Simon, our DJ, is a confident mic user and is happy to introduce the formal elements of the evening and interact with the crowd during the night. Don't worry though - he will not be talking between every song and there certainly won't be any "Let me hear you make some noise" nonsense!
You can be as involved as you like with regard to the music we will play. This can be from "just play things you think people will dance to" up to full playlists that last the whole night (and anything in between). We suggest a good balance is to keep playlists around 20 tracks and tell us the genres of music you like. This gives us the flexibility on the night to play something for all your guests and give everyone a great time! If you have special requests of music that are special to you and your family and friends we will definitely include those.
This goes hand in hand with the previous question. We are happy to take requests on the night and will play them whenever possible as long as we have the flexibility to do so.
We need around one hour 30 minutes to set up (an hour at a push) and an hour to take everything down at the end of the event. Please factor this in, especially if the venue has time restrictions. We will always be as discreet as possible when setting up if we need to do this in the same room where guests are.
We will always dress appropriately for your wedding. This means an open necked shirt, trousers and formal shoes. We believe the DJ should stand out a little bit so the shirt will be tastefully flamboyant! We will never wear jeans and trainers. This will be covered in the consultation.
We will do our best to fit our equipment in whatever space is available. A wider space against a wall is the best in order to get the most out of the sound and lighting but we have squeezed into some very tight corners as well! If it is not possible to fit we will let you know well before the wedding.
We have developed and built up our lighting offer after many hours of research and years of previous lighting rigs. What we have learned is this: most venues do not allow smoke effect machines because they set off fire alarms. Lighting effects which shoot out beams of light rely on the smoke for the effect to work (think of music concerts and nightclubs where it does look great!) Without the smoke you can't see the beam. Usually the beams of light end in a spot or shape or blob or pin spot on whatever it hits. These look terrible on people in photos! (and if there's one place a lot of photos get taken it is weddings!). Our lighting uses wash lighting effects which fill an area with a coloured light. We can control the colour and patterns of light produced and can move from lighter shades earlier in the evening for the first dance and cake cutting through to more bold colours later on when the disco is in full swing. We can also control the brightness of our lights to be totally appropriate for the venue. We use up-lighting around the dance floor which makes you feel surrounded by the light and gives a fantastic atmosphere.
Our speakers are high quality and loud enough to fill large rooms. We will always provide the best lighting set up for your venue (this will depend on the amount of space available to set up in). The item which is most variable is the smoke effect machine. We can only use this where the venue allows.
At any event the volume of the disco can be a real annoyance to those who would rather sit and chat than dance. We try to ensure that the volume gives the right balance for all the guests to enjoy. Our DJ will walk the room to check this and if you would like any adjustment please ask and they will be happy to oblige.
We have an extensive music library covering many different genres. As long as the music is worthy of a wedding party we will either have it, or get it for you! If you want a specialist thrash metal or gangster rap dj for your wedding, then we are not the company for you.
If you follow mobile disco and DJ pages on Facebook you will realise that booking cheap DJs is often a mistake. They may not provide you with a contract, take unreasonable deposits, add on charges after you have confirmed the booking and finally, not turn up to your wedding at all because they found a higher paying customer elsewhere and did not even tell you. If they do turn up the sound quality and lighting is poor and they are just playing music off Spotify or YouTube!
At First Dance Wedding DJ we will take a reasonable deposit and provide you with a contract. This means you have legal reassurance of our commitment to your wedding. The price quoted will be the price charged (unless you alter the booking in some way). Finally, we are looking to grow the business on the basis of excellent customer reviews and leaving you stranded on your important night is not something we want to see written across Google and Facebook! Our DJ cares very much about your enjoyment of the night and will do everything he can to make sure it is a wonderful night!