I have written numerous blogs regarding this subject over the years and my conviction on this subject is stronger now than it’s ever been. Weddings are the most important day of most people’s lives minus having their first born child, yet so many people are still stuck on the idea that they can spend less than $1000 on their DJ and have a good wedding. While that can be true, I have seen countless Montana wedding DJs cancel on their brides last minute because they treat “Dj’n” as a side job.
The average cost of a wedding nationwide according to statistics in The Knot magazine is $35,329. In Montana we are below the national average and come in around $14,545 on average. That is still a lot of money to invest in a wedding. Most people only want to put $750 of that budget towards the most important vendor at a wedding: The DJ.
If you are spending that kind of money and spending a year planning the most important day of your life why would you want to risk it all over $500-$1000? The notion of “let me do my own music” to save money on the wedding budget is as insane to me as letting your siblings with no experience do all the cooking for the food.
Yet…people sadly do this all the time. They will spend $1000 on a wedding cake and not think twice. Drop over $3,000 on decorations and flowers and not even care. Spend more than 3-5k on a photographer. Drop copious amounts of money on food, drinks, invitations, rehearsal dinners, tuxes, dresses, tents, lighting, and more. Then it’s time for them to get their DJ and they have $650 left in their budget. They look for bargains and hope that good ole Uncle Larry can do the sound. They have a friend of a friend who “DJ’d” once in college and has some speakers. That should do the trick right?
Before I go any further I will say that some people can get away with cheap DJs and doing the music themselves. Obviously everyone is different and has different expectations, but 9 out of 10 times this will end in a disaster and it’s the ONLY thing people will remember about your wedding.
The number one thing brides and grooms regret the most according to The Knot magazine is not taking the hiring of their DJ more seriously. I can promise the DJ will make or break your night about every time.
The DJ is the Most Important Vendor You Will Book
Most brides don’t realize this until it’s too late and their wedding is over. When people leave your wedding there is only one thing they are going to talk about: How much fun it was and how great it was to see people. They won’t care about your thousands in decorating. They won’t care about fancy seats and chair covers. They aren’t going to remember how great dresses and tuxes looked. They won’t even remember half the time how fancy the venue was. They are only going to remember how good the food was and if they had a damn good time at your wedding. That is it.
A professional DJ does so much more than playing music. They make proper announcements, coordinate, and organize your wedding with you. They keep track of the timelines created and make sure that all the other vendors are ready for each specific formality such as the first dance and so on.