The Classy And Elegant Charleston Wedding DJ: A Shocking Confession To Brides

No matter the location of your Charleston wedding, your aim should be to make it a classy and elegant affair filled with the music you know and love. Whether it's a laid back afternoon and evening at grandmother's house in Summerville or a grand and luxurious affair at the Kiawah Island Club, brides and grooms should be aiming for a classy and elegant vibe. When I decided to create Mike Bills Entertainment, one of the primary goals was to alleviate any and all fears of hiring a tacky and cheap wedding DJ. While my humble beginnings as a DJ began back in the mid 1990s on the radio, I had a very brief stint as a wedding DJ back in the early 2000s working for a company here in town.  It was so brief that I am surprised I was able to remember it, but I was able to remember it because I did NOT have a good time! Despite it's brevity, there were quite a few things back then that I observed that would forever alter my perceptions of professional wedding DJs and how they "should" act. Opinions would be formed that would put together my mission statement for how I would run my own company.  The wedding DJ you hire is there to compliment your big day, not get on the microphone and say their name all night or hang tacky signs or banners.  But I digress from talking about the type of wedding DJ you should hire. You'll want to read on to find out something that I decided was not as important, and that I opted to leave out of my wedding performances, but still earned me a solid reputation as one of the top Charleston Wedding DJs.

 Drum roll please.  I'm getting very close to revealing my confession, but first before I do, let me tell you I am not alone in this viewpoint as I have found out there are other DJs in other markets outside of Charleston who share this same sentiment. YOUR wedding is about the music. It's about creating the soundtrack for the most important day of your life (up until your wedding day). Creating the best soundtrack for your big day and having the time of your life does not require any of the blinky, laser DJ lighting.

You Read That Correct. I DO NOT Use Dance Floor Lighting
During that brief moment I mentioned up above of my first experience as a wedding DJ in the early 2000s, I developed this viewpoint.  I used that brief, but negative experience to carve out my own niche here in Charleston and how I thought I needed to be presenting myself to my clients. The truth of the matter is you don't need overbearing and flashy club lighting at your wonderfully decorated wedding venue.  You've spent a lot of time and money on decor, and the last thing you need is to ruin it with the flashy lights.

Less Than 1% Of My Clients Have Requested Them
Ever since it's inception, Mike Bills Entertainment has performed wedding after wedding without ANY request for dance floor lighting. In recent years, I had some fleeting thoughts about adding a tasteful alternative to the ugly and unsightly trusses that some DJs still bring into wedding venues all over Charleston. But after much thought and the lack of demand, I felt it was better to continue to invest more into my sound, which I continue to do to this day.

Some Wedding Planners Do Not Like It
The following is a true story. During a site survey back in the early part of 2018, I had met a bride and her planner for the very first time at wedding venue downtown. I had never worked at this wedding venue before, so it's something I always do to cover my bases. I also had never worked with this wedding planner. At the end of the site survey, I was getting ready to leave and was making small talk with this planner and she asked me a few questions about my rig, and also asked if I had any lights. I told her "No", and her response was "Good." I explained to her my stance on the lighting, but I must say that it was very refreshing to hear this opinion from a wedding planner and have someone agree with me. I told her I had "yet" to employ lights in all my years as a Charleston Wedding DJ. 

My 5 Star Reviews Say That Lights Are NOT A Priority
When you are looking to hire the best DJ for your Charleston wedding, be sure you read over their reviews. Reviews are the lifeblood of any online business and are there to help guide couples in the right direction of hiring all the important vendors for your big day. If you spend some time reading over my reviews, you won't see anything that resembles what you see down below.
"Mike was an excellent wedding DJ who really kept the party going, but it would have been so much better if he had dance floor lighting."

The Classy Alternative: Tasteful Uplighting And / Or String Lighting
As you book your wedding venue, you should ask the venue manager to see if any type of lighting needed, and if so, consider some tasteful uplighting or even string lighting. Tasteful uplighting is the perfect, "classy" option to give whichever wedding venue you decide on a beautiful and elegant vibe without the tackiness and gaudiness of blinky / laser DJ lighting you see in clubs. String lighting is another tasteful alternative that can really give off a wonderful vibe too, especially if you are having your reception outside under a tent or even under the stars. I don't offer uplighting as an upgrade, but have been working with Charleston Uplighting for over 8 years now. You might also look up Technical Event Company, who have become one of Charleston's top wedding and event lighting and sound companies.

YOUR Wedding Is Just That;  A Wedding, NOT A Nightclub
The opinions and viewpoints expressed in this post are based on what I have seen over the years when DJing weddings in and around the Charleston area.  They've been formulated from my first impressions of being a wedding DJ going back to the early 2000s with that not so positive experience I spoke of up above.  I will treat YOUR wedding day as I would treat my own. I think it's one of the most important days of your life and should be filled with the music you love in a classy and elegant atmosphere.  "Music" is what gets people out to the dance floor and creates memories you'll remember for a lifetime.  If you click over to my Weddings page on my main website, you'll also read that I never look at a couple's wedding as just another "gig". You can still have the time of your life without all the bells and whistles of a tacky DJ lighting rig.   Now that you have made it this far down this post, please take a look at the photo below.

Does the photo up above scare you? I know I've shown it to a few wedding planners and they nearly passed out. Disco balls, flashing lights and smoke & fog are some of the things that gave wedding DJs a bad name.  Thankfully as each year passes us by, we get further and further away from the times where Charleston weddings saw this type of tackiness all too often.  As long as I am a wedding DJ, I will conduct my business with the highest of class, elegant and professionalism and do my best to continue to raise awareness to my prospective clients that some of these tacky DJs do still exist. YOUR wedding is worth it to me to behave in this manner and I will do my best to make it one of the best days of your life. 

Like What You Hear? Wanna Hire Mike As Your Charleston Wedding DJ?
Thank you so very much for making it to the end of this blog post.  I take what I do very seriously  and look forward to hearing about your musical likes and dislieks when we get together. If you just got engaged and don't exactly know what you want when it comes to youe wedding DJ, you've come to the right place. I've designed my website professionally withe modern bride and groom in mind.  Back on my main website, I've created helpful links to help you in your wedding DJ search. Check them out down below by clicking the graphics.

Photo Credit: Aaron & Jillian Photography


Photo Credit: Anchor & Veil

After you read over these specially designed parts of my website for modern brides and grooms, be sure to scour my Wedding DJ blog, it's become one of the highest ranked blogs by wedding DJs on the internet.  If you are recently engaged and are ready to begin the interview process so that you find the best wedding DJ for your Charleston wedding, let's set up a time to talk. For those couples who do not live in Charleston, I am avialable by Skype or Facetime or by phone, and if you do live in the Charleston area, we can grab a coffee and talk music. Just click HERE