Perhaps more than anyone else at your wedding reception, your DJ is the person who will keep everyone's excitement level up and help make the night a memorable one. You may think that hiring your DJ is an easy task, but you should ask these questions to ensure that you're choosing someone who will make your event special without causing any problems.
Are You Familiar with the Reception Venue?
Different spaces have different acoustics that need to be experienced and dealt with before the reception. The DJ should be eager to know how many speakers they'll need to bring for the space and how they'll be able to rig their lighting setup. That's why you have to ask if they have worked in your reception venue before. If so, they are already familiar with what's needed. If they haven't, a lack of interest in testing the space might indicate that they're not the right person for the job.
Can We Visit Your Next Wedding?
Even if you've already gotten a good idea of the type of music they play and the type of vibe they give off during a performance, seeing a DJ in person is probably the best way to understand how they work. They might have put their best work on their video portfolio, but watching them in real time will give you an idea of how they handle requests, how they liven an event that has gotten sleepy and how they encourage people to dance.
Of course, ultimate permission to crash their next wedding probably has to come from the bride and groom; the DJ can put you in touch, and the wedding party is likely to grant permission since they know how hard it can be to hire a good DJ.
What if There's an Emergency?
When you're hiring a DJ, often you're hiring a single person to do the work. If they become ill or otherwise cannot make your wedding reception, you need to be sure that you can fill that spot. Do they have the name of a similar DJ for you to check out? Do they have an assistant or backup that can take over? This should be ironed out now so that there's no trouble on the wedding day. You may also want to seek out a DJ company with several DJs on their roster so that if one becomes sick they can recommend someone to you right away.
With these questions, your search and hiring of a wedding DJ can be done and you can be happy with the DJ you choose. Talk to others you know who have been recently married for more input.
