Question 1

Do you offer a written contract?

Accepted Answer

All of the wedding djs you interview may not have the same standards of professionalism. A written, legal contract is one of the first indicators of whether a DJ is professional and reliable. Furthermore, a contract establishes the DJ's obligation to the client and outlines what is required for the DJ's success, by outlining his setup requirements and other factors related to his performance. For this reason, a written contract is absolutely essential and any DJ not using a written contract should not, in our opinion, be considered for a wedding reception.

Question 2

How involved can we be in selecting music for our event?

Accepted Answer

This is an important question to ask, because some DJs prefer to control the majority of the playlist and supplement their choices with a small handful of your specific requests. Other disc jockeys prefer to let the client choose the majority of the music, and then use their expertise to make it all work. The DJ should be accommodating of your music tastes, and you should feel comfortable with the DJ's approach and the amount of involvement you'll be able to have in choosing the music.

Question 3

Can we submit a 'Do Not Play' list?

Accepted Answer

Any professional DJ should be willing to honor your requests, including your request for certain songs and genres to not be used. Submitting a 'Do Not Play' list will give a DJ a clear idea of your limits and your expectations for their song selection at your wedding.

Question 4

How much of a deposit is required to secure our date?

Accepted Answer

Almost every DJ will require some sort of deposit or retainer in order to secure your date. This is for their protection and yours. The industry standard for deposits is 50%. Some DJs require far less, but this is not always a good idea. If the contract language doesn't stipulate a specific guarantee of services and clearly outline a cancellation policy, the DJ may only legally be responsible for returning your deposit (sometimes as little as $25) in order to back out of doing your wedding. While it would certainly be considered unprofessional, there certainly isn't any financial incentive for the DJ if he's only forced to pay a small fee for backing out on you.

Question 5

Are you insured?

Accepted Answer

It is absolutely essential that any DJ you consider carries a full liability insurance policy. They are fairly inexpensive (less than $250 per year in some cases), so being uninsured is inexcusable. Some reception sites have even taken the step of requiring all vendors working at their facility to provide proof of insurance before the wedding. Liability insurance protects you and the reception site in the unlikely event that your DJ injures one of your guests or burns your reception site to the ground.

Question 6

What kind of equipment do you use?

Accepted Answer

Any DJ you consider should be proud of his sound system and should be using professional-grade equipment. Most DJs understand that you are very unlikely to have a working knowledge of professional DJ equipment, but he should be able to describe his sound system to you. You should not hear very many 'home audio' brands in what he describes - the top brands for DJ equipment are Pioneer, Denon, PCDJ, Traktor, Serato, Electro-Voice (EV), JBL, Bose, Mackie, RANE, QSC, and Shure.

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