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. 

 How much for a wedding dj? It all depends on where you are planning to get married. I hear some djs different parts of the country charging 600 for a wedding. The djs in California hear that and that is unheard of in these necks of the woods. I believe some folks get confused since when they google what price wedding djs are then they get these numbers from a national average. One site says the average cost is 780 to 1495 for a wedding dj. But if you google wedding djs in California costs then you get more of an accurate number and its higher than the national average. Prices may go up in case there needs to be multiple music set ups. People get confused on that what means. Let me break it down. Most weddings just require a reception set up and it has the dj set up which includes two speakers. Say the cocktail area is in a different area then the dj has to connect more speakers or set up another set up to play the cocktail music. Or perhaps there has to be sound for the ceremony. A dj can set up the sound for the ceremony and set up multiple microphones and play the music during the ceremony. This would require another set up. 

For a wedding, djs are going to charge more. There is more to a wedding that a dj just playing music. Doing a birthday party, a dj can just play music during dinner and the dance portion thus the rate would be lower. But a wedding Bay area Djs can charge 200 to 300 an hour. Some may see that as too much but they do not know what goes into a wedding. Djs have to meet with the bride and groom in person or virtually. They have to prep the order of events. They have to make sure they have the correct songs to play at certain times. They have to direct the guests multiple times during the night. There is about 15 to 25 hours of prep work before the wedding that people don’t see. 

Are tips mandatory? Tips are not mandatory but definitely appreciated especially if the vendor made sure everything ran smoothly. If vendor was hard to reach and did a subpar job, then they should not be tipped. But if vendor was easy to get a hold of and responded quickly and did a great job at the event then a tip would be nice. But for some reason if the budget does not allow a tip then a review on a few sites would be appreciated. 

Failing to plan means you are planning to fail when it comes to setting up a quincerera. Planner and the dj should be in constant communication to make the event memorable. They have to figure out what events are going to be done and what specific songs are going to be used for the event. It would be good to check in a few times to go over any changes. I like to talk at least 3 times during the planning process. The first time to get the general idea. The second time to go over specifics and the third time to go over any loose ends or questions before the event. 

Usually with quinceneras there is a mass then pictures. The mass is a special mass honoring the quincenera. Some folks are not religious and skip the mass but if one is religious then it’s the typical way to start the quincenera. When the quincenra court is taking pictures, the guests can start arriving at the venue and have appetizers or drinks while they wait for the grand entrance.

During this time, the dj will be playing either Spanish music or English music depending on what was chosen. Ideally the dj will have music for both languages to appease the guests. Like the wedding grand entrance, the dj has everyone sit and announce the the important people in the party. A good Dj will coordinate with the group so the dj knows who is who and what order they will be walking in. They will also go over pronouncing the names to make sure they say it right.  Like Weddings, it is never the same. It can be just the quincenera court or it can be just the quicenera with her chambelan. Parents and Padrinos can also be in the group. With times not everyone is doing it traditionally. But if you really want to go with the lineup it will the parents, padrinos, the quinenera court, then the quincenera with her partner, the chambelan. 

After everyone walks in, you have everyone’s attention and it would be good to take advantage of it and make a toast. Parents and Padrinos can also give words of wisdom or appreciation to the guests. It’s the best time to thank the guests for showing up and being part of the celebration.  Before the toasts please make sure everyone has a cup to toast.  If the microphone is wireless you do not need to be close to the dj area but make sure if you do have the microphone any kind do you stand in front of a speaker. You will get feedback.  These toasts don’t need to be long and not everyone that is up with you needs to do one. You can just have one toasts or a few other ones but do not go overboard. People are ready to eat and celebrate. 

I always tell my bride and groom the same thing. Always make sure you eat! When it comes to a big party people get caught in the moment and forget to have the meal. When it comes to getting food please make sure your court, plus parents and padrinos are the first ones to get served. 

What music needs to be played during dinner? Sometimes people hire mariachis to play at their quicenera or a trio. If you do have some guest that appreciate that music then the group usually goes table to table taking requests from the guests. But if that is not in the budget or needed the dj can play English or Spanish music. Everyone is different. Find out what part of latin America the guests are from and you can formulate a playlist. 

No quincenera is planned the same. If you want to go with the traditional then after dinner there is the changing of the shoes and the doll dance will happen. Some folks opt not to the shoes since they maybe wearing the shoes already and just don’t want to do it which is fine. The doll event I have not seen much but I see the shoe change more than the doll dance. Then dad and daughter do a dance then the quinceneara waltz can take place. The quincenara waltz is a classy dance but you can tell the court is way more excited to do the surprise dance. The surprise dance is usually with a more current song with more current dance moves. At this time, members of the court can get people who are sitting down to join the dance floor and the dj can work his magic to build the dancefloor. If that doesn’t work, the dj can invite everyone on the dancefloor to take a group pic then when they are done with the picture then the dj can play a song that everyone loves to dance to. The question of the hour is what type of music do you play for your young guests and for the grown-ups at the event. The party is centered on the youth but the grown-ups are there. Also add the factor that you maybe playing Spanish and English. What works for me is to play songs in pairs or threes. In the start I will play songs that everyone knows then I will throw in songs for the youth then after a few songs throw in songs for the grown-ups. It’s all about reading the crowd. If the grown-ups are not dancing since they are not in the mood then focus on the youth. Not all the youth like the same type of music. Some like current songs or throwbacks that are made popular from tic tok. Just be forewarned that some songs may have explicit lyrics. There are some places where djs can can clean versions of songs. Clean versions of songs mean the profanity is muted or has like a vinyl stop censor over the word so the word is not heard. The content of the song may still be inappropriate so the dj should be familiar with the music to see if it’s actually kid friendly. 

After an hour or so of dancing it would be time to cut the cake. It would be a good time for pictures. It would be good that the dj have a timeline to keep the events in order and let the other vendors know what’s going on. I always let the photographer/ videographer know what is happening so they can capture the magic. 

Then after the cake there can be another dance session. Then there can be the final song of the night where the quince era can dance with her padrinos. 

Again, let me state that a quincenera can be as different or traditional as you want it. Keep the events what you will enjoy to do and there is nothing that is mandatory. This party is celebrating you and should represent who you are and be the way so its enjoyable for you and your loved ones. 

If you are located in the Bay Area, please contact Black and White Affair Dj Services to make your quincenera memorable and stressfree. We make it easy with our music selection and our planning. 

Finding the right DJ

The year of the wedding was marked 2020. Everyone wanted to be married on that year. Bam then covid hit and in California pretty much shut down. Some folks were able to reschedule their wedding with smaller guest lists in 2021. Then people were saying 2022 is going to be the year full of weddings and while I type this there is an increase of Covid Cases. It might be a short phase or it may continue. Some folks are opting for quick small weddings without a reception due to the restrictions in California. 

  Having a destination wedding in California can be the answer. There is plenty of open space venues that will be a solution during these uncertain times. A lot of destination weddings are smaller in attendance since it is not local to the attendees. Setting up a destination wedding can be difficult since most of the vendors will be new to the couple and have not used before. Setting up a wedding is like having a second job since there is a lot of prep to interview the vendors and then having to select the perfect one for the job. To make it easier there are venues that are all inclusive to take out all the guess work. That is one way to make it easier.

Finding the right dj for your destination wedding maybe a wee bit more difficult. Some venues may have in-house djs but I would not trust that. It’s a dj they always use and most of the time maybe only exclusive for that venue. But if the dj is on the venue’s preferred vendor list then that maybe better to choose for. It shows that the dj has been there before and did a good job so they recommend them. An in-house dj means the fee paid for the dj goes into the venue’s pockets and dj maybe good or not so good but the venue will recommend them either way since it means better profits. 

I recommend actually talking to the dj and getting a feel for them. These times it’s so easy to send a text or an email and get information about the dj but I feel getting the right dj is so important. They are going to be your party director or the Fun Ninja of your big event. It’s their job to build the energy of the event. In the phone call you will feel of their musical knowledge and if they actually like the music that you enjoy. Ask them about their wedding knowledge and what they recommend for the order of events. How quickly can they respond to you is important? You want a dj to have the best communication. You want them to help you with the playlist and give you suggestions and offer suggestions on how to do the events. They should be open-minded to the events you want to do or not do. A wedding is your event and you should have it any way you want since it’s a representative of you and your new spouse. 

When to comes to setting up events there are three categories. Weddings get so much prep work. Many Hours go into setting up wedding. There are many virtual meetings or phone calls that go into it. The second category is the quincenera category. There is a lot of prepping but not as much as a wedding. The last category is a birthday party where they set up a playlist and you play maybe dinner music then you throw in the dance music. 

For a quincenera, you need to get the special songs for the events. Guests are doing a special dance so the dj has to make sure they get the exact edit for it so they can do the dance with all their moves. They can also include a waltz but these days a lot of folks are picking and choosing what events they decide to keep and do without.

I got a playlist for the guest of honor and she also shared songs that her mom enjoys. There were not too many Spanish songs on the list but I will prepare some classic Spanish songs for the older folks. Always ask for part of Latin America the guests are from since not all Latin music is appreciated by different groups. 

We have spoken a few times on the phone already but we will need one more call to touch base to make sure we are all on the same page and I am looking forward to the event.  Call Bwadj for your next latin event.

Having the best gear is important. It like making a meal, when you make one you want to have the best ingredients possible to make sure it has the best taste it can. Every time I purchase equipment I always make sure I look up reviews and visit dj groups to figure out what they say about certain gear. 

When we started we would only use Technic Turntables but then fell I love with pioneer. We use pioneer controllers and never had any issues with them. For microphones, we use the industry standard Shure. We have wireless microphones and wired microphones. I believe in having both in ensure we can make announcements. For speakers I have tried different ones. We started off with Mackies since they looked good and they sounded good but we blew them out so we tried JBL. Jbl was with us for a long time. We have a pair of JBLs that can take the hot sun and keep on ticking. We decided to go with the qsc speakers because of their crisp and loud sound. It also has a 6 year warranty so for any reason we can get them serviced for free in that time period. I actually went to a speaker maintence shop and asked what speaker they see the least and they mentioned it was qsc. They are built to last. These little guys are 12 inches each but they sound like they are 24 inches. With two of them you can truly fill up a small gym. 

 The brain of my system is an Apple Mac Book Pro. I only use it to do Dj events. I don’t use it for anything else. It is never slows and it is so efficient. 

Right before new years I got to be part of a private party. It was from a family I djed before at a different venue and they wanted to celebrate different events since everyone was locked down for so long. Miss L gave me a good list to work with. She had a lot of songs she grew up listening to plus she had different family members share their list with her. It was a mix of old school and good dance music. We traveled from the 50s sock hop era with stops with 70s classic rock, and 90s dance. 

 The event was at the Double Tree at the Pruneyard in Campbell. They had a banquet room on the second floor. They had around 7 tables and there were under 30 folks in attendance. There was a dance floor there. It was cute since the staff wanted to put a table on the dance floor for appetizers and Miss L was not going to have it. She was like we are going to dance the whole night so please move the table elsewhere. She was right. Dancing was happening the whole night. Double Tree even had my silverware ready on my table but I did not have a chance to eat since there was always someone dancing. Typically, you play music with low to medium energy during dinner time but we were putting up the energy in high gear. 

  Venue space was nice and staff was very courtesy. Guests were polite and loved to dance. It was a good night!

We like working with all sorts of folks. The ones we like to work with the most are our repeat customers. We develop a good relationship with them and know what music they enjoy so much. They trust us with their event. They know the music we play and like the vibe we provide. We follow directives from the client and make sure we keep the client and their guests happy. Our number one belief is to stand behind our work and continue to make our clients happy.  Our clients know we show up at least one hour before our events and earlier if we are doing a wedding. But with weddings we don’t do repeat weddings (unless it is for different family members) with the same couple but have been called to do other events for them. 

 We also believe in having communication with our folks before during and after the event. Communication is key. Our clients like our prompt responses. I am open for email or text messages. I also set up facetime calls if needed.

  I like getting playlists from our clients. Most of the songs are ones I am familiar with but sometimes they have songs that I have forgotten and absolute gems that I will acquire for the event and become a weapon in my arsenal. 

Our clients know we do not bring multiple guests to the events. We bring ourselves and maybe one assistant to help with the event.