- r
- Band: Creates a great atmosphere r
- DJ: Can often play more variety; Typically more affordable; Doesn't take the same number of breaks as a band; Doesn't take up as much space as a band r
On paper, it looks like a DJ would win every time. However, sometimes there's no substitute for live music, which is why some couples still go with a band. I've been to nine weddings in the past 2 years -- that's one every two and a half months! -- but I've only seen one live band. Honestly, this wedding was so lavish that I didn't really even take note of the fact there was a band there because there was so much other stuff to revel in.
The point of all this is that we chose a DJ. In order to find the right DJ for us, we asked the coordinator of our venue for recommendations. This is a great way to get the names of the people who are familiar with the venue who you can be almost sure will do a good job. (You have to feel out this vendor recommendation, though. For some unscrupulous venues, the coordinator or venue might be getting a kickback for recommending these vendors. I didn't get that feeling from our venue or the people we met with, though.)
We met with two of the recommended DJs. After meeting with the first DJ, I pretty much knew he was the guy for us. I had a big ol' smile on my face during the entire meeting, and he seemed to be entirely on board with what we wanted. (Standard stuff, with emphasis on the songs you would hear a good cover band at a bar do ... "Sweet Caroline," "Don't Stop Believing," some Billy Joel, plus JUST a bit of some newer stuff from bands like the Black Eyed Peas to get some people dancing.) He also got really excited when we told him what song we wanted to be introduced to - "You May Be Right," by Billy Joel - which just confirmed my belief that he was the right DJ.
However, we still had a second DJ to meet with. This guy was good, too. If we had to have him at our wedding, it probably would have turned out great. But I just didn't get that feeling with him - the feeling that this was RIGHT for our wedding. I really can't pick out what was wrong with him, other than he seemed to want to play a lot of games during our wedding reception. I'm not really up for that.
As with so many other things, I went with my gut and we hired DJ #1. I've gone with my gut for a few other wedding items - the venue being the most notable. Here's hoping my intuition knows what it's doing!
