Deciding how much to budget for your wedding entertainment can be difficult, so here is our expert advice for making the best investment on your wedding DJ.
The perils of planning a wedding are seemingly endless – from selecting your vendors to navigating a tidal wave of contracts and emails. There’s the sky-high expectations from family and friends who are traveling far and wide just for you, adding massive pressure to throw one incredible party. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the whole committing-for-life thing. We commend you for whatever stage of the wedding planning process you find yourself in.
Call us biased, but we believe selecting your wedding DJ is the most crucial decision you’ll make for your wedding celebration. Your DJ is the sole deciding factor in whether your wedding is a snooze-fest, cringey, or an absolute banger that your guests will talk about for years to come. However, even if you have impeccable music taste & love throwing parties, discerning between a mediocre wedding DJ and an amazing entertainer and how much to spend can be difficult. Even more so, lots of DJs will gate keep their pricing from the general public.
Fear not as we shed light on budgeting, questions to ask, & expectations to have when hiring a wedding DJ.
When it comes to wedding DJs, you get what you pay for.
Whether it's clothing, cars, or a great dining experience, each of you has a particular style and preference of what feels amazing and how much that should cost. Wedding DJs are no different, and depending on how important music and the vibe are to you will determine how much you spend.
Despite the fact that anyone can sign up for a Spotify or Apple Music account, most weddings including low-budget weddings still invest in hiring professional entertainers. If music and dancing are not the highlight you had in mind, but you know you still need a professional that can show up with sound equipment and play standard radio hits, expect to pay anywhere between $1300 and $2500 in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, & Pennsylvania. This is fine for people that will be ok hiring an average DJ, most likely a part-time person, rookie, or less culturally tapped in professional. At this price range, you probably won't get the cleanest and most awe-inspiring blends, the sexiest setups, or premiere level service, but you will have music at your wedding. There's too many worst case scenarios to list (hearing 'cotton eyed joe' or getting blasted with frat-party lasers), but best case scenario is you find a hungry DJ who over-delivers on the party.
If music and creating a highly energized dance floor is vital to you, and you seek to hire an above-average wedding DJ with energy, skill, creativity, and attention to detail, then you can expect to invest between $3000 to $5000 for your wedding entertainment in the New York, New Jersey, & Philadelphia-area. This investment will usually cover all of your sound and production needs for ceremony, cocktail, and reception. This tier of entertainment is for the couple that loves a wide range of music and wants everyone singing and dancing all night long. DJs at this level have years of professional experience, understand the cultural nuances of family & friends, go above & beyond with communication & working with other vendors, and are able to offer more stylish and creative services.
If your desire is to enhance the DJ entertainment to a luxury level service with high production value - meaning you want concert level lighting orchestrated to the music or a DJ + Musician Hybrid performance, you should plan to spend between $6000 to $10,000 minimum in the New York, New Jersey, & Philadelphia-area. This option is great for couple's who wish to make a show-stopping impact on their guests.
How to budget & value for your wedding DJ.
We understand how expensive weddings are when factoring in all of the ingredients that go into making them happen. Some couples have limitless budgets while others will have to make harder decisions around what is more important to spend money on - stationary that will be forgotten & trashed OR entertainment that guarantees a memorable experience.
You're reading this because you likely want an amazing party with all of your friends and family on the dance floor. We love food & cocktails, but no one will remember how good they were, but everyone WILL remember whether they smiled and danced with you and your guests.
A lot of DJs focus on upselling couples with lighting, photo booths, sparklers, smoke machines, etc, but it's the music and the ability of a great DJ that will help bring everyone together once you take away the fluff and fanfare.
On average, couples are usually told to allocate 5% to 10% of their wedding budget towards entertainment. If the party aspect of your wedding is a top priority, we recommend increasing that percentage to 15% or higher.
How to know if my DJ is worth the investment?
You ultimately want to like and befriend your wedding DJ. They are the vibe creator and should be great at first connecting with you on a personal level, and secondly able to quickly connect with your guests and the other vendors.
While doing your research & comparison online, take note of the way they use social media, design their websites, language they use, and so on. What is their attention to detail and how creative do they appear to be? Do they feel cheesy and outdated? Are they more focused on the glitz and glam of sparklers and lights rather than showcasing great playlists and DJ mixes?
After you've been reeled in by their branding and aesthetic, dive in on the reviews. They don't need thousands of reviews, but are they up to date & reflect couples that share similar values around music & culture? Do the reviews highlight details and aspects of a wedding experience that you are hoping to create?
Now if the DJ or company has passed your music & aesthetic checks, in-depth reviews, and even has some level of pricing info available, you will still need to connect with them one-on-one. How easy is it to schedule time with them?
Once you've scheduled time to connect with your potential DJ, it's important that both partners are present for the meeting and that you come with a list of questions or topics that are important to you. Ultimately, you can begin to determine if this wedding DJ is worth their value based on how well they listen and articulately reflect your vision and vibe back to you. Are they focused on telling you why they're great OR do they ask great questions, speak your musical language, and help you think of things you haven't considered? In most cases, they will not only be the one mixing music but also the one making announcements and introductions, so make sure you like their voice and overall energy. If your wedding is the Super Bowl of your life, is this the quarterback you want on the field? If the answer is yes, then you've found your wedding DJ.
Maybe our sports analogy is a but much for some, but for those who value having the best talent on your wedding day, invest in the DJ who will deliver a premiere-level service. Your friends and family are counting on you and if this truly is the love of your life, you get one chance to make it amazing!
If you think Bonita Sound is suited to entertain your wedding with one of our DJs or DJ + Musician Hybrids, fill out our contact form and schedule a call with us.