What exactly do I do as a Perth wedding DJ?

Mixmaster: If the most important skill for a professional wedding DJ is to know when to play what, then the second most important is their beat-mixing. If you’ve never heard this term before, it’s where a DJ creates a mix of two songs by lining them up perfectly and having them play together as one song transitions into the next. Doing this smoothly maintains the flow between songs and avoids that clunky loss of energy you’ll feel during a playlist (or a bad DJ’s set) when one song ends before the next one starts.

Request filter: as mentioned earlier, as a wedding DJ I love a good request! But you know what? I love all requests - because even though I won’t play every single one, I always want guests to be involved, enthusiastic and telling me what they want. I’ve got an extensive music library and chances are that if someone requests something, I’ve got it. But if I don’t, I’m always online and can download anything on the fly. I also strongly recommend you include a space for a guest request on your RSVP’s and pass this list on to me, including who requested what! This means that I’ve got the opportunity to dedicate requests to specific guests - it’s a fun way to keep everyone involved over the course of the night.

Moment manager: There’s moments over the course of your reception where I’ll have some specific music to play as your wedding DJ - songs for your bridal party entry (having separate songs for each ‘couple’ is a huge vibe here), speech introductions, songs for first dance and cake cutting - whatever they are, I’ll make sure they’re confirmed with you, ready to go, and always played from the right point - not just lazily dropped in from the beginning!

Also, sometimes a wedding DJ needs to make time for a special d-floor moment for just one or two people. It can be anything from “me and mum used to sing this together in the car when I was little”, to “my uncle really loves motown, can you put some on for him?” It gives me a chance to get those people onto the floor for their moment, and even though it’s singling-out one or two people, it has this awesome effect of getting everyone involved! It’s something I can accommodate on the fly, but it’s also great for me to know anything like this beforehand to have it ready.

Playlist collaborator: it all starts long before your wedding day, when we first meet. The first thing I need to know as your wedding DJ is what it is that music means to you, what you like to party to, and what kind of music gets you moving! This can be anything from just loving what’s on a particular radio station to being a total music nut with a roomful of records. While this gives me a really useful initial impression of what will work at your wedding, the next step is for you to keep a list going of stuff you’d love to hear at your reception. This can be anything from a small handful of tracks, up to playlists a couple hundred songs long. As a guide, I’ll be able to play around 30 songs an hour, so keep this in mind!

Sound and lighting guy: my background in event audio-visual is something I’ve brought right over to my role as a wedding DJ, and this means that I’ve spared no expense or detail when it comes to the quality of my equipment. My sound system can cover 200 guests with ease, indoor or outdoor (special arrangements can be made for larger weddings), has a high-quality, long-range wireless microphone for speeches, no unsightly tripod stands, and full dancefloor lighting. I also bring my own wedding DJ booth - so the only thing I require from the venue is a power supply.

Scheduling assisstant: if I’m your wedding MC, we’ll discuss the ideal running order for your wedding reception. While there’s a basic order that I think works best, all this will be subject to the specifics - when you’ll be arriving, what style of reception it is (ie cocktail or sit-down), how many speeches you’ll be having, etc. We’ll perfectly tailor it to suit your evening and I’ll let you know what info I’ll need from you to write some fun bridal party and speech introductions.

Reception point man: As your wedding MC I’ll be in touch with all your vendors over the course of the night - venue staff, caterers, photographer and videographer, etc, to make sure everyone’s on the same page regarding the running order and ready to make everything happen when it should. Inexperienced MC’s often miss this part, leaving the kitchen scrambling to clear plates in time for speeches, or photographers rushing to set up their lighting for the first dance after it’s announced without warning! If you’ve got a friend or family member as your MC for the night, I’m more than happy to be their “MC coach” for the night and make sure they host in a way that keeps all your vendors in sync. I’ve even got an MC script template I can send them to help them get organised and have everything covered as your MC.

Housekeeping: no, I’m not here to clean your room! This is where the wedding MC lets everyone know all the basics before the reception kicks off: where the bathrooms are, where to go for a smoke, house rules, anything like that. I always like to do this right before the bridal party introduction to keep things flowing smoothly, which leads me to…

Bridal party hype man: my favourite job as wedding DJ & MC! Long before the big night, I’ll have you send through any dirt or funny info you’ve got on your bridal party, and I use this to write intros for each of them. I think the best way is for bridal party ‘couples’ to enter together, each to their own specifically chosen music. They should dance into the room with heaps of energy (don’t worry, I’ll have the crowd well and truly hyped), have a boogie on the dancefloor, and move over to their spot at the bridal table. This of course culminates with the entry of the bride & groom, always a climactic moment for any wedding!

Games co-ordinator: who doesn’t love a good wedding game? No matter if it’s the shoe game, bride & groom trivia, or anything else - as your wedding MC I’ll take charge and get the crowd involved!

Speech announcer: as part of getting that running order just right, we’ll make sure we’ve the speech order and timings confirmed well before your wedding day. I also like to get a bit of info on everyone giving a speech so I can write a fun introduction for them, in addition to a song chosen with each speaker in mind that I can play as walk-up music for them.

General annoucner: did someone lose their phone? Leave their lights on? Is it someone’s birthday? If there’s anything random or unexpected to announce, I’ve got it covered as your wedding MC and will make sure everyone keeps an eye out for aunty Sharon’s lost earring!