How Far in Advance Should I Book the DJ For My Wedding Reception and Dance?

Well while there really is no clear cut amount of time I have been in this business for a decade and a half and do have quite a few points and suggestions when it comes to acquiring entertainment for your big day. Firstly despite what others may tell you, it is not a good idea to book over a year in advance. Although you are in love today you must keep in mind that things happen, some of your friends may be in several different relationships within the next 12 months all in the time you are waiting to tie the knot; my point being that relationships blossom and disintegrate every minute of the day and month of the year. I realize however that that's not always the case, not very often at all in fact, but the possibility is always underlying so it's good to keep that in mind before you start shelling out hundreds for a disc jockey deposit a year and a half in advance.

Not to say that you should wait until the last minute or even month though, if you don't have your disc jockey booked and you are just weeks away from your big day you could find yourself in hot water. Some companies will take advantage of this by charging 'emergency disc jockey' fees and such, yes folks if it's a week or two before the reception they know you are desperate and like a shark in the water that smells blood a good majority of disc jockey companies will really take you for a ride, unfortunately for you there is no denying that you're in a bind in this instance either.

In my opinion your best if you book your disc jockey around 6 to 8 months prior to your event, this is early enough that your date will most likely still available, but as I stated above you definitely are not in a desperate situation and so at this point most entertainment companies will actually bend over backwards to get your reception booking.

Always make sure your DJ will have a one on one consultation with you at no charge, it's important because this meeting will give you a really good idea of what your host is all about. I have met with dozens of couples who had booked and met with the competition prior to calling us; but for one reason or another they were weirded out or had a strange vibe and actually ended up canceling their booking to meet with us. Do you really want to trust the most important day of your life to somebody, based on the fact they have a cool website?

Also important is that you ask at this time whether this is the same person who will be there to run your event the day of your reception. If it's not I would simply tell the company owner that you wish to meet with the actual disc jockey that is your host. Although this may seem trivial it's important to know that you have a responsible person as your host and meeting up one on one is the only way to get a good read.

So now you know when to reserve your date let's take a good look at who to book for your special day. This is actually a very easy question; obviously everyone has a different set of needs. Both our Oshawa and London Ontario locations use an Intelligence software system on the websites that pretty much automates everything and allows me to offer free in depth on-line planning forms, timelines, special song requests, music library etc. This is definitely the way to go if someone in your area offers this type of system. It allows you to be as involved in your reception planning as you like, the best part in my opinion is the fact that as a bride you can't possibly miss any of the important things like garter toss, cake cutting and such because there is a space for everything on the planning forms, you don't need to fill in everything though. If you don't need it you just leave it blank, just that simple.

So to break it down my advice would be hire your wedding disc jockey 6 to 8 months in advance for the best reception package deals and if possible use a company with a free online planning center in your area, so your disc jockey company can see all your details in real-time and you can change any pertinent information 24/7.

From a wedding reception hosts point of view this is without a doubt the way to go. Then simply fill out all the relevant information like bridesmaids and groomsman, special dance songs and in no time at all you can move on to the other import planning that awaits you.