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So I heard the average cost for a DJ is anywhere from $100-$300.00.. At first I thought it was a joke until three local DJ's contacted me with the cheapest starting price of over $900.00-----for real????... So for 6 hours of coverage nearly $1k?? Am I really that cheap??!
I got mine for $650, but that's because I have a daytime reception (2-6pm). He would have been over $1k if it was in the evening. I was shocked, too, and I'm so lucky I found my DJ. Keep looking around, asking people who they recommend, see if you have any "up-and-coming" DJs who are only spread by word of mouth, etc. Good luck!
DJs can be VERY expensive especially when you say for a wedding... My coworker paid $975 (for 4 hours) for their DJ which is expensive.... My DJ is giving us a very good deal.... He is charging $600 and that is to set up equipment in two different rooms (Ceremony (Limited setup) and Reception), hours will be from 2:00-9:00, which he will play the ceremony music, play during the cocktail hour, and the reception.... Keep looking, I am sure that you can find something a bit cheaper!
Cheapest I saw was $1100 for 6 hours upwards of $1800. I paid $1400. $900 sounds pretty good to me.
@pinkshoes: Likewise. We're paying $1500 and didn't find anyone who sounded like a normal person who would charge less. Maybe it's a Massachusetts thing?
We paid $1500 for ours and that was at a discount because I knew the DJ from years ago. That was for 6 hours of time.
@BunnyBrideToBe: damn cost of living up in the area. I think its pretty common in the north east as far south as NJ.
We are paying $750 for 4 hours and the guy does DJ, ceremony announcements if needed, plays guitar and piano and will probably play during the ceremony as well. He is also traveling from a few states away.
Ours is $850 for ceremony (1 hour) and reception (4 hours) both. He was the least expensive we found. Most were at least $1000 to $1500.
OMG!! I got a quote for $900 but I was like O_o So my friend who is a professional DJ is going to help us out I'm not sure how much he is going to charge but he is really good and I trust him, lol!
yeah they are not cheap at all. mine was a friend of the family and for the basic package without uplighting etc, he starts at 1300. I got him to come down to 700. He also had a photobooth which he charges 900 for. I got it for 500. Still a lot of moula, but everyone had a great time at my reception! It is what I wanted and I got it! Worth it totally!
I have to move! In NY, most wedding DJs are about $3000 for a Saturday night.
@LMD84: 3K for a Saturday night!!! What!!!
My fiancee and I were complaining about the 1K price tag for 4 hours with our DJ.
But one thing about a DJ, they can make or break the party seriously. I went to a wedding with a horrible DJ and I felt so bad for the couple... because everyone was leaving right after dinner.
@Bunnybridetobe; I also live just outside Boston.. I can't even imagine getting a DJ under $1000! Must be a Boston thing!
We personally knew our DJ and he gave us a discount from $3000 to $2400 and I thought I was getting a steal!
@suburban: I totally agree that a DJ can make or break the party... It helps for me that we have used him twice for bday parties.....I guess that is why he is giving us a good deal....
I couldnt imagine getting someone as cheap as 300 unless its a friend or a real beginner. Or at least a quality person with experience.
If you think about it these people are trying to make a living on it (even if at the moment they are supplementing another job)
So at 4 hours plus 1 hour of setup/break down that is only $60 an hour and when you consider the equipment they use probably costs (at the cheapest) $3-5,000 on equipment, plus their expertise etc. So you are paying a rental fee included in the total cost.
Also take into account there really is only 1 prime evening for them to work, Saturday night, so many can only book one to two events a week. And if you are booked for a Saturday evening you are paying a premium for that time slot. It would be a whole lot cheaper if it was a Wednesday evening because you are not in competition with other possible customers.
Maybe looking at it that way it may help the $ seem more palatable.
ours is 850.00 but is giving us a hefty discount, because we are friends..
mine is $60 an hour plus $60 set-up. He's a friend of mine and not a "professional," apparently he just started by doing a wedding of a friend of his, and he liked it, and people liked him, so since then he's done pretty much everyone's wedding in my group of friends. But I know that is crazy cheap, and I would never hire someone like that even if I knew them, except that I have been to more than a couple weddings he has done, and he is great.
I am in Illinois and I talked to a lot of DJ's. I got quoted over a grand for 3 of them for my evening reception for 5-6 hours. I ended up finding one for 699.00 I was happy with that. Compaired to everyone else I talked to his was a deal. I wasnt willing to go with someone that wasnt really known though. It is important for me to have good music at my wedding.
Mine is 500 but she is a friend of my mother. Reception will be for 6 hours.
I've found that nothing in the wedding industry costs $100 - $300. I estimated at least $1,000 for cake, dj and photographer.
I don't know where you lived but I sure wish I lived there. The cheapest DJ's with no experience where I live are $1,200. I have been to a wedding with one of these DJs and it was terrible. So DH and I splurged and spent $2,750 on our DJ and it was the best part of our wedding. Guests are still talking about the DJ.
FI and I are paying $595 for our DJ. Our reception is a Saturday evening and we get him for 7 hrs. (We won't use him for the whole time, but we went with that package for the better lighting)
We found a guy who does it on the side and he charged us $450 for the ceremony and reception lasting 5 hours total. We had a minor hiccup but that was nothing. Everyone was on the dance floor and dancing so that was the important thing.
My friend who is recently engaged just went through this, she found this nifty website that helps you understand why it cost so much and why some djs are a lot more than others...
http://djjudgemental.com/new/blog/45/147-why-does-the-dj-cost-so-much
Good luck! And the ones we met with were from $1200 and up.
I highly doubt any DJ could make aliving off of a $100-$300 rate! We're paying $900.
We're paying $1,300 in NY, saturday night wedding. We shopped around and got quotes up to $2,200.
wow. thats very expensive. my DJ is only £200 so that errm $315 i think, totally proffesional too, and highly recommended too, and you can get them cheaper too. my friend had a band play at her wedding it only cost £800.
We are paying $136 an hour for our D.J. and having a Friday evening reception. The price surprised my fiance and I a little but I think we have adjusted to it after getting our other vendor quotes. I think depending on the location, the day/time, and the length of your reception, $900 is probably about right.
I am paying a "discounted" rate of $2,000. NYE is more expensive than other nights and it includes unlimited time and NYE favors for the countdown. If he wasn't freindly with my wedding coordinator he would have been $4,000...ouch!
@yellowshoe: That's a really good article. I think a lot of people forget the amount of time and physical labor that is involved in setting up a decently sized DJ rig. My good friend does DJing on the side and I have helped him move and set up his equipment several times and it is not easy! There is a whole lot of stuff, and it is all very expensive, delicate and heavy. And that's just the sound equipment - lighting adds even more time and effort.
This same friend of ours is DJing our wedding for free as his gift, and we like to joke that our gift to him was choosing a venue that has a permanently installed, state of the art sound system. So all he needs to bring is his laptop, mixer and a couple of other small things, which made him very happy!
That said, if you are booking a DJ that normally includes equipment set up fees in his price and are having your wedding somewhere that already has a sound system that he can use, he should adjust his price down accordingly.
I'm running into the same problem; especially because my wedding is in a small town, so while I could afford the competitive price of a DJ in the city (as in, $600 for 3 hours) or a band in the city ($700); I can't afford to pay for their travel to the small town--and those in the small town can afford to be picky because SOMEONE will pay them ($3k for a band! WHAT??).
I know, I know, it all makes complete sense, but still. ): It's sad when I imagined my wedding having a huge band and us all dancing until midnight while someone is crooning in the mike---and then you meet the reality of the $$ signs.
What do you think about hiring an affordable live musician (a string quartet for $575) for the ceremony and dinner, and then just putting a friend in charge of a laptop with our favorite dance songs tuned in for the reception? I feel like, with the alcohol, a specified dance floor, the fact that friends have traveled hours and have no other place to really go, that they'd be happy dancing and drinking and talking, right?
Besides, how can you NOT dance if the music is good? I'll make my new husband dance with me and everyone may just follow suit (and be grateful I dumped the DJ in lieu of purchasing more wine).
Wow, I'm paying $2000 for my DJ! That includes all uplighting, dance floor lighting, custom name in lights, and 6 hours with 2 DJs and top of the line equipment. Music and atmosphere is the most important thing to me though, because a terrible band or DJ can ruin a wedding IMO. I want everyone up and dancing all night!
I went with an "ipod wedding"! It was a lot of work to pick out and order all of the songs, but it was 100% free! We had the best man make any announcements that needed making. It was a very smooth process. I understand some people really like DJ's, but this worked well for us. =)
Just an idea!
Wow...Our DJ is $1,200! We have him for as long as we want though. I thought the price was WAY too high, but that's who my dad really wanted and if he's paying, then it's fine with me.
Mine was $595 for the venue's DJ. (I could have hired an outside DJ, but then the venue would charge a set-up/tear-down fee of $100.) The venue DJ did a good job.
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