Read any wedding magazine, and you’d think that the only thing a bride is supposed to care about is her gown. In fairness, the makers of wedding gowns spend a fortune advertising in those magazines; so they get a lot of attention because they provide the magazines with a lot of revenue.
Brides also stress about their flowers, favors and food; but if you’ve ever been to someone else’s wedding, you’ve probably already forgotten the colors of the flowers, and what you ate; and your wedding favor is probably buried in some forgotten drawer. Not exactly a lot of “bang for the buck,” right?
So what do wedding guests really remember about a wedding? Thousands of brides were surveyed after their weddings, and the results, in The Knot and Brides Magazine, may offer you valuable guidance as you prioritize your wedding budget:
- Almost 100% of brides say, if they had it to do over again, they would have spent more of their budget on their entertainment ; 78% said they would have made their entertainment their top priority.
- By contrast, during their planning, entertainment tended to be a very low priority for brides. They simply assumed that all DJs were alike, and figured all they had to do was choose one at random.
- 81% of wedding guests said the strongest memory of their wedding reception was the entertainment, and whether they danced and had a good time.
- 65% of all couples who hired bands for their entertainment said, if they had a second chance, they would have hired a DJ instead. They didn’t like their bands’ limited music selection, or the fact that their bands took long breaks that disrupted the flow of their parties.
A cheap wedding DJ is little more than a jukebox. An experienced professional wedding DJ is far more knowledgeable, and willing to work harder; he is your reception field general, always on alert that the caterer, photographer, videographer and other vendors are in the right place at the right time. He ensures that the reception doesn’t come to a screeching halt while everyone searches for the photographer for the First Dance, or for Dad for the Father-Daughter dance. He knows the thousands of things that can go wrong, and he has a “Plan B” for every unexpected detour your wedding takes.
The best DJs also provide a wealth of valuable wedding planning resources to take the pressure off you, and reassure you that you are doing what you need to do to be fully prepared for your wedding; then you can simply show up, relaxed and confident that your big night will unfold exactly as you dreamed it.
Do your homework. Check your DJ’s online reviews – and not just those on his own web site. Wedding Wire and Yelp are great sources of independent, unfiltered reviews by people who have already hired the DJ you’re considering; and the Better Business Bureau rates companies from A+ to F for customer satisfaction. Anything below an A should be a big red flag.
Meet your DJ and see whether he fully understands and embraces your vision of the perfect wedding. Then, and only then, should you talk price. There’s no comfort in saving a few hundred dollars on your entertainment if you and your guests have a miserable time at your reception. Don’t cut corners on something that vital.
To learn more about Fourth Estate Audio’s incomparable service, call me at 630.654.4440. I’m here to help.
© Fourth Estate Audio, 2014 – Jay Congdon is president of Fourth Estate Audio, a professional Chicago DJ and Chicago Wedding DJ company.
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