Dj prices

This gets asked quite a lot on here, and it seems to vary a lot too! Im in the south east and mine is £350 from 7-12.00 with the option on the night to play on till 1am for an extra £40.00.

We're paying £280 (in North West) from 7.30 til 1am. I seem to remember from a previous post that £280 - £350 was about right, depending on where in country you are, type of venue etc. Our venue is providing the dj and we think this is a very reasonable price. He'll also play what we want too (I hope - not met with him yet!)

We found our DJ on Gumtree and he is only costing £120 from half 7 till 1. xx

I know it's easy to say, but I always think you get what you pay for. We've been to 5 weddings in 2009 and I've been talking to my friends a lot this week to see who they used. The ones where we had a really good time at seem to have paid more than the ones we hated, so in our experiance that seems to be true. One of them the DJ looked like he was going to the pub with his mates, all I can remember is the T-shirt he was wearing said "Life's over" and had a picture of a bride on it - maybe he thought it was ironic (and it could have done with a wash!). Funny the things that stick in your memory. When I asked my friend she said he had cost £150 and she really wished she'd been a bit more careful.

The ones I've spoken to for our wedding seem to be quoting from around £300 - £500 if that helps. I worked out that the disco will be there for about half my day, so I am really keen to get it right.

i agree with you, but sometimes the amount they charge is just ludicrous. we got two quotes - 650 and 730. i think it's a bit much for 4 hours of playing! am now trying to shop aorund a bit because i want to spend closer to 400-500. yes you definitely get what you pay for which is why i would probably get someone who charges more than 150 etc, but 730 is nuts!! xx

We're getting married in Bristol and quotes ranged from £400 to £190 - which is what we're paying.

Were getting married in Devon and Paying £325 for 7-12pm quotes ranged from £150 - £400 i think you get what you pay for and the lower range of quotes seemed to be for the bog standard disco with the higher end being specialist wedding DJ's.

K x

The quotes I had ranged from £200 to £340 for 5 hours (I'm in the south west)

Ours is costing £180 and we're in Suffolk

We are in Oxfordshire and our DJ is costing £165.00. That's for 6 -12. It's through an entertainment company who do all sorts.

I think were very luck to have found him because the cheapest in my area was £250 if I recall.

?

Wow, there are a lot of people having bargain basement disco's! Have you all seen references for the guys you have booked, or were they recomendations? The music and part in the evening is really important to us (I love going out to dance with my friends most weekends), so maybe that's why we thought it was important to spend a little bit more (or at least be prepared to spend a bit more). Two of my friends who booked cheep disco's were both gutted afterwards and wished they had spent more, so kind of bearing that in mind a lot.

Sarah, I'm in Suffolk too, who have you booked for that price? I have two in mind at the moment. One's a huge company that did my friend Rachels wedding last year, called revelation roadshow (www.revelationroadshow.co.uk if I am allowed to tell you?) and the other is a guy from Norwich called East Anglian Disco's (www.eastangliandiscos.co.uk), but the second one is a bit further away from me (I went to a Christmas party in Norwich he did and he was really good), so not sure, but they are both much more than many of you seem to be paying

Just to add mine into the mix, ours is costing £600!

Mines costing £280 from 7pm-12pm. Includes dj and lights plus star cloth covering set. Can choose our playlist. Can also add confetti cannons for £12!!!! Which i think we're going to have on our first dance!

I think they're called Revival, but i can't seem to find the website. They're the preferred supplier to our wedding venue, and the venue is organising it all for us. I need to phone them next week anyway (to check we can have a candy buffet!), so I'll ask for the website address too.

Oh my god! How spooky is that! I'm going to have a candy buffet (or maybe I'm just getting way to excited - only got engaged and set a date on New Years Eve!), Which venue are you having (sorry, really nosy). Haven't even thought to ask if it's ok or not. Didn't really think it would be. Don't think I want to do it myself though so thinking about a company local to me - A & M Events (found them through one of the disco companies or they have something to do with them) and they do really wow looking ones (and so many other things I want - I really do think I need to calm down a little!)

LOL!! We only decided to get married about 2 months ago (been together 7 years though!) and are doing things quite quickly really - getting married in April this year! The venue is Isaacs on the quay in Ipswich. They just have a thing in the contract that says you can't bring your own food and drink in, so I just want to make sure sweets are ok. I'm sure it will be though. We're doing it ourselves and have already ordered some sample sweets from an ebay shop called RetroSweets2008 as they seem to be pretty well priced. We're going to get the bowls and jars for the sweets from Ikea. Very excited about it!!

Sorry but must say to person who just wanted a dj to turn up and press play and was paying £150(or round abouts) Unfortunately the wrong entertainer can actually ruin your day with things such as not turning up, low grade equipment that lets them down, inappropriate behaviour etc etc etc etc etc

A&M events is a member of the wedding dj association. All members pass a strict criteria and have to abide by a code of ethics....and get checked up on. We haven't loads of members, just a few in each county, because the bar is high. So if you are looking for a professional wedding DJ , webby is here www.weddingdja.co.uk

Well I've had to go and check because I am got confused. I mentioned A & M Events because of the Baileys fountain, but you mentioned they had something to do with a disco society or something? I now realised how I found them as there disco is the one I mentioned earlier. They sound great,b ut trying to tell myself to calm down and think. There website doesn't seem to say anything about your dj association, but they are members of the Fedderation of Small Businesses which really makes me reasured - my dad runs his own plumbing company and he's a member so I know a bit about them.

I know I'm really into my music and want a great party, but I guess everyones different. I guess if you aren't quite as keen on a good boogie as we are, maybe you don't need a great DJ?

Anyway, I think we've moved away from the original question - sorry I'm getting too excited and carried away. Think the company I am keen on using will be at the wedding show I'm going to on Sunday so i will let you know what I find out!

As you most probably know from read around the forum DJ prices do vary, I would suggest a 'budget' of £300 - you may be able to get one cheaper, you may have to pay more - but much depends on your expectations for your special day and your requirements.

Think about what you want, ask your friends for recommendations and get on the phone to talk to a shortlist of DJs - ask them all what they can offer you, make some notes list out, highlight what you want your DJ to provide and get some quotes for what you want. Don't book there and then - sit down with your quotes and notes you made talking to them on the phone and decide in your own time - you might not be able to afford everything that you want but........

Dont be shy - they want your work and will provide quotes freely.

If anyone wants any general advice on what to ask etc call me via the link in my signature below - sometimes DJs forget that most people will only book 1 or 2 DJs in their lifetime and it can be a bit daunting but generally most DJs don't bite!!

Ours is a recommended one from our venue and is costing us £200, its included in the venue hire price and is covering from 6pm til 1am

Ours is costing £450 (in Essex) to play background music through meal and then on to evening until midnight. He's also providing mikes for the speeches (if we have them) and is happy to help the day run smoothly by introducing speeches etc etc.

Hello I'm Mitch

I'm replying to this thread as it seems like the blind are leading the blind.

I'm the dj of choice for celebrity and international wedding planners, the UK's leading creative private and corporate event company, world leading technology companies and international event bodies.

They book me, not a mobile wedding DJ, because of all of the experience I have got in entertaining people of the bride and grooms age. I do and have done this at so many different styles of event from party, indi, soul/funk, disco, house, underground house, ski resort, surf resort clubs. And family members at national and international corporate and private events, ski resort parties (yep I've had many a 60+ year old skier dancing on a table and singing thier lungs out). And gluing all this together at many many weddings.

This makes me far more qualified to be an expert wedding dj than a mobile wedding disco DJ.

What should you pay for a wedding dj? - If it helps my made to measure weddings start at £595. thats for me, my time (two working days) my equipment, my music and my van. For this I will take apart your list of music and work out what you are trying to tell me. After all you are not an international party dj so your list although well intentioned will need this.

Why pay more - because a decent dj wont play at your wedding for £300. Why because a decent dj will get paid £300 to simply turn up at a Brighton club with a bag of music and party with 300 fun loving people' for a few hours - I know because that's what I also do on occasion.

In my opinion the wedding disco market is dire and riddled with bad mobile disco djs. They got into djing because they saw a bad dj at a wedding and thought, 'i can do better than that'! maybe they can but its still not very good and only worth a few hundred quid. And that's why you are still looking.

Sure every dj has to start somewhere - but not by trashing someones wedding. I had dj'd internationally at clubs and events for 10 years before I played my first wedding.

Please please please take my advice - The average price for a dj in the UK is £400 - We have all seen an average DJ. pay the extra £200.

I really hope that this helps you to understand a bit more.

Mitch

.

Hey. Im not sure what the norm is as mine is doing mine as a wedding present for us,but he usually charges between £400 and £500 as he has an assistant, plus he does magic for the kids and is a trained dancer so gets everyone up. I have seen some who charge up to £600 though.

Bit harsh Mitch and coming straight on here inferring that you are the best and the rest of us aren't worth the money is not very constructive. Claiming to be a brilliant wedding DJ because of lots of club experience doesn't hold water in my book. For starters, the unique thing about a wedding is the vast age range and the ability to please all tastes and at some point ensure everyone has danced, know when to change the genre, know how to incorporate the brides and guests requests. Also its knowledge of weddings and protocol, experience to make suggestions to the bride and groom and help to create their perfect evening, unique and personal to them. Its about being flexible and able to hold things together in a crisis and have the ability to keep things flowing. Its about knowing when to make things fun and when to be sensitive to the occasion.

Its not only about playing music, but entertaining and creating the atmosphere that the bride and groom want. I'm sorry, but I can't see how working clubs makes you better to provide wedding enertainment than us humble mobile wedding DJs that do it every weekend and have a host of comments from happy brides.

And as for your made to measure weddings at £595.....all the wedding DJs I know tailor the service to the bride and groom etc etc.......and some are paid much more than that for their service!!!!

And finally......as for DJs trashing peoples wedding. Hold on here!!! I have seen some cheaper DJs that have been really good....they just weren't charging what they are worth. To suggest everyone that was paying less than £400 for a DJ was going to have their wedding trashed is ludicrous and totally insensitive. The WDJA was set up to provide a platform for good wedding DJs and to take the guess work out of the process for brides....because they are all checked out. As an association we are confident that all our guys are top providers, but they all have their own pricing structure, hence you get a variety of quotes from them ranging from £200 to £900. The association has been running for 2 and a half years now with no weddings being trashed.......and all the guys are humble mobile wedding DJs like myself.

Rant over.....but i really felt this guy was insulting everyones intelligence with his sweeping statements and comments

You know what, if I hadn't booked a great DJ (who seriously restored my faith in disco's), I think after all of this I would be having my Ipod on shuffle.

Why have all the disco companies started fighting and arguing on here - I thought this was somewhere to get advice and help. Seems like it's just somewhere for frustrated DJ's to shout at each other. Not sure any of you are any better than each other. Maybe a good time to think about your customer service, I'm apauled at what I am reading!

Sorry andcounting....but I have been here a fair while offering advice and help when I can (and I hope folks have found my input useful).....but it wouldn't be very helpful of me to stand by and not say something.

This is the second aggressive post from a DJ this week. Funnily enough I actually met the first one (wedding DJ) at a DJ meet in Kent on Sunday night who actually apologised for his post. I have no idea why this has suddenly happened, and do understand your frustration, but please do not put us all in the same basket. Phil came on here last week and offered some good stuff...he's actually a very knowledgeable guy.

Hi Sandy,
I’m sorry if what I said made you angry or upset - I certainly didn’t mean to infer that all wedding DJs are terrible. I am one myself!

However, we both know that there are lots of DJs out there who aren’t very good, take money from couples and don’t deliver a very professional service - I’m guessing you set up the WDJA to protect couples from such examples. I believe some of these guys don’t charge very much because they are not professional DJs, perhaps they just do it to earn a bit of extra cash.

If DJing is somebody’s main job, they will charge professional rates to reflect their commitment, experience and the standard of equipment they use. Someone only charging £150 may have a full-time job and will just DJ at weddings because they think it is ‘easy money’.

They cannot spend the time working with couples to discover what they, their families and all their guests really want from the wedding. You, me and many other professional DJs do take the trouble to get to know couples getting married, but that service does cost money.

I think the DJ is one area of the wedding you should invest in, because - as you rightly point out - a good DJ has to bring all the guests together, not just turn up, play music and disappear at the end of the night!

So, please accept my apologies if you thought I was claiming to be a brilliant DJ at the expense of others. That was never my intention. I was simply trying to point out that I have a wealth of experience playing to large groups of people who don’t know each other - very much like different groups of guests at a wedding.

You are right that a wedding DJ has to please all tastes, know when to change the pace of the night, include requests and create a unique evening, which is very similar to DJing at a club. I bring my club DJ experience to the weddings I play, which is obviously different to someone else’s experience, but no less valid because it is different.

Finally, thanks for the tip about charging more for my services! I shall certainly think about it in future.

If you’d like to chat further about anything we’ve highlighted in this discussion, please get in touch. It’s always interesting talking to other professionals about their opinions as it is such a varied and uneven playing field.

Take care,
Mitch

Do you know what, far from actually wanting to book any of you (and Sandy that includes you), I'm really wanting to bang your heads together and tell you all off like I would my 2 year old. Far from giving anyone "good advice", all I have witnessed is bitching, back stabbing and one upmanship. Now that really IS going to encourage people to book a DJ isn't it! It's also a fantastic advert for that wedding professional DJ thing you keep going on about Sandy, I should imagine it's put a lot of people off completely.

I came on here to get sensible, genuine advice from other people and to try to give back some of my excitement and enthusiasm (and I have way more than I should have and am getting way to excited) and all I have found is idiots like you, that club DJ man and the other disco man who wanted people to have 56 cans with shutters or something. Do us all a favour and stop confusing everyone and arguing all the time. I've had enough!

And if you think that was a rant, you aint seen nothing yet.....

Sorry for my rant Mitch....I do think we are probably singing from the same song sheet. Unfortunately its so easy to misunderstand or get the wrong gist from the written word. Would be good to have a chat sometime.

Well I just had to, didn't I

The only thing that made me chuckle on here was the reference to "mobile" wedding DJ's.

Hmm, unless you allow people to have their wedding in your own front room then every DJ who performs at weddings out there is essentially a "mobile" Wedding DJ.

I'll just go and put my Homemix in my Aston ready for tomorrow's Royal Ball at the Palace

If you check your dictionary "andcounting" you'll find under EGO there will be references to DJ's

3am in the morning and this cheered me up.. lol

I rest my case. Someone really should bang your tiny little heads together - all of you - and explain how rediculous you all are. I thought this forum was about HELPING people. You are giving it a bad name guys!

Disco sorted, so at least I don't need to worry about idiotic so called "professionals" any more, but maybe you'd all like to go and *** on a forum that isn't full of us brides!

This post made me laugh! ?

I'm still happy I based my decision on price ?