If you’re looking for a great wedding DJ, keep reading for five great search tactics that are sure to find you the perfect entertainment professional for your event.
Consult a Local Forum
Word-of-mouth is a great way to collect referrals and recommendations about local service providers. And the best part about message boards? You don’t even have to leave your house. So, try logging on to a local town wedding forum to collect wedding DJ referrals from brides and recent brides right in your own city.
Popular sites include the Wedding Bells magazine website (weddingbells.ca), which has regional message boards, or – for example – the Edmonton Wedding Guide site (edmontonweddingguide.com), which is more localized, but less well known.
On a local wedding forum, you can obtain advice from women in your town rather than referrals for companies in New York or L.A. You can also find great advice on photographers, makeup artists and more.
Ask Your Photographer
Most popular wedding photographer will do one or more weddings a week. Over the course of a year, that’s at least 52 weddings. This means they’ve seen a lot of DJ companies, from the best to the worst.
So, if you trust your photographer, be sure to consult them on their recommendations. Alternately, if you already have a potential DJ in mind, ask them if they’ve ever worked with that person or company and what they think.
Go to the Bridal Expo
There are three major bridal shows and wedding exhibitions in the Edmonton area – Bridal Fantasy, which is twice a year; Edmonton Bridal Expo, which is a massive autumn exhibition; and the Bridal Fair, which is typically held at the Shaw Conference Center.
While a Bridal Fair may be overwhelming, they can be a great place to not only check out multiple DJ and entertainment companies, but also to meet them for informal, impromptu interviews.
You can check out their gear, their music selection, their prices and their personalities. For many weddings, the DJ also performs as your informal MC, meaning you want to find someone that meshes with your personality and wedding style. So, instead of calling tons of companies or running all around town, you can get it all done in one place.
Stay Away From Do-It-All Wedding Factory Companies
You’ll often see wedding entertainment companies that offer massive packages which include your limo, videography, photography and DJ services. But, the question is – do you want someone that does everything fairly well or someone that does one thing with particular skill?
Ideally, you want a DJ that knows how to DJ and is going to do the job well. You wouldn’t hire a photographer to cater your food or a florist to officiate your reception, so why hire a limo company to handle your reception entertainment?
Ask The Venue
There are only so many wedding venue locations in any town, meaning the popular ones are often booked solid with weddings. And, like your photographer, they see a parade of wedding DJ companies week after week.
Because most venues host numerous weddings every year, they get to hear and see a wide range of DJ’s – meaning they often know who is good and who might be better to avoid.