DJ Prices?!?!

I'd be looking to pay at least £350-£500

But that's just from the other DJ's who are in the industry that I know.

We're paying £700 but having tunes all day.

We're paying £250 for someone who brings the whole kit including lights etc.

He's an old school friend of my sister who does it professionally and I think I might have got a teenie discount for the very distance link. Plus he played at her wedding and the dance floor was full so I was more than happy to go with him.

I imagine that it's fairly hard to choose a DJ unless you have a recommendation. If you don't have one it's prob just best to go with whoever 'got it' in terms of your needs/wants.

Darth Lucy - who is your DJ?! That sounds exactly like what we are looking for but I have been quoted 500+ just for them to come a bit earlier so we can use the mic for speeches! I know you're a Brizzle girl, so hoping your DJ will cover our area! x

As with most things, you do often get what you pay for, but that's not to say you wont find someone amazing who you're completely happy with for around that price. We budgeted about £700 for a DJ, with our actual quote being around £650.

One particular thing we've noticed when working is that the more expensive DJ's *tend* to have better lighting set ups (among other things). For us that was something that was really important. We didn't want party style lighting, we wanted something to create atmosphere. If you're not too fussed about that kind of thing though it might not be something worth considering ?

We're paying £140 for 7 until midnight, with karaoke, video and lights. We used him at my hen and he was just my cup of tea. Plus I've given him 30 of our favourite disco choons if he gets chance to play them. So I think we're getting a good deal and he got a double booking. Win-win

Bear in mind, a DJ charging £700 wouldn't stay in business long if he wasn't worth that price. Bad reputation spread far quicker than good ones. I work with DJs charging between £100 and £1000. Their experience, presentation and preparation differs greatly.

Personally, I charge between £550 and £1000.... and I get plenty of referrals.

I believe it's more important to find the right DJ who fits your remit than let the price determine it. To give you an example my best friend is a DJ and charges similar rates, but our clients want very different things. He takes out a big all singing and all dancing rig and concentrates more on the music. I'm the dead opposite; my rig is small, stylish and sophisticated. I'm hugely interactive and my clients tend to be those that don't feel they have a naturally dancy crowd so need that little extra interaction to ensure a great party.

Hope that gives you food for thought

I can't believe some of these prices! Must be a location thing. Our venue wanted us to pay £250 for the in house, but we went with someone we knew was good that we had seen before for £160. Thats 7 til 1 with his top lighting package.

Thanks for all your comments.

Im just finding it very difficult because I haven't really had any recommendations at all apart from this one company by my uncle.

The company do a number of different things for weddings / events and so I don't even know what DJ it will be! (there are a number of different ones),

My uncle is also in a band that works within the company so I dont know whether he is just recommending them for that reason!

I just don't want to end up with someone crap, and would really like to be able for guests to request songs before the event..

This seems to be stressing me out the most out of everything Ive planned so far!

With the venue / dress I just knew straight away!

Where are you? Maybe local brides could recommend?

I can't believe some of these prices either. ? I am just getting quotes now for 8pm-midnight, basic set-up, no extra lights or decs etc, and the lowest has come in at £550+VAT. Highest so far £950+VAT.

Is it coz I is in London?

We are paying £650 but thats with an ealry set up fee and also some lighting extras. Im based in Suffolk.

London is possibly a bit more than other areas.

If you're struggling to find a DJ you could pop an enquiry in at WdjA for our wedding specialists or if you're on a tighter budget our party DJs can be found at AMPdj

The way it works is you tell us what you want and the guys that are available get in direct contact with you saying what they do and they charge. All DJs have PLI. The members of the first one WdjA, are also checked well before being accepted (hence they are the higher end of the price bracket)

Hope that helps.

Wow, feel guilty mine charged 700 though he is there the whole day

Ours is £220 which includes disco lights. He was recommended by the hotel so for the sake of ease, we went with him!

I think anything between the £200-350 mark sounds about right

We're using Paddy from Disco wed. He's great. Also Ian from Disco Fever is a friend and a really good all dayer ( we just didn't want any friends as suppliers ).

A lot of things influence price. The more expensive ones might not use LED lights which are a lot weaker than the Halogen based ones ( the bulbs in which are £120 to replace ) also some don't rely on software but are truly skilled with Vinyl.... And you can't download that.

Ours is £200, but that's mates rates (kind of), normally charges £250.

Mine is £150 (mates rates - usually £180).

We've got him from 7-12.

Thinking about having "uplighting" which would be an extra £150.00. :-)

That's a good idea actually.. I might ask the hotel if they recommend anyone before I make my decision!

Ours is £250 from 7:30 until 12pm. I can't believe some of the prices although I appreciate some may have much more expensive and elaborate equipment than others. All we wanted from the DJ was a good rep, reliability and to incorporate our music tastes and we have got that with ours.

This is totally wrong. I'd hate any brides to be thinking they are getting an inferior disco because their DJ uses led lights and uses a laptop!

i've been a DJ for many years and I regularly review new lights for some of the big manufacturers. Most DJs upgrade their lights to LED.... Not the other way round. LED lights don't blow half way through the night and the difference in brightness was apparent in the early days, but certainly isn't now. Playing from vinyl doesn't maketh a great DJ. Most professional wedding DJs use laptop because they can bring a larger and more varied collection of music along. Also, you can search, find and play a request far quicker with a laptop.

The price of a DJ has more to do with their experience and performance than their equipment.

Not paying anything for my DJ gratefully! My godfather, his brother and nephew are radio DJs! His nephew also plays out in Ibiza every summer! They played at my 16th and 18th birthday parties and will also be doing my wedding! They are guest though so during dinner will just whack a iPod on the system and have a playlist, play in background.

I'll second this! In terms of effect lighting (patterned / moving lighting for your dance floor), most of the new LED units are brighter than halagon bulbs, with no chance of conking out halfway through the night as Sandy says! When it comes to static lighting - including uplighters situated around your room - old style bulbs are not only unreliable get very hot (too hot to touch) so can even be dangerous. You'll find that the vast majority of top wedding DJs these days only use LED.

Personally if I was looking for a DJ, I'd go for a minimumalist set up (which can produce some amazing results these days) and someone who clearly loves music and making people dance! I'd give them a call and have an informal chat just to see if we're on the same wavelength music-wise. There are so many hobbiest in this industry charging £100-£150, some of whom simply won't give you the care and attention hat you really need for your big day.

James

To date I've never seen a set of LED lights out power a Halogen based setup.

Whilst I'm not a DJ, I am a tog and ex Nightclub manager who had an entire array of lights to deal with and I know my lights.

Incandescent light sources offer a better spread and stronger light. Maybe when SMD bulbs become more widespread I'll change my opinion. But I ask every DJ what type of lights they use in order to set my lights accordingly. Whenever a DJ has volunteered a reason why they use LED's it's always because they're lighter, they don't get hot and the couple don't care.

And it's right a lot of couples don't care. Each type of lighting has it's own merits. Personally I prefer the warm glow that comes from a set of 4-6 lights than the LED's that make me feel like I'm an actor in the Predator movie. ?

Booked a DJ!!!

My dad has managed to get hold of a friend and he is giving us mates rates!!

i didnt even realise my dad new a DJ haha

£100 with all own equipment inc lights etc.

Hes having to travel from liverpool to lancaster as well.

Majorly pleased right now :-)

Who is your DJ Darthlucy? I'm struggling with finding one as we live 250miles from our venue. The only one ive had a quote for was £450 plus lighting. He seemed great but looking at other quotes on here maybe it's a bit pricey.