How to brief your wedding DJ
Photo – Alex Motta
A wedding is one of the most important and special days of your life. You have been planning for months, and want everything to go perfectly. However, many brides and grooms underestimate the impact that music has on the enjoyment of their big day – both for themselves and their guests!
In this blog post, we enlisted one of our tribe, One More Song Entertainment, to provide key tips for briefing your wedding DJ. Follow these steps to ensure that your DJ plays music you personally love, gets the sound right, has the dance floor pumping and leaves a lasting memory for years to come!
Communicate about the music and sound.
Consider your key songs – these are the tracks to be played during key moments including your entrance, bridal waltz, bouquet toss, farewell circle, etc. A good DJ will ask you for these as part of the consultation period and be able to provide you with suggested tracks
Think about the type of background music you’d like – this important as it sets the mood for the whole night. If you’re not sure, your DJ will be able to provide guidance on what works for a wedding
Provide specific music requests and do-not-play tracks – for requests, you can go as broad or specific as you like (i.e. from genres through to particular artists and tracks), but make sure you clearly communicate any songs that must be played, and any you don’t want played. If you don’t want to get too detailed, focus more on the dance floor part of the night, as this is when everyone will be paying close attention to the music!
Ask your DJ about the set up required at your venue – this is important to ensure the best possible sound. As a general rule, if you have over 150 guests, your DJ should be using sub woofers to amplify the sound
Don’t forget about your ceremony – have you got music lined up for this part of the day, including pre-ceremony and post-ceremony canapes? If you need help, ask your DJ to include this as part of their services.
Photo – Jason Vandermeer
Talk about your guest demographic.
Give your DJ a good rundown of who will be at your wedding – ages, mix of guests (family to friends ratio), domestic vs visitors, etc. A majority younger crowd demands a different flow to the night than a mixed age group of guests (eg your DJ may want to kick off the dance floor with some classic tunes that both young and old can enjoy earlier on before the fatigue of the day kicks in for older family members!)
Let them know how many guests will be attending – as every person absorbs some of the sound, this is a key piece of information for the DJ in arranging their set up.
Discuss whether it is likely to be a party crowd or more of a chilled vibe – this will also give your DJ a good idea of how to build the night (and the dance floor!).
Provide details of the order of events and floor plan.
Provide a run sheet as soon as you can – this is important for the DJ to know what music to play when, timings of key events like speeches, etc. You should not have to cue your DJ on the day; it is for you to enjoy!
Floor plan is also very important for sound – many DJs get this wrong (if you haven’t guessed by now, sound is extremely important and more often than not, overlooked; this can have a huge effect on the night). This applies both to the music and the speeches!
Photo – Georgia Verrells
Put your DJ in touch with your venue.
Get in early – for venues with specific or unique sound requirements (eg noise restrictions in residential areas), it’s wise to get your DJ liaising with your event coordinator/the venue manager sooner rather than later.
During the week leading up to the big day, your DJ should get in touch with the venue to confirm equipment set up times and provide insurance information – they should also discuss the set up and positioning of the speaker/s and make any additional arrangements that are required.
Make time to speak to your DJ the week of your wedding.
Run through all of your key songs, order of events and any other important arrangements, such as who will be your MC – again, a good wedding DJ will be proactive and arrange a time with you as the client
Communicate any last minute changes and requests – confirm any changes to run sheet or key songs or last minute music requests.
Ask your DJ to summarise any changes in writing – it is always best to confirm the key points from each of your discussions in writing (even if in bullet points) to ensure there is no confusion and everything runs smoothly. Ask your DJ for a summary after each major meeting or phone call. After all, it’s one of the biggest days of your life!
Photo – Jeremy Blode
For more music inspo from One More Song, check out their Mixcloud page, where there are different sample mixes to help choose some tracks you’d love to hear on your special day!
Then, it’s time to lock in these super sound masters by visiting their profile here.
