10 Common Myths About Wedding DJing

Digital DJ Tips has launched a major new guide to setting up a wedding DJ business, 21st century style, using digital gear. In preparing this guide, we came across a whole load of beliefs and attitudes about wedding DJing that are just plain wrong – and today we’d like to blow away some of those myths.

Why? Well, you may have considered wedding DJing, or even been asked to play at a wedding, but it can seem like a very different type of DJing to parties, bars and clubs – and it’s easy to let the “unknown factor” and what other people say or think put you off giving it a go.

So if you’re at all interested in wedding DJing (or have been asked to play one), do yourself a favour and read on to discover the truth about wedding DJing nowadays – and to begin to understand why, done right, DJing weddings can be a fun and lucrative addition to your DJing career.

Our 10 myths about wedding DJing

1. You need lots of money to start – Maybe years ago, but nowadays – using digital gear – it’s possible to DJ weddings with a full set-up that’ll last you many years and that you can pay for out of the proceeds of just two or three bookings
2. You need to be able to beatmix – Nope, not important at all. This is great for many modern DJs, because if you’re confident about your music selections but feel held back from playing in public because of your perceived lack of “club” skills, here’s one area of DJing where it really doesn’t matter one bit
3. You need professional microphone skills – Arrggh! Talking on a microphone! But actually, getting “on the mic” needn’t be a catastrophe. It’s something that can be taught, and once you’ve worked on one or two basic skills, you can MC a wedding easily… and take those skills across to whenever you may be asked to use a microphone in other public DJing roles
4. You need a huge lighting rig, smoke machines and so on – Nope! It’s simply not expected at weddings. Many venues have a sprinkling of “dancefloor” lighting fitted anyway, and if you really want to you can get some small lights, but nine times out of ten you won’t be expected to use them. Wedding DJing is generally about a family celebration, not a disco roadshow
5. You need expensive music licences – Rarely true. While this depends where you are in the world, any venue that hosts wedding receptions generally has all the music performance licences in place, meaning you simply don’t need to let this aspect of things hold you back
6. You’ll need to spend all your spare time looking for music – Again, no. It’s simply not like club DJing in that respect. The music changes S-L-O-W-L-Y, and 80% of what you play will never change. Get the right records, add a few well-chosen current hits, and you’re 95% there
7. You need to have everyone dancing all the time – This is a huge myth and a mistake rookies regularly make. You’ll have a semi-full to full dancefloor for maybe the last third of the reception – sometimes more, sometimes less. Knowing when to be “background” is vital, because you’ll be “background” (ie setting the mood) for a big chunk of the time early on
8. You’ll need to have and play every request you’re asked for – Actually, supremely, no! Knowing how to deal with this is key. Indeed, unless it’s the bride, you’ll learn to be very cautious of requests
9. You’ll need to undercharge to get any work – Absolutely not. This is the brilliant thing. It’s simply not like playing over-supplied bar and cut-throat club slots. People want reliability, and they want to be sure you can deliver. They’ll pay whatever it costs for their big day to be perfect. The skill is to convince them of that – and then to be able to do it. Wedding DJing approached correctly is not price sensitive
10. It’s easy! – This myth is only usually held by DJs who consider themselves “above” it. The truth is you need to have a very particular mix of skills, and you need to respect the job. You owe it to the couples whose weddings you DJ and to the profession itself. Wedding DJs quite rightfully get upset when other types of DJ think weddings are easy, because they know they’re not. However, it can be taught. That’s where our new guide comes in…

Get on board…

Interested in exploring the possibility of DJing weddings? Get all the information on our brand new course, The Complete 21st Century Wedding DJ, here.

Are you intrigued by DJing weddings but for one reason or another haven’t got around to it yet? What’s holding you back? Let us know your reasons and any other myths you may have hear about wedding DJing in the comments!