Becoming a Wedding DJ: 1. Introduction

LIFE AS A WEDDING DJ

Many people have this idea that life as a Wedding DJ is pretty sweet – Just turning up at a wedding reception, lining up a few tunes, getting drunk and having a good old time ogling the ladies (or men) on the dance floor, but in actual fact there is more to being a Wedding DJ than people think (that is if you want to do an excellent job of it of course!). Yes, many of us have had a laugh at Peter Kay’s hilarious impressions of the ‘Typical Wedding DJ’ who shouts incomprehensively into the microphone, before playing the worst cheesy wedding music imaginable, however it would be naive of us to assume that all Wedding DJs worked in this manner. There ARE still those traditional, stereotypical Wedding DJs out there, we have all seen them, but there are also the other half who are hard working and very well attuned to their audience.

MY WEDDING DJ EXPERIENCE

Personally I love being a Wedding DJ! I love to see people enjoying themselves; when a particular music track sparks a memory and you can see the reaction on people’s faces and in the way they dance. I very much enjoy the social aspect of the job – meeting new people and going to new places as part of Vocal Show. Mostly though I love being part of somebody’s special event and knowing that I make a difference to their wedding day. I have been working as a professional DJ since 1995 and over this time have managed to learn a great deal about music, DJ playlists and generally how to keep an audience happy. Through being in the wedding business for so long I have grown up with many different types of music and due to my work mainly as a Wedding DJ I have developed a good knowledge of music from the 50’s right up to the present day. Whilst working I tend to rely mainly on intuition and draw upon my internal library of songs (not to be confused with a laptop library!). If I sense that a wedding party needs a certain feel to it I will change the music accordingly, so that my playlist stays fresh and always appropriate.

BEING A GOOD WEDDING DJ

As a Wedding DJ you must remember that it is your responsibility to please people of all ages. Different people have very different ideas of what is ‘good’ wedding music and what should be played at such an occasion, but it is a Wedding DJs responsibility to judge each moment and decide what music to play and when. To be a good Wedding DJ you have to remember that it’s very different from say a job as a Club DJ. People will go to a club to enjoy a particular type/ genre of music, and so the Club DJ will know what is required pretty much for the whole night. With weddings you don’t know what will work until you get there! You have to be prepared to experiment a little and change direction, depending on how people are reacting to your music choices.

In summary, being a good Wedding DJ isn’t really about you as the DJ – It’s about the people and what they need from you in order to have a great time.

WHY WRITE ABOUT BECOMING A WEDDING DJ

This series of posts are made to be of interest to:

1. Those who wish to learn a little more about me and what is involved in my job as a Wedding DJ for Vocal Show.
2. Those of you who are interesting in becoming a professional, self managed Wedding DJ and learning more about what is required of you to succeed in the wedding entertainment industry.

I’ll be writing quite a few Wedding Blog posts on this topic over time, outlining how to get into the wedding entertainment industry as a professional DJ, about bride and groom DJ relationships, working with Wedding Singers and Wedding Bands, plus many more aspects of the job.

On a final note, mainly to the aspiring Wedding DJs out there, I must say don’t get into weddings if you are just in it for your ego or an easy way to make some money. if you want to make some quick cash go and DJ in a local pub or club. Weddings are special events and are too important to mess up, You must be prepared to make a solid commitment to your role as a Wedding DJ.

Anyway, I’ll look forward to any of your questions and comments.

Take care.

Sally
Wedding DJ
www.VocalShow.co.uk