Wedding DJ

Yes, I often cooperate with professional rental partners. I will call on them if you have specific wishes or if you expect more than 125 persons or if your event is far away from Amsterdam or Utrecht.

I have performed with a saxophone player, but to be honest I prefer not to. Main reason is the choice of music: top 40 music that most people know works best at most weddings. Usually that’s not the type of music a saxophone player would add value to. He/she comes to its own with tight beats and instrumental dance; personally I find the dynamics of that type of music not appropriate for weddings.

• Some venues don’t allow amplified music after 11.00pm. In that case a Silent Disco (or Headphone Disco) is certainly an option. I’ve done this a few times and it’s super fun! And technically it’s not difficult to arrange. Headphones and transmitter can be rented at various companies.
• Silent Disco works best once the party has taken off. During walk-in and at the start of the evening people are usually chatting, which makes it pointless. During those hours I could play backgrond music over regular speakers and then switch to Silent Disco once the party can really kick off.

Of course I won’t proclaim it’s better to book a live band for your party. However, I’d like to point out the disadvantages:

• First of all a band will be much more expensive. In order to perform a wide range of music you need at least six members, who all deserve a decent fee: apart from drums, guitar and bass, most likely also saxophone, keyboard, male and female singer. And don’t forget the sound engineer.
  A band needs more technical set up, such as microphones, monitor speakers and mixing desk, which makes it more expensive as well.
• Most bands will do three or four sets of 30 to 45 minutes. This is maximum three hours, which doesn’t cover the entire evening. Which means you would need a dj after the band and in between anyway.
• A wedding is the type of event where friends and family gather that haven’t seen each other in a long time. Especially at the beginning of the evening it will be time to chat and catch up. A dj will be able to adjust the volume, which is more difficult for a live band.
• I have yet to encounter the band that’s not only able to play Elvis Presley, Earth Wind & Fire, and Backstreet Boys, but also eg. Sean Paul, Underworld ánd a tight versions of the latest Spanish reggaeton smash hit.

Basically yes, as long as it fits in my agenda. I try to perform as much as possible near Amsterdam and Utrecht, which is where I live. For long distance shows I may cooperate with professional local rental partners, who are able to set up all equipment.

Basically I’m able to dj everywhere, including venues I haven’t been to yet. However, these are Amsterdam the venues who are happy to recommend me: Huize Frankendael, De Hortus, Rijk van de Keizer, Haddock, Westerliefde, Veerhuis aan het IJ, The Grand and HLMS.
Utrecht venues are Oudaen and De Rechtbank.

• Yes, because it’s very important to sort out the logistics. In the week before the party I will phone or email the contact person at the venue and discuss the time to set up, the best spot to unload the equipment, the table I’d like to use and I will ask if they have a sound limit. I will also check if the start and finish time are the same as what I’ve agreed on with the bridal couple.
• If necessary I will phone the venue at the start of the booking process to avoid misunderstandings about the equipment. A wedding couple that organizes a party for the first time in their lives may have difficulties understanding the technical specifiations of speakers and lights for a good dance party.

In case I perform with my own speakers and disco lights I will arrive about one hour before starting time. It will take 25 minutes to set everything up and be ready to start dj’ing.
If all equipment is provided by the venue I will arrive 30 minutes before and be ready to start in five minutes.
Afterwards it will take 15 minutes to break everything down.

It’s my responsibility to arrange a replacing DJ. Luckily this happened only once since 2010. After that I compiled a Whatsapp group of eight great allround DJ’s. Some of them are not fulltime DJ, so quite likely available.

I have several fancy shirts, pants and shoes that I only use for performances. A three-piece suit with tie or bow tie is not my style.

I’m not the type of DJ who talks during or in between the songs. Main exception is the first dance, which is usually announced by me as well as the departure of the bridal couple including the very last song of the night. I may also announce the last round if the bar asks me to.

• During the walk-in, when people are usually chatting, I keep the music at around 75 to 80 decibel.
  Once people start dancing I gradually nudge it up to about 92 decibel. That’s usually very appropriate for a group of 100 people. I have a decibel tool with me to measure it near the speakers. That’s where the dancing people are. Talking people will be further away from the speakers, where the sound level will be lower.
• I will take the venue sound limit into account if it has one. Usually that’s 90 decibel and in rare cases only 80 dB. Even in that case it’s possible to have a good dance party with 100 people, as long as I turn down the bass levels a little bit. This means it will depend on the musical preferences; if you like contemporary dance and hiphop the feel of the bass is pretty important. In that case I would recommend not to hire a venue with a 80 dB sound restriction.

Nope; I will have to use the bathroom a few times during a four hour set, for which I use songs that last at least three minutes before mixing in the next song.
I’m in good physical shape thanks to my swimming routine and back excersises, so I can easily do long DJ sets without breaks.

• It’s common that the DJ, just like the guests, gets drinks from the bar. On a regular party night I prefer to start with a latte and a bottle of water. Then maybe a juice or ice tea and eventually an alcohol free beer and two regular beers.
• If my set starts before 19.00h I’d like to enjoy a dinner at the venue. This may also be a staff meal. During a long DJ set it would be nice to enjoy some of the snacks that go around on the dance floor.