Wedding planning
What does a wedding DJ cost?
What actually changes a wedding DJ quote: the day, the gear, the distance and whether anyone needs to stay overnight. I price that for your wedding, not from a flat menu.
A useful wedding DJ price depends on your day. The place, the hours, the gear, the travel, the setup time and the running order all change the work. I would rather send a quote for your wedding than a number with no day attached to it. I do that from Cologne, for weddings in Germany and for destination weddings.
The figure is open to a conversation. It still has to follow the place, the hours, the gear and how the day is built.
Why I often quote a wedding as a day
Weddings move. Speeches run long, dinner takes another course, the first dance starts late, or the party suddenly gets bigger than anyone planned.
If every hour is being watched, the day gets tense for no good reason. A full-day booking gives you room to plan without counting billable minutes.
What changes the price
The things that matter are:
- where the wedding is, and how far that is
- how long I am there
- setup and pack-down
- whether sound and light are already in the room, or need to come with me
- the shape of the day
- travel, and a hotel room if the distance needs one
- what the venue asks for technically
If the trip needs an overnight stay, that belongs in the plan and in the quote.
DJ only, or DJ with sound and light
Some venues already have a proper sound and light system. Then the work is the performance, the preparation and the music plan.
If I bring the sound and light, the job also includes transport, setup, soundcheck, the technical responsibility and pack-down. I want to know early what the venue already has, and what I should add.
A cheap hourly rate can be the expensive option
A low hourly number looks attractive until you ask what it includes. Preparation, reliability, timing, experience, gear, talking to the venue, and a set that can hold a whole evening are the actual booking.
At a wedding you are not only paying for the minutes when music is playing. You are booking someone to look after a part of the day that does not get a second take.
What I need for a real quote
Send:
- the date
- the city or the venue
- a rough guest count
- the hours you have in mind
- whether the venue has gear
- a rough running order
- the music, and anything that matters personally
Send me those and I can tell you which way of quoting fits your day.