Hey, Mr. D.J.

Since a few of my major vendors are already booked, I thought I'd post something about the selection process. Anybody else remember this song?

"On & on, and on and on..."

I thought (for about 5 minutes) of having an iPod reception (especially since I was initially in "garden wedding" mode), but I gave up on that idea fast. There are just too many variables, and asking a friend to DJ our wedding instead of being an actual guest seemed kind of sad, and we didn't have anyone we thought would volunteer. That said, I think an ipod wedding can work very well if you're creative & have the resources (sound system, a consistently working laptop, etc.). Because we are into international music and mixed genres, I didn't even consider a live band, although I do plan to have live music for the ceremony & cocktail hour.

So I knew I wanted a DJ. I know that FH and I are *major* music fiends, and we needed someone with the expertise and interests to be able to play several different genres and get the crowd to relate to them all. I also wanted someone who could keep the party moving. Our party would be a bit of a challenge; we'll have people from different cultures and of all ages, from 6- year olds up to people in their 80s, and we want them all to have a great time.

Other than that I had no idea where to start with this, no idea about price points or anything except what theknot.com calculator said a DJ should cost. I started emailing at random. I started by looking at the vendors in the one place I'm familiar: other photographers' blogs. Seriously! I already subscribe to a million photography blogs, several of them local, and it's a great resource. If the people were having a great time in the photos, I paid extra special attention to who the DJ was. This one's not local, but it's one of my absolute favorite wedding dance shots; doesn't the bride look positively rhapsodic?

Credit

I sent out brief emails saying we were looking for a DJ with experience with multicultural crowds and an interest in different genres of music.

One person wrote back and said I was "weird." (Where do these people come from?) Another didn't respond.

Then, I found one more DJ on WeddingWire. He just had a nice look about him, and his website was pretty good. I emailed him and not only could he accommodate us, but he seemed excited about it! On speaking to him, he was just as congenial and knowledgeable as his emails suggested. I liked him so much that I figured his price was high -- and it was. A quick search, however, revealed that what I thought was "high" was "average for this area."

It was four months before I called him back to book him for our wedding. In the meantime, I discovered that he was DJ for a wedding of one of my coworkers, who had a beautiful wedding about a year ago. I felt comfortable with him, and it was a no-brainer.

We'll see how it goes, but I have a pretty good feeling about it. We've already met to discuss song lists and genres, and he's as excited to work with us as we are with him. Let the music play! (Oh... there goes another song in my head.)