Questions to Ask Your Potential Wedding DJ

When interviewing Chicago DJ companies and bands for your wedding reception you should be extremely thorough in your search in order to find a professional and reliable business as well as the entertainer best suited to your tastes. Use the following questions to help narrow down the field.

1. Aren't all DJ companies basically the same? How is your company different?


2. Will you personally be the DJ for our reception? If not, when can we meet the DJ?


3. Do you just play music? Do you also Emcee and coordinate the reception?


4. What type of experience do you have? How many weddings do you do each year?


5. Do you have references?


6. How would you define your "style"?


7. What do you do to motivate the crowd if nobody is dancing?


8. Do you provide a reception planner?


9. What do your packages include? Do you provide a wireless microphone for speeches? Are basic effects lighting included?


10. What package should I get? Do you offer lighting and sound upgrades?


11. What are your rates? Are there any additional charges?


12. What type of equipment do you use? Do you use professional equipment? Do you use CD's or MP3's?


13. Can we pick what music gets played? Will you be willing to play requests and discuss music ahead of time?


14. How loud will it be?


15. How long will the DJ play? Do you take any breaks?


16. What is your policy on drinking alcohol or smoking during the wedding?


17. What does the DJ wear? Will you be suitably dressed for our occasion?


18. Are you familiar with the venue? If not how do you handle coordination?


19. When does the DJ set up? How much time do you allow for set-up?


20. What if the DJ gets sick?


21. What if the DJ is no longer with the company or becomes unavailable?


22. What happens if something breaks? Do you provide backup equipment at my event?


23. How far will you travel?


24. Will you be available to answer questions?


25. What kind of customer service can I expect?


26. How do we reserve your service?


27. Do you provide a written contract?


28. Is a deposit required? If so, how much? When is the deposit due?


29. May I make partial payments?


30. When is the final payment due?


31. Is gratuity included in the price?


32. What do you charge for overtime?


33. How do we submit our information?


34. Do you have insurance? Can you supply me with proof of liability?


35. Are you a member of your local Chamber of Commerce or BBB?


36. Do you belong to a professional organization or trade group?

Questions to ask references:

1. Did the band/DJ show up on time?


2. Were they professional?


3. Did they return phone calls and communicate with you well?


4. Did they know what you wanted?


5. Did they play a good set?


6. Did they break down the equipment on time?


7. How did they interact with guests? Any problems?