How Much Should Your Wedding DJ Cost

Particularly, I truly appreciate the fact that Stacie has taken the time to really do her research with this article.  She talked to brides and grooms, other wedding vendors and even a few DJs too; so be sure to take a few minutes and read this article thoroughly.

It should also be noted that Stacie’s article is in fact one of the many topics the book ‘Wed Without Regrets‘ tackles in great detail.  Way to go Stacie!

WARNING: If you are easily offended, please DO NOT watch the following video clip – the content is inappropriate for minors!!! 

Be sure to note that this particular incident involved a DJ company based in Ohio that provides DJ and Videographer services for less than what the American Disc Jockey Association recommends as the standard price for just a DJ performing for four hours at a wedding reception! The following two videos are TV news reports about just one of many so-called DJs companies across the U.S.

In a nutshell, most of these sites state that you should expect to budget 10% for your reception music.  However I always emphasize that it is JUST music for their reception and does not include their ceremony or extras such as lighting.  For example, the average spent on a wedding in Winchester, VA is between $16,369 and $27,282 with the median being $21,825 – 10% is real easy to figure out.  Likewise, the American Disc Jockey Association website states that DJ pricing can be as much as $5,000 or more!

Either way, if you are planning a wedding, be sure to check our availability and I will be happy to sit down with you to further discuss this and your wedding plans.

It’s an awefully hard way to learn the minimum basics of hiring a DJ for your wedding or special event… 

A Cheap DJ Does NOT Belong at Your Wedding!

Wedding ceremonies and receptions have become a much more elaborate affair every year.  Extravagant venues, Hollywood-quality décor, and even 5-star food can be seen at many of these special events.  Unfortunately the cause of the dancing, the DJ, sets up a system that does not match the formality of the occasion and may even have wires exposed all over the place.

Ouch!  What an eyesore.

It’s not the Bride & Groom’s fault though – after all, DJs are all the same, right?

Often, I’ve talked to too many couples that have hired a DJ who charges $300 – $500 because they are a relative, a friend of a friend or just does it on the “side” from their real job.

But what else is out there?  What if there’s a DJ company that does more than just send a random DJ with a Top40 list, pushing buttons, and telling your guests to wave their hands in the air like they just don’t care??

There is, and I won’t raise my hands because I DO care!

Wedding Entertainment companies that focus solely on weddings are an extremely rare gem.  Many DJs “specialize” in weddings, schools, corporate events, birthday parties, family reunions and cutting grass.  There is nothing wrong with this, but wedding entertainment is a completely different animal than a school dance.  My company will perform at most of these events if requested, but I have focused my resources entirely on high-quality wedding planning and entertainment services.  That’s because wedding pre-event planning, event coordination and master of ceremonies services require a completely different skill set than spinning tunes for a teen dance.

Wedding Entertainment Companies deal strictly with wedding ceremonies and receptions, rehearsals and pre-event planning.  I work daily with many issues that only a wedding can bring in; Appropriate music selections, special dances, announcements, vendor coordination, making the best out of available power, dealing with the peculiarities from one venue to the next, but most importantly, having 100% the responsibility for the success of your wedding!

That’s right, 100% responsibility I said.

Food, venue, & décor IS important, don’t get me wrong, and I won’t deviate from that point.  These items are important to set the mood of the wedding.  If the right vendors are hired, then you’ve achieved success in setting the right mood.  The proper entertainment will take that achieved ambience and captialize on it.

Use this for an example.  If the DJ didn’t show up, would the wedding be successful?  The mood is set thanks to the right vendors, but now what will guests do?  No DJ means no music, no announcements and no dancing.  No dancing means no one stays for very long.  No one staying means no food is eaten, as well as the décor and venue layout are not thoroughly enjoyed.

If the DJ shows up but is AWFUL, or his equipment trips the breakers continuously – what percentage of success for the dance itself did they achieve?  In other words, if the entertainment does not show up or worse yet, is ill-prepared for your wedding, you will have nothing more than a really expensive food function for your family and friends.  With the rising costs of holding a wedding, it is simply not very smart to throw money away by trying to cut corners where it matters most; your entertainment.

But what if the right DJ shows up?  Great setup, great sound, décor lighting – and the right team to make everything come together seamlessly!  Your guests dance the entire night, eat ALL the food, take lots of photos with the décor and thank the venue staff and/or the caterers for a job well done.  The next day, your wedding reception is the talk among all of your family and friends and the compliments keep rolling in for weeks!

What percentage of success would you place on the aforementioned scenario?

I had a great chat with a couple a few weeks ago who was asked if I can do a wedding reception for $395.  When I asked how they arrived at that price, they told me  that the DJ who performed a wedding reception for the bride’s sister quoted them that price.  My question to them was that if this DJ did such a great job and was giving them such a cheap price, why were they meeting with me?  Why were they looking for another DJ at all?

They told me that they did not think that he was very good because he was missing music such as the first dance song and that his laptop crashed and was unable to continue playing any music.  One of the guests had to produce and iPod and another a portable CD player in order for the wedding reception to keep going.  The reality is that this DJ should have never been booked for something as important as this once in a lifetime event.

So what is a dedicated wedding entertainment company worth?  The truth is in the numbers.  Let’s take a look:

Here’s a cost breakdown for a traditional wedding entertainment package at a reception that can handle around 300 guests.

• Two speakers = $800/each (there are cheaper, but you get what you pay for.  $1,600 is a very conservative number for a system that can handle 300+ guests.
• One Sub = $1500
• 1 year music subscription (multipled by the last 10 years) = $5,950
• Assorted cords & cables = $300
• Professional Mixer = $600
• Dual CD Deck = $600
• WIRED (not wireless) Microphone = $100
• WIRELESS Microphone = $500
• Tripods for speakers = $100
• Console to hold everything together = $350
• Computerized Performance System = $2,500
• Software = $200

Keep in mind that I did not add in additional business expenses such as advertising, utilities, website hosting, vehicle maintenance, gas, association dues, continuing education and insurance.  In all about another $7,500 in unlisted expenses.

That’s $14,300.  All rental companies charge at least 10% of equipment costs.  This means that to rent out this system at 10% it would be at least $1,400.  In the last three years this number has jumped up to an average of about 20%.  But for the sake of simplicity, we’ll just say that it is 10%.

What does this conclude of the $395 DJ?

$1,400 is $1,005 more than $395.  This means the DJ either 1) values his skills at NEGATIVE $1,000 or 2) they’re bringing out low-grade equipment that will not be reliable or able to handle all of your guests.

Not to mention it’s simply not possible to run a business and provide effective equipment and service at $395.  Even if they were booked 52 days of the year (every Saturday), that’s only $20,540…  That’s barely covering the costs of equipment with nothing left over for insurance, advertising, and other business expenses.  What are they paying themselves?

Here’s something else to think about: the numbers I gave you are for middle to high-end equipment.  Most wedding entertainment companies use a similar combination of equipment in their sound system that is at least as sophisticated.  I did not even go over decor lighting, dance lighting, pre-event production work, planning or additional equipment such as video screens, LCD monitors, DVD decks, additional wireless mics and so forth.

Think back on the scenarios I gave you on the success of the wedding.  Is that success worth more than $395?  Talent should be worth more than that if the success of a wedding depends on it.

We’ve talked equipment, but what about talent and service?  This is what my dedicated wedding entertainment company brings to your table:

• Certified Master of Ceremonies, Charles E. Snyder III
• CUSTOM edited music library.  FCC standards are NOT traditional family values.  A proper DJ will remove the four words that the radio plays that do NOT belong in a family oriented event.
• Lossless audio library.  Most DJs use MP3s, but my company is dedicated to providing the highest quality in audio playback and that starts with a lossless digital music library, played back on a dedicated Computerized Performance System through a high-quality sound system.
• $1 million liability insurance policy.
• Membership in trade organizations and associations such as the American Disc Jockey Association, the Central PA Chapter of the ADJA, Toastmasters International and DeeJayMasterMind.
• Proper knowledge of electricity, electronics and computers.  Lets face it, stuff happens and when things go wrong, your DJ better know how to handle it!  For example, I have taken a number of courses in electricity, pro-audio, and I am a certified CompTIA A+ Computer Technician as well as being a certified CPSDJ.
• Continuing education, conferences and workshops.  In 2009 alone I have spent more than $7,500 obtaining advanced level training, attending conferences, conventions and advanced performance workshops.  So far I am on track to exceed that number in 2010!

So where do you start?  The American Disc Jockey Association states that the average price for a DJ for a four hour event is $1,200.  Ask the DJ if they are a dedicated wedding entertainment provider or they have one of those catch-all companies that “specializes” in everything.  Ask the DJ if they belong to one of the associations.  If they answer no to either question and quote less than $1,200, save yourself time and headaches by simply moving on to the next one on your list.

In conclusion, the average amount of money spent per wedding continues to ratchet upwards each year and yet DJs charge the same rates that I did when I started out in the early 1980s.  A survey conducted just a few years ago stated that the average wedding reception costs approximately $20,000.  At a typical four hour wedding reception, if your guests leave just one hour early because the $395 DJ is inadequate, you just threw away $5,000!

Even at just $2,000, a professional Wedding MC is just 10% of your total costs, but they are responsible for 100% of the success of your special day.  Choose wisely.

This article was originally written by DJ Arnoldo Offerman.  It has been edited and used with his permission.

They do everything that I do?  How is this even possible?  Seriously. 

It reminds me of another situation that I ran into several years ago.  The friend of a friend offered to fix the breaks on my business vehicle for less than the price of the parts I needed.  Quite frankly it scared me to death and I declined the generous (and very cheap) offer in favor of having a professional do the work.

Don’t get me wrong, I like saving money as much as the next person.  Yet when I considered this proposal for repairs, I declined it for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it would actually save me time and a lot of money in the long run.  Instead of rolling the dice on the questionable repair “deal”, I would have peace of mind in knowing that the work would be done right the first time, would be backed up by a gaurantee and would save me additional expenses in the long term.

Like this friend of a friend that had only the best intentions, most DJs do not charge nearly enough for their services to cover all of their expenses.  Usually this is covered by their real job, but rarely provides enough for them to attend trade shows or even dedicate the time and resources to obtain education and experience other than experimenting at your wedding reception.  Or, the other popular option among the low-priced DJs is to book more events, sometimes performing two or three events on any given day.  This of course causes more than a few problems for you and your wedding as well.

For example:

1. They do not have the time and availability to meet with you at your convenience.
2. They do not have the time or training to properly assist you with wedding planning details.
3. They lack the money and time to obtain education for their profession.

I have seen a lot of DJs come and go over the years, most of the time it is simply because they did not charge nearly enough to cover their expenses, upgrade their equipment and most importantly, obtain performance-related training.  They are too busy scrambling to book the next event to pay proper attention to the clients that they have and their service suffers for it.

Personally, I charge according to my business expenses so that I can effectively maintain and upgrade my equipment on a regular basis, I am able to attend several conferences throughout the year and I have the time as well as the money to obtain training.  One such example would be my recent accomplishment of becoming a certified Master of Ceremonies.

To put that into proper perspective for you, out of the approximate 200-300 DJs in Central PA, less than two dozen belong to the American Disc Jockey Association – I have been a member since 2006.  Out of that two dozen, only three or four belong to Toast Masters International – I have been a member since 2006.  Out of that handful I am the only DJ who is certified as a CPSDJ (Computerized Performance System Disc Jockey) since 2005 and I am the only one that is a certified Master of Ceremonies.  I am making that difference even greater in October when I am attending another performance-related workshop, because I have the time and the money to do so.

Don’t get fooled by the scam of the decades…

Charles E. Snyder III,
Certified Master of Ceremonies
Extraordinary Weddings
717.718.5218

Why such a drastic change of heart?

That is because they all realized that the entertainment is what really makes or breaks any special event, especially a wedding.  In other words, most of them learned the hard way that if their entertainment is lacking, their wedding reception will leave much to be desired too.  The bottom line is that these brides and thousands more just like them find out the hard way each year that the cheapest entertainment is never the best value.

The reason that there is such a great difference between the cheapest and the best value is that most people have been trained to think that all DJs are the same and just play music.  Even most DJs believe this as well, but the truth of the matter is that the success of the event depends more on personality, talent and skill than it does on the biggest speakers, the best light show and a tremendously large music library.  The bottom line is that anyone can buy those huge speakers, have lots of pretty lights and download ridiculous amounts of music from file sharing websites – that’s why there are so many so-called DJs.

On the other hand, most of the higher priced entertainers provide you with the best value for your money because they belong to trade organizations, they attend conferences or workshops to hone their skills and they offer you much greater flexibility with creative ideas.  But it doesn’t just stop there, a better value entertainer also carries liability insurance, has attained one or more recognized certifications based upon demonstrating skills and is readily available to you during your wedding planning.  I could go on, but you get the point.

Consider this, the American Disc Jockey Association – the largest DJ association in the world – states that the average price for a four hour wedding is $1,200.  So when you start receiving all sorts of price quotes that are $300 – $600, ask yourself why that is.

Another consideration is this – the average wedding reception costs more than $12,000 (facility rental, catering, cake, photographer, etc.) and typically lasts just four hours.  If most of your guests leave just one hour early because your entertainment provider cannot perform; you just threw away an average of $3,000 ($12,000 / 4hrs = $3,000 per hour).  The absolute best value comes from an experienced entertainer with a proven track-record of successful wedding receptions!

Charles E. Snyder III,
Certified Master of Ceremonies
Extraordinary Weddings
717.718.5218