Posts in 2022
The budget wedding 2022 (Bay Area Dj serving San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Livermore, Fremont, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Alviso)

What is a budget Wedding? These times I have seen weddings are not as big as they once were in California. I have been to a few events and there were less than 30 folks in the attendance. So, in essence weddings can be more budget friendly since less guests are actually attending these events. 

 

I recently got an inquiry asking for a quote and they really stressed having a budget dj. I liked how they were direct and to the point. But the word budget can throw off folks. Everyone’s budget is different. When I think of a budget dj, I think of someone who does not have the best equipment and does not have regular events. Do you want someone to be the host of your wedding with out experience? That is when a budget dj comes in. You do get what you pay for. If someone wants a wedding to remember make sure you hire a professional.

 

What is a professional dj? A professional dj has a music planner guide to help organize the music for the wedding. They make the music selection easy to choose from. They have a script to use to help guide them with announcements. You want someone who commands attention of the audience and want them to lead the audience in whatever needs to be done.  They have vast amount of good quality music at 320 kbps quality and did not rip music from YouTube at a low quality which is tacky and also illegal. You want them to be able to beat match so the songs do not end suddenly and want it to sound seamless. 

 

Professional djs have a backup system with the best equipment and have the experience to solve gear issues. I have learned to always carry multiple microphones so voices can be amplified. My wire microphones have always worked but once in Sacramento it was cutting out although it did sound fine in the sound check. With experience, I know to always have a wired microphone close by to handle any wireless issues. 

 

A good dj for a wedding will easily be over 1000 for just a reception. If you are requiring the ceremony and a reception a good dj will be 1500 to 2000. They can also bring up lights or have photo booths if you want more for the wedding. 

 

Hire a budget dj if you want some background music at a backyard BBQ. But hire a professional dj to do the soundtrack for one of the most important days of your life. Please look at the reviews of all the djs you and selecting and also keep tabs on how quickly they respond. It is important to have good communication with your dj. 

 

For your professional dj please call Black and White Affair Dj Services to help you plan your music and events for your big day. We serve the Bay Area and would love the opportunity to make your day memorable and stress free as possible. 

School dance playlist: Should school provide the song list where djs cannot play anything else or dj choice? (Bay Area Dj serving San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale)

99 percent of the schools I do events for the student body provides of their songs they like to hear. I also recommend that it’s a combined effort from different students to make sure you get different types of music.  I try to find them and I make sure they are school appropriate then I put it in the playlist. If the song does have profanity, then I can edit it so the bad words cannot be heard but for the most part the songs I find are clean. The list that they give me is a good starting point. They may give me 50 to 60 songs. If you think about it, you can play around 25 songs per hour and you have 2 hours of music to choose from that list. Most school events are 3 to 4 hours and proms are like 5 hours. From the list you can get similar songs that fit the vibe that school is trying to have.

 

The small percentage of schools who provide a list of must plays and cannot play other songs can also work. The only difference is the school has to do most of the prep work to send the list and it has to be enough for 4 to 5 hours if it’s like for a 3-hour event. Some songs are really good to dance to while others may not be much of a hit. So the dj too has to prep to locate pretty much all the songs on the list so to keep the party going. The dj cannot rely on his/her crutch of other school’s playlists to help in a jam. The event I did this past fall it went pretty well. I just went by their list and made it work. Students were very respectful and it was a good time. 

 

What do I prefer? I can do both. When I have a playlist where I can stray from I can use prior school dance lists where students really enjoyed the music. It would take less time to prep. With only songs to be played on this list dances, it helps me focus on new songs I never considered and I can incorporate in my rotation. 

 

Please consider Black and White Affair DJ services for your High School Dance event. From August to November 2021 we did 5 high school dances and loved every minute of it. We have the experience and the sound to keep the dance floor packed and school officials content!

What Makes a Good Prom Dj? (Bay Area Dj serving San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Livermore, Fremont, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Pleasanton)

It maybe time to set up your Dj for your prom in the Bay Area. Proms are usually hitting at the end of the school year. I am seeing them set up Mid April till Mid May. Schools are picking those dates since they don’t want it to interfere with the ending of school. At that time the weather is getting warmer so people are setting up their parties. 

 

So what do you look for in a prom DJ? Make sure they have experience playing at schools. Playing at schools is a totally different animal compared to playing at private events outside of schools. The dj has to make sure the music is clean meaning that there are no profanity. Also a lot of students like having a dj that can quick mix. That means they can play a song for a short period of time and throw in another song so it blends perfectly. Long gone are the days where a dj plays the whole song from start to finish. It seems the only songs that can be played out like that would be songs to play during dinner or Spanish songs on the dance floor. 

 

Speaking of dinner, songs should not be slow songs to put students to sleep. They rather be songs that everybody knows and keep everyone excited and you start building it at the end of dinner so they go straight to the dance floor when its ready to party. 

 

I am all about playing good dance music but during proms a few slow songs need to be put in the mix spread out through the night. 

 

If you are looking to book your prom dj now please look no further than Black and White Affair Dj services. We have enough sound for any events and please check out our reviews

What type of events are your specialty? (Bay Area Dj serving San Jose, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Fremont, Palo Alto, Concord, Hollister, Mountain View, Palo Alto, , Milpitas, Livermore, Pleasanton)

We do all sorts of events. We can do weddings properly in which we can also emcee. You want a dj who can do a grand entrance correctly and be able to work with a timeline. No timeline ever sticks with the exact time so the dj should be able to work with it and prioritize to cover all the events in the time allowed. A dj should meet with the bride and groom either in person or virtually to make sure they are on the same page one to two times at least to cover details. A wedding is serious business so details are the utmost importance. 

 

 

School dances keeps us on our toes with the latest music. I love getting lists from students then putting it on the playlist. A lot of music comes out locally so it’s good to be up to date with that. Now with school events they are outside during the warm months so we make sure we have enough sound to cover more ground. But now schools are having events indoors in 2022.

 

Corporate events are so much fun. Folks can let loose on the dance floor. They are made of announcements and good dinner music and then the fun dance music at the end. Its ideal to have multiple wireless microphones for the event for the corporate hosts to handle and to be interactive.

 

Private events are ideal for us since we can collaborate to make custom playlist and our set up is really mobile so we can play anywhere.

 Tips to find the Best Wedding DJ: (Bay Area Dj serving San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin, Livermore, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Fremont and Pleasanton)

Finding the right dj is a crucial step for the perfect wedding. We all want the perfect wedding. To have a perfect meal you would need the perfect ingredients to make it perfect and having the perfect dj will make your special day perfect as possible. 

1: Don’t feel obligated to go with someone in your circle of friends and family. It should be based on their ability to do the wedding. If you know that they do good work and seen their work then go with them. A lot of djs are bedroom djs or night club djs and haven’t done a wedding before. Make sure they do have experience. A wedding is no joke and there is a lot of work that goes into it. At the same time too, if it’s a family member you would want them to enjoy the wedding and not stress about it. 

 

II: One of the first vendors that are booked is the venue and once that is secure, they can be your best ally is finding vendors. They usually have a list of vendors that they enjoy working with. They like djs that are professional and do quick set ups and quickly take the gear down. They also like them since they are easy to work with. They may give you a list of djs they prefer and you have a good start to find your dj. 

III: Go on social media and ask if they have any recommendations for wedding djs. This will help you with your list. Ask someone who got married recently and asked how their dj was and if they would recommend them. 

IV:  go under google reviews and yelp. You will be able to see what people said about the djs performance. The most reviews do not mean they are the best. There are companies that are called Mulit ops that have multiple djs so the reviews will be numerous compared to a single op. A single op means its one dj so all the reviews will be about that dj. 

V: Make a list of djs you want to interview. Let’s see how quickly they respond and if they have time to meet. If they are too busy to meet then it’s a good sign that they may be too busy to give you the time when prepping for your wedding. Once you speak with them and you feel that you can be comfortartable with them then you are one step closer with finding your dj.

VI: Ask about what kind of music they are comfortable with. Your future spouse and you like certain music and want to make sure the dj is familiar with it. Ask your dj if they beat match or do, they fade in and out the music. To Beat match is a skill some djs have not mastered and it does give the party a certain nonstop feel. See if they have a mix page with their mixes to share. You can get a good feel on how well they mix and see what songs that they use. If you are into Spanish music and check if your dj can tell the different between a cumbia or merengue song. 

VII: ask for pictures of their set up. You make to make sure it’s nice and clean for your wedding event. You want to look at their cabling of their gear and see their dance lights.