Comments by Alan Dodson

The Do It Yourself Wedding Reception

Alan Dobson of TopDiscJockey.com says:

I recently read an article in a bridal magazine where the so-called "wedding expert" author suggested renting a sound system and using an iPod loaded with the bride and groom's favorite music as a way to save money at their wedding reception and still have a great time. It got me thinking about the disastrous results of a wedding where anyone took that foolish advice.

Why not take the idea a step further. How much would someone save if they decided to put together a "Do-It-Yourself" DJ performance that truly rivaled everything a pro DJ could offer? Could it even be done? The results were surprising!

For fun, I checked out the cost of renting a basic professional sound system (DJ mixer, amplifier and speakers) suitable for about 150 guests. About $150 is the average rental fee for 1 night, but you'll soon find out that your $150 just rents the sound system…. delivery is not included (add $50). Plus, will you have time that day to pick it up and return it the next morning? You'll also need dual CD players, a cordless microphone, headphones, connecting cables, AC power strips, extra fuses, batteries for the cordless mic, duct tape, tools, speaker stands, cases and countless other stuff. If you could ever find all that gear conveniently bundled for rent (as if), it would also cost a lot extra. OK, since this is all conjecture, let's keep costs unrealistically low and say it will only cost another $100 (delivery included), for all that necessary extra gear every Pro DJ carries. We're now at $300 with all the above gear delivered to the hall. Now multiply that by 2, since most reputable professional DJs bring a complete back-up system to every function, not just in case something goes wrong with the main system during their client's important event, but also because they quite often need to be set up in 2 locations. Amateur DJs typically do not own or bring back-up systems to every function. (My apologies to all those otherwise professional DJs who don't have back-up gear, but you are a ticking time bomb waiting to go off). Already, the base equipment rental + delivery cost for one night is $600 and you still need to add a great music collection and at the very least, someone to set up and run the system at the party.

To save money, let's say, at great inconvenience, you manage to gather together several thousand CDs from everyone you know and now have a good variety of completely unorganized music on hand at no additional cost. Now you'll need to find an inexpensive one-man road crew, DJ, MC and entertainer. How much should you be willing to pay for someone who needs to have experience at setting up and then smoothly running and troubleshooting DJ sound equipment, selecting and mixing the right music, reading the needs of a diverse audience and keeping all your guests entertained? Oh, and I'll bet you'd also like that person to be well-dressed and groomed, have a great personality, be fun, interactive and able to encourage audience participation and lots of dancing. How much is that one person's total service worth to you by the hour? Oh, that's right; you're looking to save money. For the sake of argument, let's again keep the rate very low. A part-time DJ who dated your sister's best friend owes you a favor because you once pulled a thorn out of his paw. He's agreed to charge a ridiculously low $25 an hour for every hour he devotes to your important function. Wow, you're thinking, that's only $100 for the DJ's continuous entertainment services at my 4 hour party…. isn't it? If we hire him for 4 hours, the budget is now up to $700… so far.

Oh, and we shouldn't forget the DJ fee was a pre-agreed $25 an hour for every hour he devotes to your important function. Therefore, we need to add the DJ's travel time to and from the party (approx 1/2 hour each way = 1 hour round trip.. add $25) and the set-up/break-down time for half the rented DJ equipment (one system), including a sound check in advance to make sure everything is functioning and the sound is perfect before the party begins (add a very conservative 1/2 hour set-up time + 1/2 hour break-down time: 1 hour = another $25). Subtotal: $750… so far.

Maybe the DJ could also bring along some cool party props like maracas, sunglasses, inflatable guitars, hula hoops and a limbo bar.. (if so, add $50 to cover the wholesale cost of the props for 150 guests). We've rented everything at prevailing rates, brought in the music collection for free and priced all the other unavoidable costs quite conservatively thus far, and still, our bare minimum cost for 4 hours of "do it yourself" professional caliber DJ is already up to $800 at this point.

Oh, and did you say you might also want some DJ lighting and karaoke to add more excitement to your function? Karaoke rental systems, which include a TV monitor & stand, karaoke CDG disc player with pitch/key control, dual microphones, stands, all cables and a collection of CDG discs and songbooks listing all the on-hand karaoke songs available, will typically rent for about $150 per night, excluding delivery. The same rental company offers a basic, music-activated lighting truss set-up with a fog machine for only $225, excluding delivery. I'll bet with a bit of negotiation, they'll deliver both the karaoke and the lighting system for a single delivery charge (add $50). Now, however, you'll need to allow about 1/2 an hour of additional set-up, troubleshooting & break-down time for each added system, which is yet another hour of your DJ's time (add another $25).

We are now up to $1,250.00… and we still haven't spoken about all that pre-party DJ consultation time and planning you'll want before your event. Professional party planners make their living setting up detailed timelines for the arrival of the guests, cocktail hour, meal service, formalities and the scheduling of activities during your function. Their service, which can be quite expensive, would also include coordinating all the details of your function with any other professionals involved in your event, such as a photographer, videographer, function hall manager, chef, and in this case, the DJ equipment rental agent. Fees for the highly skilled services of a party planner vary, but every professional DJ I know will perform essentially the exact same service at no additional charge. DJs routinely act as their client's function consultant, musical advisor and vendor coordinator automatically. Pro DJs are more than willing to spend whatever time it takes to help plan and coordinate all the details of the function in advance because the functions then run much smoother and have fewer problems. Of course, you may prefer the "ad lib and wing it as you go" approach, where a less-than-professional DJ has absolutely no advance contact with you and arrives (possibly a bit late) on the date of the party asking, "Wassup?"

If, on the other hand, you would rather plan every detail with your DJ/MC/entertainment professional in advance….how much is that additional planning and coordinating service worth to you? What amount would you have been willing to pay to a party planner? Add it to the current $1,250 sub-total, we trust you. Perhaps this somewhat lengthy and laughable scenario has shed a bit of light on the complexity and depth of the services and the amount of time a professional DJ really contributes to making a function a success… not to mention the actual costs involved. In reality, the rates charged by most professional DJs are actually far below the sum total of the actual services provided. Ask yourself, if you took the time to do everything outlined above, would it be less expensive overall? If so… was it worth the savings considering all of the time, hassles and pressure? Could any reasonable person think that such a "do-it-yourself" party would be better than a party crafted by a paid, professional DJ?

The message to be taken from this article is simple… if you are a client seeking a good DJ and you truly want a professional level of service and excellent results for your function, you should be willing to pay for it. Like filet mignon vs hamburger or a Mercedes vs a Hyundai, the better the DJ, the more they are likely to charge… because the service and end results you will receive will be superior. There is no such thing as "the going rate". The price a professional DJ quotes to a client should have absolutely nothing to do with how much anyone else in the DJ business (amateur or professional) is charging… because no one else in the DJ business provides exactly the same DJ service!

Remember this:

"An exceptional DJ is never cheap.... and a cheap DJ is never exceptional!"

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