Wedding DJ Service- Any Suggestions??

[nitroant]

As with most things involving a wedding, you hear about some real bad experiences people have had with their DJ and other hired services for the day. We are in the process of checking out DJ's and they all seem about the same with a little difference in price from one to another, so looking for anybody you have had play for you and if you would recommend them or not and what to look out for as far extras after the fact. Our wedding reception will be in Blaine, MN.

Thanks for the help.

[Dragonsm]

Good DJ's seem to book up just as fast as open days for the church ceremony.

My wife and I got married in the Hutchinson area so I can recommend the guy we had...(though he did a fantastic job) I spoke with a few different DJ's when picking ours, some of them even emailed me a list of songs they had along with other info. You can get a good first impression over the phone if you talk to them for a while. When you are talking to them, find out if they are doing any upcoming events and check them out live. (The DJ we chose also was hired to do all the school dances in Hutch which to me said a lot too)

Also, ask the reception coordinator as to who they might recommend. Another great way to narrow down the list and start the selection.

Good Luck!

[Ralph Wiggum]

We went through Bella Gala. They did a wedding for a friend and I thought their DJ was great. The DJ we got was nothing special, but he wasn't bad, either.

A few things I liked was that he was there as long as we needed him--no extra charge for over 4 hours, or whatever. And you can go through online and select songs you'd like to hear, songs you need to hear, songs to not play (and he actually paid attention to that), which was nice. And they get anything you want that is not on their list, too.

They were good to deal with. I would not hesitate to check them out.

[BoxMN]

My cousin DJ's, and has had a pretty good business for about 20 years. His name is Mark Butler, and he has a HSOforum at butlerproductions you know what. He did my stepsons, and I think my stepdaughters, and I have been to many others he has done. I think he has more folks employed now. If you call him, Tell him his cousin Chris sent you Worth getting a quote, and I think he lives roughly in your area, he is an East Side boy originally, but now north and west of St. Paul.

Not sure about prices, as I probably got the "cousin price" for the weddings...

The HSOforum has pics and testimonials etc...

[skee0025]

adagio did ours, they were very reasonable as far as price and the wife had no complaints with them

[Steve Foss]

I've photographed wedding receptions/dances in the Twin Cities where Bella Gala was doing the DJ work. They're good.

[huntingislife]

We used Instant Request for our wedding in Feb. They were great, I highly recommend them.

[Shack]

Yep, the DJ makes or brakes the dance

You can have the cheapest/junk equipment, a great DJ and things go great. You can have the best equipment the industry offers, a horrible DJ and things will go bad.

I DJ'ed with Solid Gold Sound and did about 5 wedding and other VFW and hall gatherings years back. It was a lot of fun, but a tremendous amount of pressure to make the evening go smooth, while doing the right things and playing the right music as you read the crowd. A DJ who is seasoned will make this look like nothing and easy. If you actually do it, it is not anywhere as they make it look. Every skip, every equipment malfunction can be drowned out by a good DJ.

Some good advice has been given above.

The best thing is to see the DJ that will be doing your wedding in action. With a large company that has many DJ’s working for them, make sure you get a list and go and see them until you find the one you want. You do not want to go see a DJ and find out it is not the same one who shows up at your wedding reception. If you can, try to watch him/her all night. If not, try to catch the end of the set/session. This will give you a good idea if people/crowd is having fun or not. I would find out where the DJ is playing, but do not let on that you will be their for sure. If you have questions, bring a note pad and write them down, then ask for a meeting with the DJ a day or two later. Also watch how he/she interacts with the crowd. If it is a good interaction or a harsh one. If they are drinking. Voice, does the voice sound good. These little things might go unnoticed by you during the wedding, but your family or friends might pick on them or worse, have issues with the DJ .

Most of the DJ's I hung out with when I was DJing where very good and where helpful. Their was a couple though that had no business being a in the industry Those are the ones you want to weed out or go with another company. Most Large DJ services will have 5-20 DJ's working for them. Other DJ outfits have only one and they are the owner. Either or can have rotten egg’s in the pile.

Good luck and have fun!

[dustin85]

We had our dance in the Mankato area.I hired Ryan Klinger, owner of "Life of the Party" He was reasonably priced, had nice equipment, and did a great job! I would recommend him to anyone. He told me a couple nights that he was working other dances, and invited me to come watch for the night to see if I liked his work. If you want his info, search for lifeoftheparty on the web.