Finding the Best Pittsburgh Wedding DJ For Your Wedding
National DJ Brokers/Agencies and National DJ Companies:
Exercise caution when it comes to the use of large DJ Companies and National DJ Agencies. Often, they will not give you a guarantee on which DJ will performing at your wedding and most times they outsource less professional DJs and sub contract them for a gig. To avoid this issue, ask to meet the actual DJ you will be working with and talk to that person about your expectations. Be very detailed about you needs. Go the extra mile to ensure that you have the exact name of the DJ you wish to hire and that the exact name is included in the contract as well. There have been known cases of DJ agencies and brokers being convicted of fraud.
Local DJ Brokers/Agencies and Large DJ Companies: When you begin to contact possible dj companies, ask to speak directly with the DJ who would be at your wedding before you agree to anything or put down a deposit. The person on the phone may be outgoing and experienced but your actual DJ may be a dud. If the company says they will assign you a DJ then you are probably dealing with a broker.
Watch Out for Add-On Costs.
Always be wary of hidden costs. Many companies that offer deejay services will reel you in with low price, only to add on extra costs for accessories like cordless mics, overtime rates and basic lighting. A wedding DJ should naturally have such things and they should not be considered extras. A company or person who charges extra for such is only interested in your money. If there are any justified charges they should cater for legitimate things like the use of projectors, video screens, spotlights, up-lighting among others.
Would You like Advertising in Your Wedding Photos?
A professional DJ should never use any banner or advertisement material anywhere on the grounds where your wedding is taking place. As a rule of thumb, the only form of minor advertising they may do is handing out a business card when asked. Naturally, you will have invested in a lot of preparations and decor to create a theme of your choice for the wedding hall or venue and to have all that watered down by a DJ service banner splattered all across one wall would be a total disgrace! If they do their job well, lots of people will line up to get their business card. Make sure you cover this aspect in writing as well. There is no point in assuming they know this so get it on paper! In a nutshell, there should be no use of brochures, banners, signs or printed material of any kind. Restrict any sort of promotion to that of business cards only! When all is said and done, it is your day to feel special not theirs.
Get it in writing! Get it in writing! Get it in writing!
Put pen to paper on this matter. That cannot be stressed enough. Make sure that you both sign the contract or invoice and make sure that the contract is detailed enough to cover all issues including date and time, time they will be set up, personal promises and other issues that matter to you.
An experienced DJ will usually not want you to pick every song of the evening. They would suggest that besides the formal dances that you actually pick about 15 to 20 songs for the open dance part of the evening. After the dinner music, formalities, announcements and toasts as well as the open dance songs that you pick, this will leave about 15 to 20 song choices for your guests requests.
Important Bonus Questions for hiring ‘The Best Pittsburgh Wedding DJ‘
1. What is your professional training? Asking the wedding DJ this question will give you a lot more insight into the quality you can expect. Inquire about how much experience they have as well. Ask if they attended any seminars in the last two years or do they belong to a professional organization.
2. What kind of vehicle will they come with to the event?
3. What would they do if their car broke down while on transit to the reception venue?
4. Ask what they would do if during the first dance an equipment breakdown occurred. See how they answer.
5. What do they do with their lives apart from being a DJ? This question will help you know if they are part-timers or full time DJ’s. You can find a reliable part timer DJ but the best option is to hire a qualified DJ who works full time as a wedding DJ.
6. Find out what they wear to the event. Tux preferred. No less than a three piece suit unless you don’t care.