DJing weddings

Tips and techniques of the trade

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Platypus
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DJing weddings

#1 Post by Platypus » Fri Oct 08, 2004 4:10 pm

So, I just got an email asking if I was interested in being paid to DJ a wedding for a non-dancing friend of a friend. For those of you who have crossed over to sometimes being hired for a wedding.....
What is the range of fees that a DJ charges?
Any suggestions?
Any pitfalls?

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Lawrence
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#2 Post by Lawrence » Fri Oct 08, 2004 5:47 pm

There is not a fixed price range like there is for, say, a hamburger. It greatly varies depending on your market and skill level. In Austin, college kids flood the market offering to DJ for $100 or $200 bucks, so that drives the bottom market price down. There are also some who get $1000 per gig because they are proven and offer MC skills that not all college twits can offer. (They also can do mixing on the fly that we don't come close to doing).

One caveat: don't expect to enjoy it like you do a Lindy event. We are really spoiled as Lindy DJs, even when we "compromise" our preferences. Our piddly little complaints and huffiness about straying from our core values would sound ridiculous to most professional DJs, who play the same tired shit (Y.M.C.A., I Will Survive...) every week because it is what people expect at weddings. I've only done a handful of non-Lindy gigs (corporate or wedding gigs), and I always end up wondering why the hell I agreed to do them.
Last edited by Lawrence on Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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yedancer
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#3 Post by yedancer » Sat Oct 09, 2004 8:53 am

I DO NOT like doing weddings, but they pay well. If I'm doing it for friends I usually don't charge more than $100 or $200, but I usually quote wedding planners and bands about $500.
-Jeremy

It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And I guess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money.

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Lars
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DJing Weddings

#4 Post by Lars » Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:23 am

I started out charging $50/hour for weddings and quickly moved it up to $100. It may seem like a lot but it is a huge amount of work to get a music program ready for a wedding. You will get a lot more requests (Polkas, Disco, Chicken Dance, etc.) than at most swing dances and there will always be somebody that knows what will "really get this party started". I probably DJ three or four weddings a year and at this point I'm thinking of quitting.
Good luck,
Lars
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#5 Post by Campus Five » Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:57 am

Weddings are the lowest form of work for bands or DJ's. You WILL get a million annoying requests for whatever it is that you're not playing. I have a 30's/40's small group swing band, so I get a 100 requests for "Fly Me to the Moon" or "Summer Wind" or other Sinatra, Dean Martin, or other crooner non-sequiter. Now, without making a value judgement about that stuff, It's just not in the repitoire or our style. That still doesn't stop everybody's god damn aunt suzy from bugging the hell out of you.

And as a recent newlywed, I can vouch for the fact that you really have to comply as much as possible with requests, because that is somebody's special day. If you're not prepare to be a complete request machine, you'd probably think twice about doing a wedding. I'm very straight forawrd about my repitiore when dealing with clients in advance, but let's face it, are you going to tell the bride that you just can't play something on HER wedding day?

Charge through the nose - everyone else will, and you deserve it.
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My boys and I have four heavy beats to the bar and no cheating!
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Albert System
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#6 Post by Albert System » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:27 am

Amen

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#7 Post by mousethief » Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:32 am

DJing for a non-dancers wedding is the pits. It's bad enough to be a swing-based DJ at a dancer's wedding with non-dancers in attendance.

I would rather not DJ and give them a big gift to buy them off.

Kalman
"The cause of reform is hurt, not helped, when an activist makes an idiotic suggestion."

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#8 Post by Nate Dogg » Mon Oct 11, 2004 12:15 pm

I have DJed a few friends weddings. I usually do it for free (however, that does not stop the brider's father, etc.. from insisting that I take some sort of tip, which I relent and finally accept). I rent the equipment and they cover my costs on that front.

I have not made an effort to get into the Wedding DJ market for the reasons mentioned by others. It is just not worth the money. I have better things to do on my Saturdays.

When I do DJ weddings, I have no problem playing non-swing stuff, even at dancer weddings, most of the guests are not dancers, so there is a place for those trite, overplayed wedding songs. I consider it part of the job. If that means busting out Abba, Village People, Chicken Dance, David Allen Coe (gotta have country stuff available at Texas weddings), Aretha Franklin, so be it

It is also true that you get a lot of requests at weddings. It is a good idea to really be aware of what the the wedding party needs from you. In some cases, you better play whatever the bride's father, the bride, the groom, best man, etc... ask you to. On the other hand, part of the job is finding a diplomatic way to not play the Good Charlotte and Blink 182, etc... requests you get from various teenage relatives. The best excuse is something like this:

"I have more requests than I can actually play, including a few from the bride (or another important person), I will try, but it is unlikely I will get around to your song, sorry."

In reality, if you spend some time preparing with the bride/groom/etc... that will also be a true statement.

Name dropping the bride or her father helps remind people who the event is really about. But, there is always going to be somebody who thinks you are a bad jukebox. Just make sure the people who matter are happy.

Nathan

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#9 Post by Toon Town Dave » Mon Oct 11, 2004 2:25 pm

Around here, a buddy of mine DJs weddings and such. The company he works for charges $400/night, and he gets $100 of that. The value add of a good DJ is skills on the mic. Don is really good at it compared to many other DJs I've heard around town. His company is also less expensive than most of the competitors.

I DJ'd some friends' wedding a couple months back. They didn't want the usual wedding crap and wanted swing/jazz instead, plus half the guests were dancers so it worked out well.

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Platypus
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#10 Post by Platypus » Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:48 pm

The DJ for my own wedding had a rule: no requests unless the wedding couple okays them. He even had a "no bribe taking" policy. I didn't realize that it was such an unusual stance to take.

The person who contacted me had been at a wedding where I had "gifted" the DJing for a swing friend. She enjoyed the set, knew that I was not a professional wedding DJ, had obviously spoken in detail with my recently married friends, and asked some intelligent questions.

Thanks for the input! I appreciate the advice and definately crafted my response to her based on y'all's responses. I outlined what I am (and am NOT) able to provide. I specifically noted that I would not be able to provide unlimited requests and that my swing-crowd-friendly collection may or may not meet the needs of the couple and their guests.

So, they now know the score and I will let y'all know how it goes.

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#11 Post by gatorgal » Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:12 pm

I DJed a wedding for my buddy Toni (aka ToniBDuguid on Yehoodi) and it was fun... despite the crazy requests for the Chicken Dance, Ludacris and Def Leppard.

Since it was for a friend I didn't charge anything, but her mom was kind enough to give me some cash. Toni herself made it very easy for me since she gave me some of the music her family and friends would enjoy that I didn't have (Think the Macarena and pretty much any country song).

That being said, I wouldn't do it for people I didn't know... just not my bag. I would DJ a friend's wedding if they asked.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Tina 8)
"I'm here to kick a little DJ a$$!"
~ Foreman on That 70s Show

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LindyChef
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#12 Post by LindyChef » Tue Oct 12, 2004 10:31 pm

Djed a friend's wedding ... he's a bit ocd which worked well for me ... I put together a top selection of a few hundred songs and he gave me a list of ones he'd like played ... it was quite sufficient to DJ with and I never felt restricted.

Having said that, I wouldn't do it for someone I didn't know ... just not worth the hassle.

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Lars
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#13 Post by Lars » Sat Oct 23, 2004 7:59 am

I DJ'd a wedding a couple of weeks ago and lo and behold, not one request! The couple wanted big band era swing and latin music. The evening was a lot of fun. We did a half-hour basic lesson and cut them loose.

On another note, I DJ'd a class reunion last Sat. nite that was another story. Custer High (Milwaukee, WI) class of '64. Fun music right? All the late '50s and early to mid '60s stuff. Soul music, British Invasion, Surf etc. It was brutal, "you're playing too many fast songs", "you're playing too many slow songs", (I was playing two fast for each slow). "Do you have any ACDC?" ans. "No" "Do you have any polkas?" ans. "No" "Do you have Shake Your Tail Feather?" ans. "Yes I played it a few songs ago." "Do you have any thing by the Troggs?" ans. "Yes I played two Troggs songs in the last hour." I started at about 6:30 pm and went till 1 am. and for half price because one of the people organizing the reunion is a friend from our scene. They apperantly needed a deal on the DJ'ing so that among other door prizes they could give away a couple hundred in cash! Oh well, ya live and learn, from now on No Deals.
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#14 Post by Toon Town Dave » Sat Oct 23, 2004 2:00 pm

Ack, that sounds like an awful experience. You should have directed all request to the bar, I'm sure they'd be forgotton in the booze lineup.

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Lawrence
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#15 Post by Lawrence » Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:17 pm

Lawrence wrote:I've only done a handful of non-Lindy gigs (corporate or wedding gigs), and I always end up wondering why the hell I agreed to do them.
I DJ'ed a wedding for a friend two weeks ago, and it was nerve-racking and just awful. Nothing like trying to figure out which Pat Green song you should play when you've never previously heard of the guy. The most popular song I played all night: friggin' "Sweet Home Alabama."

Doubt I'll do it, again. We really don't know how spoiled we are as Swing/Lindy DJs.
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