Hiring anyone for your wedding can quickly become a stressful experience, especially if you’re not sure exactly what you want or have a set budget in mind. While we can’t help you with cakes or even dresses, we can definitely help you ask the right questions when hiring a DJ for your special day.

So we’ve created a guide to the top ten most important questions you must ask any DJ before hiring them.

1.Are you available on my wedding day?

The very first question you should ask anyone before engaging them any further. If they’re unavailable, you don’t want to have wasted time asking detailed questions only to be disappointed when you find out they’re already booked elsewhere for your wedding date.

2.How long have you been a DJ and how much wedding experience do you have?

Just like you’d ask similar questions about experience if you were hiring an employee, be sure to understand your DJ’s past professional experience.

3.What kind of music do you usually play at weddings?

A DJ who only plays music to please themselves is not the kind of DJ you want at your wedding. Ask them about their style before hiring them to understand whether or not they know how to read a crowd, which crowd favorites to play to suit different generations of guests and when to move to a slower pace

4.Can I give you a specific playlist?

If you want specific songs to be played, or not played at all, it’s important to discuss this up front with your DJ. Also discuss how you want them to handle crowd requests on the night.

5.Can I see photographs of your equipment?

Some DJ equipment can be quite unsightly – especially with cords running everywhere! But a good DJ will know how to style their equipment to make it not only look neat, but also potentially be able to theme it to your wedding.

6.Are you able to dress to our dress code?

All DJ’s should have access to formal wears so they fit in with the rest of the crowd. However, if you’d like your DJ to dress in a specific costume or unusual colour (an all-white tuxedo, for instance), you may find you need provide them with the costs to cover this special request.

7.Can I speak to some of your most recent bride and groom clients?

DJ’s who are afraid to give references are probably not worth booking

8.Do you have a contingency plan?

Things go wrong. Whether it’s the DJ getting sick, a speaker blowing out or a short circuit causing an outage and a good DJ should have some sort of backup plan. Enquire about what happens if something goes wrong, so that you can ensure they’re not going to waste your time and money sitting on the phone, trying to fix something that they should be able to repair themselves.

9.Have you played our chosen venue before? Are you able to make site visits?

Depending on where you live, there may be limited wedding venues about so it’s likely your chosen DJ has visited your venue or played there before. If they haven’t, ask them if they are able to make a site visit before the day of the wedding, so that they can review how much space they might need for the event and take notes on acoustics.

10. What other services do you offer?

Nowadays, DJ’s often offer more than just someone to stand and mix music all night. Many have photo booths, projector screens and lighting and special effects for hire, to make your day more unique. Take a look at their full catalogue of services and consider their prices against competitors, as combining these may save you money.