How Much Does A Wedding DJ Cost? | Vancouver DJ

How Much Does A Wedding DJ Cost?

Not too surprisingly, the number #1 question our team gets from couples planning their wedding is: How much does a wedding DJ cost? In this post we hope to cover the average wedding DJ cost.

Put simply, the basic answer is between $780 – $1,495. The good news is that at least a DJ is less expensive than a wedding band, which on average costs $3,500.

Yet, by this point in your wedding planning process, you probably know that a one size fits all price does not take into account the full picture. Wedding DJ prices can vary quite greatly depending on a few important variables that you should pay attention to.

Lets go over the main factors that determine the overall price of your wedding DJ. 1. Length of event By far the most important variable is how many hours will go into your wedding. The first thing that comes to mind when most couples think of is the exact amount of hours a DJ will be performing for. However, there are a lot of time consuming tasks that don’t meet the eye. We’ll cover this later.

2. DJ Experience This one factor trips people up when they’re trying to calculate the average wedding DJ cost. Why? Because some DJ charge upwards of $2,000’s, while other DJs would practically pay you to gain the experience of DJing at your wedding!

Typically, the more expensive a DJ is, the more experienced they are, but not always! DJs that have been in the industry for a long time know how to value their time, and know the quality of their work. The per hour cost of hiring a DJ can range from anywhere between $50/hour-$250/hour. However, this is just for the DJ portion alone.

So what else does would my wedding DJ charge for? Let’s discuss other costs that you should definitely consider, especially because this could save you quite a bit of money!

2. Location Where your event is located can definitely change the average wedding DJ cost. For example, most DJ companies will charge you for extra travel time outside of a certain area. Typically, most companies will charge $1/km outside of a 50km area from their office. Some DJ companies prefer to change based a measurement on time too.

Not to mention, if your wedding is located out of the city, you may have to pay for accommodation, time and all travel related expenses incurred by the DJ. 3. Parking Parking is another hidden DJ cost that usually doesn’t meet the eye when you initially begin to search for a DJ. Yet, if you’re like many people who are hosting their wedding in downtown Vancouver, parking can cost upwards of $50 for the day!

When it comes to parking, we strongly suggest you ask the venue for preferred parking spots for your vendors, as this can quickly add up to being a significant cost! A lot of the time you’ll find that venues are happy to accommodate.

3. MC Services Have you thought about whether or not you’d like your DJ to help MC your wedding? While this is a complementary service with DJing.ca, other DJ companies may very well charge this as an additional service.

Yes, hiring a wedding MC may increase your average wedding DJ cost. However, what you’re really paying for is a) their experience with public speaking, controlling a crowd and dealing with audiences, and b) the rehearsal.

Keep in mind, your wedding DJ will need to practice the pronunciation of names phonetically (especially if people do not have common names).

They will also have to nail the art of saying the right thing at the right time. With so many things going on at a wedding, and so many unforeseen variables, it can be easy to get distracted.

4. Equipment DJs will typically bring in their own professional sound system, lighting system, DJ controller and a microphone or two. This equipment is quite expensive (Usually costs upwards of $10,000 brand new) and will definitely increase your average wedding DJ cost.

Now if you’re like most people, you may be thinking: Can the DJ just use the venues equipment?

The answer is yes and no.

Let’s start with the reason for no firstly. Many venues allow their clients to use the venues equipment, but may actually not clearly specify that the DJ is not allowed access to their equipment Also, when using the venues equipment, your DJ will need to make sure that the sound system can be connected properly via cords, and setting up in an area close enough to the sound system output.

Lastly, most DJs will have to do an additional on-site visit to go over the exact connectivity, which ultimately takes more time than just using our own equipment.

So yes, while your wedding DJ can use the house speakers, we don’t recommend it.

5. Additional Equipment Are you looking to get additional equipment on top of the essentials?

Here is a list of some of the most popular add-ons that many clients choose to select: 1.

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Uplighting Mirrorball Extra microphones & a mixer Projector & screen Karaoke Extra speaker set for ceremony Extra lights Fog machine or haze machine

When dealing with additional equipment rentals, there are a few extra costs that are associated with these rentals that may have not crossed your mind. While of course you’re paying for the equipment, you’re also paying for the gas and time of our DJ to transport it back and forth to the companies warehouse, as well as additional time to set up and take down the equipment and operate it properly.

5. Set Up & Take Down Your wedding DJ should be one of the first people to arrive at the venue and one of the last people to leave. At DJing.ca, we arrive 2 hours early, to take into account traffic, weather conditions, and other variables. On average, it takes about 30-60 minutes for our DJs to set up their equipment and an additional 30-60 minutes to take down the equipment at the end of the night. This wedding DJ cost is very important.

Another important point to take into consideration is will you need the DJ to set up their equipment early? Lets say for example you’re looking for a wedding DJ just for the reception at 9PM. But you have your dinner starting from 6PM-8PM and you have speeches and cake cutting afterwards, so you’d like your DJ to have their equipment set up by 6PM as to not interrupt dinner. This would be an additional cost for the time it takes to show up at 4PM, (instead of 7PM originally if we were to arrive 2 hours early).

Imagine on your special day, having the DJ race in last second, with beads of sweat dripping down their face, and frantically setting up the equipment last minute.

This is probably not have you envision your once in a lifetime day.

6. Account Management This is a cost that most DJs won’t talk too much about. However, your DJ price will include the countless emails back and forth, phone calls, text messages, in person consultations and planning. Believe it or not, one of the most time consuming parts for a wedding DJ is the time we invest into planning your wedding. We’ll also lump into this section operational costs such as marketing, purchasing the music to play at your wedding, and so on!

(Extra bonus! Here is a the top requested wedding songs from every single decade).

5. Do you have to tip your DJ by paying gratuity?

Like all tip based industries, it is not a life or death situation to tip.

However, most professionals in the service based industry attempt to go above your expectations and work hard to please their clients. We recommend budgeting 10-15% of the total bill to tip. This is definitely another one of those hidden costs that most clients forget to ask when thinking “how much does a wedding DJ cost?”.

Looking for a complete list of who to tip and how much? View this guide here.

6. Taxes If your DJ is a professional, they’re likely charging tax. Please remember to include this into your budget when thinking about the average wedding dj cost.

Overall, all these factors are priced into the quote that you will receive.

So to summarize your question of “How much does a wedding DJ cost?” it depends very much so on the exact details of your wedding.

The average wedding DJ cost depends on: 1. The length of you wedding 2. Your wedding DJs experience 3. The location 4. If parking is free 5. MC services 6. Sound system, lighting, microphone & all other equipment 7. Set up & take down 8. Account management 9. Gratuity 10.

Taxes We hope this helps you understand the pricing behind hiring a wedding DJ. If you’re interested in seeing how DJing.ca’s expert DJs can help you with your wedding music needs, then take a look here at what we offer.