Probably not, why should you have? After all its not every day you are planning your wedding and attempting to find the right Wedding DJ who will deliver you a fantastic party celebration to round off a fantastic Wedding Day!
Now just to set the scene and lay my cards on the table, we are not writing this because we are in need of more wedding bookings, instead because a bit of background reading before taking the plunge in the wedding DJ market could be helpful for you.
The Right Kind of Wedding DJ Research Is Needed
We appreciate that as a couple planning your wedding day can be a bit like a rabbit caught in the headlights, where do we start? Lots to do, lots to plan on top of the fact we all lead such busy lives, and in some cases, we don’t have the time to do lots of research and homework on the subject of Wedding DJ’s.
Hence, a quick and easy solution is to go to our favourite social media channel and ask does anybody know a good Wedding DJ? And low and behold they get hundreds of recommendations. And don’t get me wrong we use social media, and I am certainly not against it. However, there are a few ways to safeguard yourself and ensure you get the quality you are looking for when using social media for recommendations.
Talking of quality, it is all relative to your budget, so there is no right or wrong regarding budget as long as you feel you are obtaining good value and a quality service accordingly.
Is Social Media a good resource for sourcing Wedding DJs?
So a few pointers when using social media for recommendations.
It’s always interesting when the recommendations that come in, are those recommendations from former clients/couples or friends and family of the business owner. The same scenario occurs when it comes to Facebook reviews – are they actually from former customers?
We would also be keen to look at their website to ensure, for example, the equipment booth etc. shown on the Facebook page is the equipment they own and use. A word of warning – we have come across other DJs not locally I may add using pics of our booths for advertising their business to potential clients or other DJs using professional bought stock pics of high-quality booth setups, only to find their setup could not be further from the truth.
Look for Reviews from a variety of Platforms and Videos
We would personally be slightly wary if the DJ supplier only had Facebook reviews. The more reviews from different platforms the better.
Irrespective of whether it is on Facebook or on a private website page we’d be looking for photo evidence and ideally a video to establish if they can actually deliver the great party atmosphere for your wedding party celebration.
Now when doing a website search using, for example, Google, due to time constraints we always feel that those companies at the top of Google are the best, well for those that don’t know there are ways to ensure your business ranks highly on a website search.
Whichever method the business uses it will be a costly method either by paying for Ad words or through time and money through SEO and those who know this field of expertise will testify.
A Few Pointers on Website Searches And Agencies
Not all URLs and business’s which clearly state the word Cornwall in their URL title are located in Cornwall itself. It can be the case that they buy these URLs to make it look like they are a local business.
As we have mentioned, a large portion of these agencies are certainly not based in Cornwall. These type of agencies advertise across the whole internet and always will pop up at the top of your searches. Their business model is to take payment and then look for a local DJ to do your wedding on behalf of the agency. Often or not the pics they use of the various DJ setups are not of those who are being hired in as your Wedding DJ.
Now, of course, it’s is very unlikely you will get to know who has been contracted to play as your wedding DJ, so next to no chance of actually meeting them in person before your wedding day.
The Wedding DJ Price Point
Now we certainly do not wish to sound snobby, however, its a fact that there are DJs at all different price points and that is fine as the market demands this to fulfil the demands of all customers. It is also true that prices are dictated by experience, services offered, and a big one is the quality of the audio and lighting equipment. The local premium Wedding DJs have all of the above in abundance.
Our own business model is all about reliability, professionalism and complimenting your wedding occasion and venue. It’s our goal to deliver that WOW factor in spades for both you and your guests and leave a lasting impression. In order for us to achieve these high standards we use premium DJ equipment. Many DJ’s don’t have such high-quality equipment at their disposal because it requires significant upfront investment.
We have seen certain local DJs who regularly work for agencies. Often this is due to financial reasons which demand the DJ take up as much work as possible despite having very average equipment, more suited to a small pub gig. It would involve him going out for a low fee e.g. he receives £150 to do a wedding, and I dare say his equipment reflects that price point. This is certainly not the standard of DJ I would want front and centre of my wedding party dance floor and usually. The reality is that the agency handles all communication and then pays the £150 to the DJ for his evening’s work and he goes back to working the day job afterwards.
Of course the money you pay to the agency will far exceed this. It can be very expensive for companies to stay at the top of Google, which presumably is where the remainder of the money is going.
Cheaper Wedding DJ Price Points
We often receive enquiries asking if we are available for a wedding on the coming weekend because a Wedding DJ has let a couple down.
For those couples who are happy to engage in a conversation, it does seem to be the cheaper DJs who seem to be more unreliable. Yes, we know that people can become ill etc, plus other plausible reasons not to attend. But DJs should always have a fallback position, failing to prepare is preparing to fail!
Their business model seems to be that they engage in price-cutting tactic’s to secure your booking, only to find at some stage further down the line they except a better-paying event and dare I say they become no longer available.
So all I would say is do your homework! Its such an important day and the last thing you and your guests will remember is the party celebration, so let’s hope its a good one!
Hopefully after reading this you will be better informed to make a sound judgement on selecting your perfect Wedding DJ. If you wish to get in touch with us to discuss our wedding DJ services or put your mind at ease regarding wedding DJ options please feel free to contact us.