How much are you paying for your DJ ?

[blissfulbride]

I just want to get an idea of what we are looking at in terms of price. We haven''t even booked one yet, and the wedding is 7 months away. Is that ok or should I have booked then earlier? I waiting on a proposal !

 

[Gwyn]

I am in the los angeles area and booked a DJ for 7.5 hours to cover some time before the wedding for guest seating all the way through the end of the reception.

We went through a site called gigmasters.com and reviewed a ton of different DJs. There were large businesses as well as independent DJs. They had demos and references online, which was nice to review and use in picking out some people. We posted what we were looking for (and the time/date and location of the wedding) and sent it to DJs we thought might make a good fit to get a quote. We sent out maybe 15 requests in all and got back quotes ranging from 500 to 1500. We settled (and are having our first meeting tonight) with someone who quoted us $895 with no breaks scheduled. 150 deposit to reserve and the remaining 745 due the day of the wedding.

We also searched for them online and found some on weddingwire.com site that provides couples a place to reviews their vendors. I think this is a great resource and there are several sites who offer this service. This particular one had only two reviews but got 5 stars in all categories. What was really crazy is that my FI actually knew one of the couples who reviewed them (their pic was posted next to their review). So we feel really comfortable in our selection.

Gigmasters is also great for live music as well. We were able to find guitarist/pianist for prices like $100 and hour (this is when we were thinking of doing live music for our ceremony and cocktail hour but our venue wanted to charge us $800 for the two hours

We even found a string quartet that would do the 2 hours plus seating time and such for $500.

Anyway, hope that info helps.

 

[fieryred33143]

Both DJs that we are looking into are $595 for four hours.

 

[Sparkalicious]

$2,000 for 6 hrs.

He is taking care of everything though ... MCing, DJing & some lighting etc.

Even though this is ridiculous, surprisingly he was less expensive than another DJ we wanted who was booked already. His rate was $3,000 - $3,500.

 

[Blair138]

Sparkalicious-we are paying the $2,000 too for 6 hours, but we got the biggest and baddest package you can get. There is lighting, dance cubes, and the music of course. I don''t think it''s crazy because it''s pretty normal around here. They showed me their Bar/Bat Mitzvah packages and HOLY MOLY! Thank the Lord I am not Jewish because my kids would NEVER have that kind of entertainment at a party!

It all depends on where you are, we are in the Chicago burbs so everything is inflated and $2,000 is actually a great price for what we are getting

 

[Sparkalicious]

Date: 9/22/2008 10:04:34 PM
Author: Blair138
Sparkalicious-we are paying the $2,000 too for 6 hours, but we got the biggest and baddest package you can get. There is lighting, dance cubes, and the music of course. I don''t think it''s crazy because it''s pretty normal around here. They showed me their Bar/Bat Mitzvah packages and HOLY MOLY! Thank the Lord I am not Jewish because my kids would NEVER have that kind of entertainment at a party!

It all depends on where you are, we are in the Chicago burbs so everything is inflated and $2,000 is actually a great price for what we are getting

Thank you, Blair! I totally appreciate you sharing that. It''s so easy to feel as though you are being taken to the washers with how much everyone wants.

I''m in Seattle so I think it may be somewhat similar, pricing wise.

 

[vintagelover229]

We''re paying 500.00 for 5 hrs and 100.00 per extra hour after that...or is it 6 hours? i don''t remember. He is just playing music, announcing things, etc. I am paying my florist for the lighting and drapery along w/ centerpieces, etc. If your getting what you want you are paying the right price!

 

[Blair138]

Date: 9/23/2008 12:10:41 AM
Author: Sparkalicious

Date: 9/22/2008 10:04:34 PM

Author: Blair138

Sparkalicious-we are paying the $2,000 too for 6 hours, but we got the biggest and baddest package you can get. There is lighting, dance cubes, and the music of course. I don''t think it''s crazy because it''s pretty normal around here. They showed me their Bar/Bat Mitzvah packages and HOLY MOLY! Thank the Lord I am not Jewish because my kids would NEVER have that kind of entertainment at a party!

It all depends on where you are, we are in the Chicago burbs so everything is inflated and $2,000 is actually a great price for what we are getting

Thank you, Blair! I totally appreciate you sharing that. It''s so easy to feel as though you are being taken to the washers with how much everyone wants.

I''m in Seattle so I think it may be somewhat similar, pricing wise.

No problem Sparkalicious! At first I freaked a little, but my friend who got married this summer had the same DJ, we saw him and I had an ABSOLUTE blast with him. So, I did feel comfortable shelling out more money. They have way cheaper packages, but I''m a BIG dancer and so are all my friends/family so it is very important to me. Since we are probably in the same price range, I imagine that EVERYTHING by you is just as expensive and it gets a little nerve-wracking, but I figure, you only do it once so you might as well do what you want!

 

[Sparkalicious]

Date: 9/23/2008 9:16:32 PM
Author: Blair138
No problem Sparkalicious! At first I freaked a little, but my friend who got married this summer had the same DJ, we saw him and I had an ABSOLUTE blast with him. So, I did feel comfortable shelling out more money. They have way cheaper packages, but I''m a BIG dancer and so are all my friends/family so it is very important to me. Since we are probably in the same price range, I imagine that EVERYTHING by you is just as expensive and it gets a little nerve-wracking, but I figure, you only do it once so you might as well do what you want!

I have a feeling that we would get along very well, Blair.

I totally agree and I love dancing as well so it''s a big priority to have a DJ that can make people feel like dancing as well as provide professional, not bad used car salesman like, MCing services.
I''m sure that you are going to have a wonderful wedding ... I''m excited for you!!

 

[doodle]

Thank GOD I live in GA!!! Our DJ is $500 (would''ve still been less than a grand even if we''d wanted lights, fog machines, the whole 9 yards). I''ve been at several of his weddings, and he''s really fun and knows how to read a party!

 

[Blair138]

Date: 9/24/2008 12:32:45 AM
Author: Sparkalicious

Date: 9/23/2008 9:16:32 PM

Author: Blair138

No problem Sparkalicious! At first I freaked a little, but my friend who got married this summer had the same DJ, we saw him and I had an ABSOLUTE blast with him. So, I did feel comfortable shelling out more money. They have way cheaper packages, but I''m a BIG dancer and so are all my friends/family so it is very important to me. Since we are probably in the same price range, I imagine that EVERYTHING by you is just as expensive and it gets a little nerve-wracking, but I figure, you only do it once so you might as well do what you want!

I have a feeling that we would get along very well, Blair.

I totally agree and I love dancing as well so it''s a big priority to have a DJ that can make people feel like dancing as well as provide professional, not bad used car salesman like, MCing services.

I''m sure that you are going to have a wonderful wedding ... I''m excited for you!!

Thanks Sparkalicious!! I''m excited for you too!

 

[Lynnie]

I guess I''m the low-ball poster

Our DJ is $400 for 5 hours... He DJs weekly at a bar my brother''s best friend''s dad owns, and he is also (coincidentally) a very good friend of one of my best friends'' hubby (did you follow all that?). I''ve been to 2 weddings he''s done, so I know what we''ll be getting, he''s very good. We just booked him, and our wedding''s in April. I live in Philly, and the going rates around here I''ve seen are between 800 and 1500. I love hook-ups! Now I have to look into lighting... he has a couple of dance cubes/small stuff... but I WANT UPLIGHTS for the walls!! I wonder what those cost... Good luck!

 

[mjso]

My DJ is $1750 for 6 hours plus ceremony music with a discount for friday night. But, of course I'm in the greater NYC area where wedding stuff is apparently 4x the price of everywhere else

 

[bootsiekin]

Ours is $675 just outside of Pittsburgh. We picked him because he is an "oldies" expert and we wanted mostly 50s and 60s music. Thats right - our first dance is to Elvis!

 

[mintve]

In Atlanta, they are all over the board. From $375 to over $2000. A common price seems to be $795 for 4 hours. I used that website www.gigmasters.com that someone suggested and its great. I am finding some more affordable rates and at this point, I need my $ to S T R E T C H, so I am trying to spend $500-$650 for 4.5 hours.