What Four Traits Are Mastered By The Best Wedding DJs

You know it can be kind of painful as a seasoned professional wedding DJ looking around online and seeing a lot of amateur wedding DJs try to convey what it is they will provide you and what you should be looking for in terms of your wedding DJ. I'm not sure why I even try to waste my time seeing what other members of the industry are saying. Most of what I read tends to be flat out "entertainment".  Over the years, this blog you are reading has become one of the most travelled wedding DJ blogs on the internet. Recently, I've been up in the Top 2 if you search for Wedding DJ Blogs. I'm are very proud of the content I've been able to pound out for my blog that helps modern brides and grooms find the best wedding DJs for their all important wedding day.   As you search for your all-important wedding DJ, you need to know the traits that the very best wedding DJs have mastered. Perhaps you are on the fence between deciding between a few wedding DJs. Feel free to use this post to narrow your search down. 

I am humbled beyond belief when clients have taken the time to review my content and actually make their decision as to who their wedding DJ will be on what will become one of the most important days of their lives.  While most everything you'll find on this blog is based on pure opinion, it's really how I think the wedding DJ industry should operate in the time since I began my company.  Stepping into the wedding DJ industry is not for the faint of heart. When I step outside myself and analyze what it is I am exactly doing for my clients, I'm truly amazed at the reputation I've been able to build over the years. I've seen so many amateurs "try" to mimic my style, only to fail. 

1. An Extensive Musical Vocabulary
You'd think this is a "given", right?  Before there were photo booths and uplights, there were wedding DJs who set up some CD players, a few speakers, a subwoofer and rocked every single wedding that they performed at. In 2023, these wedding DJs would amass numerous 5 star reviews, but in order to keep up with the trendy photo booths or uplights, they might abandon the music.  I got my start as a wedding DJ from my experience as a radio DJ. Here in 2023, radio is just a skeleton of what it was when I got on the air in the late 1990s. I got into radio because I love music, so as a result of being a DJ on the radio, my musical vocabulary continued to develop as I carried on with that career.  Music is the Number 1 reason why you hire a wedding DJ, right? Unfortunately, in today's quest to make even more money, wedding DJs appear to have ventured off the beaten path into offering trendy photo booths and uplights. Perhaps these are quick sales or add-ons, but the modern bride and groom should know that there are actual "photo booth" and "uplighting" companies that you can hire for those particular needs. What a concept, eh? Truth be told, if I had to worry about offering photo booths and uplights, I would not have time to keep my musical vocabulary above my competition (whoever they may be).  Being a wedding DJ for me has been one of the most rewarding things I've been able to do in my life. When I meet with one of my clients, I like to pick their brain on what exactly their musical likes and dislikes are. It's from these meetings and discussions that we will put together the best wedding playlist that will create a lasting memory for the bride and groom and their guests. As long as I am a wedding DJ, I will continue to be focused on the music.  I've never been asked to bring any DJ lights to any wedding, and in recent years, modern brides and grooms have definitely approached me and asked if I was ever going to bring any of this cheesy stuff. You should see the look in their eyes when I let them know I don't employ those gimmicky things.  I will gladfully point you in the right direction of a very classy photo booth company, and some of the finest lighting companies in the area. Believe me, it's ok to have separate transactions for these items, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  Would you believe I've worked with so many wedding planners who were relieved I didn't employ any lights? Lots, and I do mean lots!  You can find out more about Why It's All Music And No Upgrades, <-----just CLICK HERE - Down below you'll see some images from one of the greatest books on music I've ever purchased.  Joel Whitburn may have died in June 2022 at the age of 82, but he left a legacy of being one of the greatest record keepers of music in history. This book down below is so huge, I've not been able to read the whole thing. I could easily spend hours and hours in it though, and the hours do go by pretty fast when I take the time to delve into any part of it.

All in all, I am a seasoned, professional wedding DJ whose sole focus is the music. When we meet, I look forward to getting to know you a little bit more and your favorite kinds of music. Also, click on this link for reasons to have a photobooth at your wedding with a discussion I had several years ago with an actual photobooth professional, not a wedding DJ! Also, if you'd like to see my stance on why I don't provide any lighting, feel free to click over to the Uplighting page on my main website. Ok, enough about photo booths and uplighting, let me put my headphones on and turn the music back up. :) 

2. An Exceptional Voice For Announcements
As I mentioned up above, I got into radio because I loved music, but it was radio that allowed me to professionally train my voice. It matters not if a wedding DJ thinks they are great and can mix the music and play the right song at the right time if their voice is truly hideous.  You know sometimes I get approached by brides and grooms wanting to see in me action. To be honest, I find this to be a pretty "rude" request because it involves me asking a bride and groom if I can invade their private event and grab some dancing footage of weddings. While I've done this before, it's not something I'm going to keep requesting over and over, because it's kind of rude for me to ask for private footage of your wedding so I can "market" my business. Since B Roll footage of people dancing at a wedding is available all over the internet for consumption amongst wedding DJs, modern brides and grooms need to be asking for an audio demo of the wedding DJs voice. Since I've been recording my voice professionally for years, I have plenty of material to share in this realm. There are so many unpolished wedding DJs out there emerging from their bedroom Numark controller hooked into their Spotify thinking they have it what takes to be an emcee at your wedding. Truth be told. you want a friendly, warm and professional sounding voice making the announcements at your wedding. You don't want an amateur, but then you also do not want to be stuck with a game-show host or aucitoneer-type personality. There are also a whole host of wedding DJs who think holding a microphone in their hand gives them permission to be comedians. How is this? Some wedding DJs will get on the microphone every few minutes and crack silly jokes and begin hitting on your guests. As a seasoned professional wedding DJ, I believe in a "less is more" approach making as many or as few announcements as you desire. Also, as a seasoned wedding DJ, I don't need to hear my voice coming through the speakers. After being on the radio for several years, I've heard my voice many times, so I don't see the need to be constantly bothering you and your guests with unnecessary chatter. In other words, I'm seasoned and mature and don't get a kick at hearing my voice in the speakers. Also, when any wedding DJ feels the need to crack the mic and input their silly comments and jokes, it puts the spotlight on them, and take its off the bride and groom. You hired a wedding DJ, not a comedian!

3. Expert Knowledge of Audio and Equipment
I don't want to get into a lot of boring audio lingo, but one of the most traits that all wedding DJs should be well versed in is having expert knowledge of audio and equipment.  What do I mean by this? I'm not only referring to expert knowledge of all types of audio, but an expert of their own equipment. In the event that a wedding DJ has some type of untimely equipment malfunction, they need to know how to correct this potentially negative situation. One thing that I have never done is use another wedding DJs gear at one of my weddings OR allowed any wedding DJ to use my equipment.  While this may sound harsh, letting someone else borrow my equipment and risk having guest spill or destroy the gear is simply not an option.  I also don't really believe that a lot of wedding DJs take pride in their equipment like I do, so it's hard for me to believe if I let them borrow pieces of my gear, that it will be returned to me in good condition. From Day 1, I've always bought higher end equipment that still works as good as it did when it was taken out of the box.  Since I don't allow anyone to use my equipment, I know the condition of each piece of my rig at all times. If a piece of equipment is going to fail on my watch, it's going to do so because of wear and tear created by me, not because I lent it to some other wedding DJ to destroy because they had a wild group of guests. I do this not only for my sanity, but for my clients. 

4. Excellent Communication Skills
Being in a charge of your very own wedding DJ company means that you are the manager. In order to be an exceptional manager, you must have outstanding communication skills.  These excellent communication skills start from the moment that a bride and groom hire you. Whether its setting up a quick call before being contracted, or following up with the client in the months leading up to the wedding, a wedding DJ needs to check in and "communicate".  Communication is a two way street. You'll know you've hired one of the best wedding DJs when you can tell that they are genuinely interested in making sure your wedding day is the most successful possible.  The best wedding DJs will take the initiative to reach out to you at various points of your wedding planning process. Due to the fact that "music" is just one of the many pieces of planning your wedding, I don't like to wear out my welcome by hounding you about getting your music together. Seasoned, professional wedding DJs will find a good balance to stay in touch with you as you navigate through planning your wedding playlist.  The best wedding DJs will also take the initiative to set up a time to visit a wedding venue if they have not been there before. They will often set up these meetings without even telling you! That's ok. This is what the real professionals do in the background to make sure everything goes as planned during your wedding day. 

Interested In Hiring Mike Bills To Be Your Wedding DJ?
If given the opportunity, I'm sure other professional wedding DJs may chime in and be able to add to this list. But, as I look back on how I was able to forge an impeccable reputation for being a top wedding DJ, these are the traits that I focused on. These are the traits that I found to be most important in how I conduct my wedding DJ company. These are the traits that I feel are needed to make sure the modern bride and groom are treated to the absolute best day of their lives. You are planning the wedding of your dreams and are getting ready to marry the person of your dreams. You deserve nothing less than absolute perfection on your wedding day. I wanted to thank you for finding me. I would love to set up a time to talk to you about your wedding. If you found this post to be helpful, I invite you to research the rest of my blog for even more inspiration when trying to find a wedding DJ. Thank you for stopping by and I hope to speak with you soon. Congratulations on your engagement.