Wedding DJ question

Contract for sure!

Keep an eye out for our Wedding DJ course. We’ve already sold hundreds by invitation only, but it will go “live” in a few weeks to the public.

I have a contract that I’ve used, but am reticent to share it because I Am Not A Lawyer™ and do not want to give you legal advice. Still, there are some things you want to be of, and it’s up to you the extent to which you feel you need to have them in writing, if at all:

• P-p-p-power: At a minimum, you should be sure that you have access to a dedicated outlet near where you are performing. And by dedicated, I mean that you need to be sure that nobody is plugging anything into that circuit anywhere else. You’d hate to have your gig cut cold by a short in a rented champagne fountain.

• Other “physical” requirements: Do you have to haul your gear up some stairs? How much space do you need? Will you be in the way of other decorations, etc.? Do you expect them to provide anything else, such as a table?

• The Timing of Things: It’s important to have an agreement on when are you expected to start playing music for the reception and when it should and. Also, do they expect you to play dinner music? If so, are you prepared? Wrapped around all of this is set-up and tear-down time. Figure out how much time you need to setup and sound-check and insist upon it. I have often set up my gear for a 6pm reception at 10am. That allowed me to get my gear in place and ensure everything was working before decorators started pinning stuff up around me.

• What You Are Not Doing: This is a matter of who is responsible for what, and it can be pretty important. I’ll reiterate my IANAL disclaimer here. This is a private event; THEIR event. You are hired to come in and play some music; period. You are not a security guard, crowd-control, etc. Insurance, etc. is not on you. It’s not your job to help clean up afterwards or to track down a missing bride. (You can do those things if you wish. 😉 ) You are also not there to take anybody’s abuse, be it verbal or physical. I don’t mean to sound like a downer here; most wedding receptions are a blast. But, they are also a place where liquor is often flowing and people can be… emotional. Your plan is to stay cool. I bring this up because in most bar/club situations, they have staff dedicated to all this stuff. At a wedding reception, they have caterers, photographers and, well, YOU. Once the ceremony is over, you have several hundred people ready to party. Do not sign up to babysit.

• Have a Plan: I’m not talking about music here; I’m assuming you have that well in hand. (You’d better!) I’m talking about the traditional ceremonies that happen at a wedding reception. Things like the garter toss, couple’s first dance, dance with the parents, dollar dance, etc. You need to find out now if any of that is happening. If it is, YOU will be expected to run it and run it well. If not, be prepared for any of them to come to you as last-minute requests.

• This Isn’t ABout You: And… I’m going to start a raging debate here…. it’s not really all about the bride/groom/mother-of-bride (*gasp!*)…. it’s about all the guests as a whole. And, specifically, it’s about keeping as many people happy and dancing as long as you can. So, check your ego at the door and serve your room as if your life depended upon it. Nobody cares who you are, they care about having fun with their friends and family. What you are is their drug for the night. CONVERSELY, you are the expert here. You did not get hired for somebody to draw up a 4-hour playlist for you. If they want to do that, I recommend they rent a PA system and fill up an iTunes playlist and save money paying you. This is the delicate part of DJing, and it’s much much harder at a wedding reception. Your audience is broad, and there will always be somebody armchair-quarterbacking your work. Stay cool. Stay polite. Keep that dance floor bumpin’.

“Do you take requests?”

“Yes, I take them all. Some of them I even play!” 😀

Phil Morse, post: 20089, member: 2 wrote: Thanks Jorn, that is an excellent broad overview of the responsibilities and limits you should clarify right at the start.

I will second that. Excellent advice.