Tips on Hiring and Working with a DJ for Your Event
Along with a fall playlist (find it at the end of the article), Bryan Chesters, Dj/MC and owner of Let's Party LA Entertainment, sent us some great tips on how to hire and work with a DJ for your wedding.
What are the most important things to know about having a DJ at your wedding?
1. Hire an experienced professional. I've heard too many horror stories of couples hiring their best friend or cousin. Often this ends poorly simply because they are not professionals.
2. Allocate wisely. Weddings are very expensive and you want to make sure you make smart decisions.
3. When looking at your overall budget for your wedding you have to decide "What is the most important thing to me?" If the answer is music, then make sure you build a budget to reflect that. Maybe spend a little less somewhere else in order to hire an experienced professional DJ/MC with a great reputation.
4. Bottom line. Find someone you trust, who takes the time to meet or talk with you personally, and who will honor your choices and help customize your music for the evening.
What's the difference between hiring a DJ and someone who is also skilled as an MC?
When choosing your DJ make sure the person is equally talented in both DJ'ing and MC'ing. You want someone who can DJ and play great music, but you also need someone comfortable on a microphone, who can make great introductions and announce key moments so your guests have a sense of what is happening during the wedding. Hiring a "club DJ" might not be the best decision if you want someone experienced in events who can make tasteful announcements. I have my BA in music and my MFA in acting and consider myself equally talented in both DJ'ing and MC'ing.
How do you choose the songs to play? Can the couple have a hand in that?
Choosing music for the ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner/dancing reception is all very personal and I have multiple meetings with my clients to make sure we are all on the same page with all the music selections. My clients typically send me Spotify lists of the different parts of the wedding ie. ideas for pre-ceremony music, cocktail hour songs, dinner songs, dancing songs. However, some clients are on Apple Music, Pandora. I also have had clients send word docs, Excel sheets, Youtube links etc. I also like having a list of their 'do not play' songs/artists/genres. With all of this said, they also have to trust me and my experience and if I'm at their wedding and their music isn't getting the crowd dancing I will use my knowledge and experience to choose songs based on the ages of the guests and what they're vib'ing with and make sure I have a packed dance floor!
How to choose the DJ that is right for you.
I'd say when choosing your DJ/MC, trust your instincts. You want someone you can trust. You also want someone experienced and knowledgeable about all kinds of music. Check out their website, social media, reviews on The Knot, Wedding Wire, Google, Yelp etc. If they don't have solid five star reviews I would be concerned. Also if you're hiring a DJ from a large company you can't always ensure that the DJ your booking actually got the reviews featured on the company's site. I'd ask for referrals from former clients or planners who have actually worked directly with that DJ/MC. Did they show up on time? Were they well dressed? Did they have great equipment? Did they fill the dance floor? You should always meet with your DJ/MC before hiring them. I always schedule meetings, zoom calls or phone calls with potential clients before booking just to make sure we're a good fit. And lastly, also trust your planner or venue manager if they provide a referral to you. Most likely they've worked directly with the DJ/MC and have seen their work firsthand.
Bryan Chesters (DJ/MC) and owner of Let's Party LA Entertainment was recently named BEST DJ in LA 2023 by California Wedding Day Magazine for the second year in a row. He has been DJ'ing weddings in SoCal for over 20 years and began his career entertaining on Princess Cruises, Holland-America and the Inaugural voyage of Disney Cruise-line. He earned is BA in Music and MFA in Acting both from UCLA and as an actor he's appeared on shows like Mad Men (directed by Jon Hamm), Modern Family and Grey's Anatomy. He has DJ'd many celebrity weddings and was the featured DJ for the LA Drama Critic's Awards after-party.