Go DJ, Cuz That's My DJ

We booked our DJ!

This is the vendor I was most nervous about booking. The music can really make or break an event, especially our event. I love to dance and all I really want for my wedding is to have all our friends and family out on the dance floor busting a move with me. It was really important to me that we would have control over the music, I didn't want to just tell someone "we like hip-hop" and have them determine what that meant. I want to physically say play this song, don't play that song.

I started my search by using my beloved weddingwire.com and looking up DJs in the Minneapolis area. Then, I looked at the reviews from past brides. I love seeing what people liked and didn't like about these DJs. I probably sent an e-mail or filled out a "request for information" for 10 different DJs. Being a business owner, I always love to see how people market their business and respond to potential clients. I had one who sent me an e-mail with information and pricing, then send me a packet in the mail and then called to see if I got the e-mail and then called a second time to see if I got the packed. Annoying. Don't hound me....I hate it. They immediately got crossed off the list. Another place just sent me a generic pre-written e-mail and then proceeded to send me three more what I am assuming were scheduled impersonal e-mails. I didn't want a place where I was just another number, I wanted a personal experience. They got the boot. For the remaining DJs a lot of it had to do with cost and what was included in the cost, obviously we have to make sure they fit in our budget. Finally, at the Wedding Fair last Sunday I was able to meet and talk to some of the companies I was considering. This was a huge help! I got to see how the represented themselves, how they were trying to sell themselves and talk directly to the DJs. At the Wedding Fair, I made an appointment with the company that stood out to me. J and I met with them to make sure all of our questions were answered.

Then, we booked them! 

I am so excited to be working with Nightlife Entertainment. One of the things I love about them is that they employ eighteen DJs but they only book eight events on a given day, thus making sure they aren't spread too thin, they have back ups available in case of an emergency and they can focus on making sure those eight events are run perfectly. One thing I learned along the way is that it's super important to ask vendors how many events they book at a time. There were whisperings around the Wedding Fair that some DJ companies book up to thirty-five events on a single day! Yikes!

Another thing that sold me is their DJ assigning process. They have an online form you fill out that asks you what kind of music you like, how involved you want the DJ to be, certain artist you want to hear, any special circumstances they should be aware of, etc. Then about a month before the wedding their DJs look through these forms and pick the events that match best with their personality and style. Then, the DJ calls or meets with the couple to make sure they mesh and everyone feels good about working together. Love it! I hate when DJs are just up there to hear themselves talk but at the same time I want them to be involved and get the guests out on the dance floor!

My favorite part, is the music database. Nightlife has over 80,000 songs! They have all their music in an online database where you can search songs or artists. Then, there's little green, yellow, and red buttons. If you add a song to your green list, you're saying these are the songs we have to hear, for example "Lean Like a Cholo." Not a joke. Then the yellow list is songs you like, would be fine if you didn't hear but some extra ideas for the DJ. And, obviously the red list is the do not play. The songs we will strangle the DJ for playing, for example anything made by Mariah Carey after the year 1995.

Finally, there was one question I asked all DJs. It was partially a test to see how flexible/creative/fun they were and partially a very serious question. "Do you have or can you make a Michael Jackson mega mix?" If I was going through that music database I would probably add ten Michael Jackson songs on to that green list, so I figure it would save some time and make me extremely happy if there was a way to get all his best songs jammed in to one awesome song. Nightlife LOVED the idea and said they would definitely be able to make that work. Done. Sold. Where do I sign?