Hiring A DJ
Wedding DJ Cost Vancouver | How Much Should A DJ Charge For A Wedding?
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If you are planning a wedding music might be one of the things you want to plan out. Your guests will want to have fun and enjoy the wedding, and the music can make or break this. If the music is dull and boring, your friends and family will not remember your wedding fondly and will probably not want to come to your next big event, say your twenty-year class reunion! But if the music is fun and exciting, everyone will remember your wedding as being one of the high points in their life!
How much should a Vancouver Wedding DJ charge for a wedding?
One of the first factors to decide on is how much you are going to be willing to spend per hour for your wedding DJ. This sounds like it should be a simple thing but not everyone will charge you the same amount per hour, especially if you shop around. A lot of wedding DJs in the Vancouver area already know this so what happens is that they will offer a lower flat rate price for their services instead.
DJ Categories & Rates based on time of year and DJ Availability
In general, though most good wedding DJs will charge between $850 and $1500 per wedding event if they are providing the music only. If they are providing the music and additional services, such as emceeing or impersonating your favorite movie hero, then you will have to pay a premium on top of this fee. For most people, myself included, this is a lot of money so shopping around and getting price comparisons is really the only way to go if you want to stay on budget.
Here are Wedding DJ prices depends on the types of DJ and based year of experience:
- Amateur Wedding DJ ($200-$400)– They’re either music hobbyists or wannabe DJs. They may have some gear, but it’s unknown and continuously changing, so each mission is a gamble. You must decide if you want to spend the most important day of your life, hoping your vendor will show up.
- Professional Wedding DJ ($500-$700)– These techs usually have a day job as well as moonlight as a DJ. They own some really good equipment and know-how to use it. They will most likely have midi-compatible software as well so they can add special effects and backup vocals easily. They are easy to book and worth the money if they can read a crowd and take requests. Word of mouth is really good advertising for these types of techs.
- Superstar Wedding DJ ($800-$1000+)– These guys are expensive, so book them soon. They are usually professional musicians with a full computer studio and midi-compatible software. You get what you paid for with these guys; they’re great artists. They don’t just play music, they perform it with unmatched energy and professionalism.
Wedding Music Categories and what to look for:
Once you have decided on a price range you can start to look at the different categories of musicians available. Some specialize in only one category while others can play several. For instance, there are bands, disco DJs, solo musicians (acoustic guitar, piano players, etc….), Karaoke machines, and others.
Most bands fall into the rock or pop genre and usually consist of a keyboard, drums, guitar, and bass only. Some will have a 5th member on either vocals or another instrument. Of course the bigger the band the more expensive they are to hire.
For wedding receptions, most Vancouver DJs do not bring any extra equipment with them so you have to supply a sound system for them in order to use their own speakers. The good thing is they can play music from CDs, iPods, mp3 players, record players and sometimes even tapes! Most DJs have contracts for each event, so bailing on them would be pricey. Good DJs can gauge the crowd and keep everyone dancing all night.
DJ Packages:
Some DJs will have packages that are pre-set with certain amounts of time for each event such as a 7-hour package or an 8-hour package. Other DJs will simply charge by the hour and it is up to you how much music you want. With the packages, you usually get extras such as an MC, lighting effects, and other things that can be thrown in.
Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty:
First, prepare a list of your wedding songs. Some people have huge lists of songs and others don’t know what they want. For me, I had a basic idea of the music but it evolved a bit over time. The next thing to do is to look at each DJ’s website and look at what songs they currently have available, what type of music they typically play at events, and see if their personality seems to fit yours and that they have done other events similar to yours in the past. If they don’t have a website, call them up and speak with them about your wedding.
What's good about our pricing?
Our prices are so low we usually sell out many months in advance (depending on availability of course). We will also play any song you want even if it is not on our extensive list of songs. Other places will charge you extra just to play a CD, with us there’s no additional charge as long as you bring the CD and we will also play vinyl records if you happen to bring those as well.
With every location, the price can change depending on their setup and how much equipment they want. However the closer to the date you book, the more likely it is that we will be sold out. The only way to know for sure is to give us a call at +1 (800) 431-4685 so we can reserve the day for you as soon as possible.
If you have any questions or would just like to chat with someone before making a decision, feel free to get a free quote now!
