because some of us actually do have more detailed questions (maybe it's because I am a Type A personality and need to hear all the facts, maybe it's because I have experience with hiring vendors and have been burned in the past because the DJ didn't have great equipment) my point was just to not put us all in a category of not caring about certain things.

That all being said, I see your point and I do acknowledge that some brides are just looking for the cheaper option and don't need all the bells and whistles offer. Some of us do. I have hired DJs for three weddings (my first, planning a friends, and my second) and the first time around, I followed a recommendation and ended up not enjoying my DJ. The second time around, I asked more questions and was

Happier all around. As for my own wedding recently, I haven't posted on WW about them because honestly, I forgot all about it (so thanks for reminding me). Further, I ADORED the DJ that I had but I had some issues with the office staff but the DJ and his equipment were awesome.

Just for the record, I actually had someone with me who understands photography and cameras when I met with the various photographers. I don't know a darn thing about drills but if I wanted to invest in one, I would bring someone to Home Depot with me who has the knowledge to help me choose the best one for me...it may be one for "just a hole" or it could be because I am building something! Who knows!

I think we are both on the same side here - we want the brides to pick what's best for them because the DJ IS doing more than 3 or 5 hours of work. I know my DJ spent a large amount of time on my music and I was very specific with things I wanted. So he was WORTH the extra money! Have a great day!

Completely agreed Kelly. A lot of brides search for the cheapest vendor and then they turn out to not be as trustworthy. I feel starting with other professionals is a great place to start. After that the next approach would be make a list of all things you personally feel need to be question like which dj will be there the day of if they are sick who covers. What type of equipment will they be using is the equipment reliable and do you test prior to make sure that the day of will run smoothly. You cant always know what will happen that day but you can get a good idea by making sure you ask the right questions =) You can find vendors for any budget and just because they are cheaper does not mean they are bad vendors. I know of awesome vendors that have never let me or a bride down and are very reasonable. You just have to do your homework like you said. Great post!!!

@Kelly We are on the same side, but I think you are missing my point. I never had a bride or groom ask me about the make or model of my equipment. Some have wanted to see what the set up looks like because they don't want it to take up a lot of space or look bad. They have asked about back up, because they understand that if the music stops so does the party. I present myself as the professional I am. My clients want a great party, they want their guests to have fun, they want the right kind of music played for everyone to enjoy. My clients are 100% confident and put their trust in me as a pro. I didn't put brides in any category, it's just a fact, a majority of brides have never needed to hire a DJ before their wedding, and if they did, it wasn't for a wedding. I wish all brides were like you, I book more brides just like yourself, because they did their homework, and are very particular. You understand how important entertainment is for a wedding.

You can hire a DJ with the best state of the art equipment, but if that DJ represents you poorly, i.e. pronounces your name wrong, plays inappropriate music, or plays the wrong 1st dance song, get's drunk, shows up late, embarrasses you on the biggest day of your life in front of your friends & family, the same common stories I hear all the time about other DJ's, that cool equipment he has doesn't matter at all. I would rather have a talented experienced DJ with cheap equipment, than a bad DJ with great equipment. If entertainment is bad people leave. A reception is the celebration, the party, the entertainment where more time & money is spent. http://theflirtyguide.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-much-should-your-wedding-dj-cost.html

I highly recommend any Bride to be or wedding vendor to read this book.

The Best Wedding Reception...Ever!

http://www.thebestweddingreceptionever.com/ Get it at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

No matter what a brides budget is, too much money & time is invested to have an average or boring wedding.

"No matter what a brides budget is, too much money & time is invested to have an average or boring wedding. "

If I could I would hug you for this comment!!! So very true!!!

Cherylynn thank you!