If you are deciding to hire a DJ for your wedding then it always makes sense to not only trust the recommendations of others, but also that you actually go to an even that the DJ is playing at in order to work out whether or not they will be a good fit for you. When I got married we used the services of the amazing DJ Rama, who we also went to check out before we hired him. This DJ completely blew me away and he showed us all of the qualities which people are looking for in a great wedding DJ. IF you are on the hunt, here is what to look for when you go and see them.
Silence
At a wedding, the only time that you really want to hear the DJ is when they are either introducing the cutting of the cake or the first dance. In most cases you will have an MC anyway, so in reality, you should be looking for a DJ who keeps it quiet. There is an awful tradition amongst older DJs that they love to talk as though they were on the radio, introducing every song and talking over the top of them, if you see any evidence of this, they are not your guy!
Room Knowledge
DJs should always pre-prepared playlists but they should also be able to read the room very well. When we went to see DJ Rama he started off with some classics but the crowd was quite a young one so we weren’t sure if he was going to persevere or switch things up. After the first half an hour he started to play much more modern music and the people started to get up and dance. This is what you should be looking for in terms of reading the room, playing drill music to a group of octogenarians is not exactly what you should be looking for, nor is planing Hank Williams to a group of 20 somethings.
Keeping the Feeling
One of the biggest bones of contention that I have with so many DJs is that they finally start playing some music which gets the people up dancing but instead of keeping the spirit going, they play something much slower and people end up heading back to their seats. At a wedding you want the party vibe to play out all night, and that is why you need a DJ who is going to be able to understand what people want and keep playing more of it.
Flexible
My wife and I had a number of songs which we wanted the DJ to play, only 6, and DJ Rama was more than happy to oblige. I have friends however who have tried to ask the same thing from their DJs and they have been rebuffed by the DJ who took too much pride in their own playlist. Refusing requests is fine on the night, but they should work around the requests of the bride and groom.
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