What Does A Wedding DJ Do?

Do You Know What a wedding DJ does?

What makes a wedding DJ different than a club DJ? People tend to lump the two together, and sometimes justifiably so - from the public’s eye they’re both playing music with the purpose of getting people out on the dance floor. The way Wedding DJs approach weddings is almost the opposite of how a DJ will approach to DJing in a nightclub.

Where a club DJ can simply show up and start dropping bangers, a wedding DJ’s focus is on creating an awesome experience for one couple. Because they play such a huge role in your reception, it’s important to hire an experienced wedding DJ who’s capable of creating the type of experience you’re looking for, a wedding is more than just about the music.

Wedding DJs do more than just play music. And much of what they do takes place before they even show up at your venue.

Here’s all the things that a wedding DJ does to make your day everything you’ve always dreamed.

Music Prep & Planning

Picking the right songs to play during your wedding reception is harder than it looks.

The most professional wedding DJs often have some type of planning tool to make your special day exactly the way you want it.

Stephens Entertainment let you choose which songs you want to be played and which ones you don’t. (Sick of line dances? Yeah, we don’t blame you.)

By learning your dance music preferences, we get a better idea of what genres you like so we can throw in some surprises!

We’ll also help you answer all the important questions, such as:

• Do you want any song dedications?
• Will there be a blessing?
• How many people are giving a toast?
• Do you want people to bring the centerpieces home?
• What types of music do your parents like?
• Should your DJ take requests?

Your wedding day hasn’t even arrived and we’ve has already started working!

 

Staying On Schedule

Whether you’re working with a wedding planner or not, it’s important to have a timeline for your wedding ceremony and the reception. This is where your wedding DJ proves invaluable!

Once we finalize all the details of your wedding day with you, we will create a wedding day timeline to keep everyone (including your other vendors) on schedule. In addition to your

ceremony start and end time (if we are doing the ceremony too), your timeline will also list any special song dedications, toasts, or blessings you’d like to include.

Once the timeline is set, we stick to it (while still allowing everything to flow organically)

We typically arrive about 2 hours prior to our start time so that everything is set and ready to go when it’s “I Do” time. With SEDJ, there won’t be any scrambling to complete the soundcheck at the last possible minute.

Being A True Event Host

A good wedding DJ is responsible for way more than playing music. They also act as your Event Host.

Remember that awesome timeline we talked about earlier? Part of sticking to that timeline means knowing when to pick up the mic and make those all-important announcements like introducing you for the first time as a married couple.

Of course, not every wedding DJ has experience as an MC. When you’re hiring a DJ, make sure you consider their personality as much as their experience. As your MC, they’ll be setting the tone for the whole night!  

Sound Technician

For anyone considering DJ-ing their own wedding, we’d like to ask you, “How are your guests going to hear the officiant during the ceremony? Have you ever used a sound board? Do you know how to troubleshoot an iPad setup that just won’t work?”

It takes a lot of specialized equipment and technical know-how to make sure the vows, toasts, and music all sound good from beginning to end. What does a DJ do if not make it all look (and sound) utterly seamless?

Vibe & Atmosphere

Setting the right vibe and atmosphere is what sets wedding DJs apart from other types of DJs.

Unlike a nightclub, which is usually a younger crowd, your wedding guests will consist of family and friends from all generations and walks of life. Finding ways of keeping all these people dancing can be easier said than done. This is where Wedding DJs truly excels, bouncing seamlessly from genre to genre to keep everyone engaged and dancing!

The Extra Bit

All of the planning, scheduling, hosting, technical work, and room reading is nothing without the professionalism.

What sets a professional wedding DJ apart from a Club DJ or you Uncle Bob that says he can DJ your wedding comes down to more than a nice set of speakers. Wedding DJs will have experience to handle any wedding day issues that will arise, and trust us, they will, there is always something, Stephens Entertainment knows how to work with other vendors to resolve issues and to keep family members happy and to take one for the bride if need be.

 

The Role of Your Wedding DJ

There are several different types of DJs and people inherently group club DJs, wedding DJs, and radio DJs all into one category. The truth is, they are all a bit different from one another.

So, what does a wedding DJ do? Wedding DJs have a big role in the success of your wedding reception. They set the mood that can make or break your big day.

A professional wedding DJ should provide you with some type of planning tool. You’re only going to do this once, so you’re going to need a little help to create the perfect playlist. This planning tool will help your wedding dj service get to know you as a couple and create memorable experiences.

You should be able to play music that you like, and veto any music that you don’t like. Are you the type of bride that wants to boogie to the electric slide and cupid shuffle or have you done it so many times you never want to hear it again? Those are the types of things that you will go over with your disc jockey before she even plays the first song. All of this information will be in your planning tools.

 

With SEDJ, leading up to the wedding day, as you’re choosing your special songs, you’ll use the Our online planning system. This tool helps keep us organized and provides details for your wedding from the special songs, the announcements, to little things like who is toasting and will there be a blessing. This will ensure that on the day of your Orlando wedding, we have absolutely everything we need to orchestrate things from start to finish. Our goal is for you and your fiancé to have an amazing time at your reception, letting us create the memories.

There are many other aspects of your wedding that make it unique. It’s important for a wedding DJ to know if there are any special songs or dedications as well as surprise dances. That way they can facilitate smooth transitions all while reading the crowd and adhering to the guidelines made by the couple.

How interactive do you want your DJ to be? Do you want your wedding DJ to take requests or have set and agreed upon dj sets? How do you envision your wedding day? All of these elements are what make your reception unique and one of a kind and your wedding DJ should carefully choreograph each of these to ensure the success of your wedding.

And this is all before the first song is even played.

Wedding Ceremony Music + Sound

We arrive an hour and a half before anyone is present. As your guests filter in for your upcoming ceremony, we play light recorded music to fill the air, as we all await the beginning of the procession. We place a wireless lapel mic on the officiant, so all of your guests can hear the ceremony. We then play a processional song for the honored guests to be seated and a special song for your walk down the aisle! The ceremony then takes place, and once pronounced a married couple, we play the celebratory exit song. These are all choices you make!

Following the ceremony, the music continues with the transition into cocktails while you take photos.

Wedding Day Timeline

Once we finalize all the details of your wedding day with you, we will send a copy of your final timeline to you and your planner/vendors. We backup all of your special songs on multiple devices, just in case! We typically arrive about 1-2 hours prior to our start time to set up all equipment so there are no awkward transitions. Everything is set and ready to go when it’s “I Do” time!

Cocktail Music + Vibe

As your guests filter in from the ceremony, there is cocktail music playing to greet them, and as they enjoy refreshments and hors d’oeuvres, we await the arrival of the newlyweds and wedding party. If needed, we will ask them to take their seats for our introductions.

We become the voice of your reception, and we keep your guests informed of what events are taking place, and where their attention should be. We work with your vendors to be sure that none of us miss a step.

Wedding Reception MC + Music + Vibe

Upon arrival, we’ll greet the newlyweds and wedding party and prepare your guest of honor for introductions. We welcome everyone and progress with a fun, yet formal introduction of everyone in the wedding party, culminating with the introduction of the newly married couple. We encourage all of you to get somewhat creative with this event, as this sets the stage for the reception to follow!

As the cheers start to fade, we introduce the newlyweds, “dancing together for the very first time as a married couple,” followed by your chosen song. We then invite your guest of honor, (i.e. Maid of Honor, Best Man, Mom, Dad, etc.) to your head table as we transition into our toasts followed by dinner. Once the dinner and formal dances have been completed, it’s party time!!

As we transition from dinner to dancing, we’ll pick the music up a bit to attract your guest’s attention to the dance floor. Then it’s party time! Our style is to truly incorporate your music tastes. Whether it’s hip hop, country, or classic rock, we’ll do it! This is your day, not ours.

We encourage you to provide us with a list of your favorites, and your list of least favorites! We love requests from your guests and we’ve noticed that sometimes those special requests from guests are the ones that create lasting memories on the dance floor. Even for those that never dance.

Your Wedding Is All About You And a Good DJ Knows That!

A wedding DJ has a very specific job. The first part of the job is to keep the couple happy because it’s their day. After that a wedding DJ’s job is to keep a lively party, keep people dancing, and make sure that everyone has a rocking good time!

A DJ is what keeps the whole wedding flowing so you and your guests can celebrate!

It’s the details that make a good wedding extraordinary. At SEDJ!, we’re all about creating magical moments. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!