One of the questions most commonly asked during consultations with clients in my role as an Austin wedding DJ is, do I take requests from the audience? And if so, do I always play the songs they want to hear?
Yes, I take requests!
I believe that the single-most important skill for a DJ to have is the ability to read a room, and there is no better tool for finding out what your audience wants to hear than via requests. Guests will literally walk up and tell you what they want to hear. There’s no better way to discover what music your audience wants to dance to than to have them tell you directly what that is.
Of course, I have to be judicious when deciding which requests to play, but the same can be said about choosing tracks in general. If the crowd is getting down to ’90s hip hop, I can’t toss any rap track from the ’90s into the mix willy nilly. There are hundreds of great ’90s hip hop songs, and I have to choose the one I think is the absolute best choice at that moment. Likewise I can’t play any and all requests. Knowing which requests to play and which to ignore is part of my skill set. When a request does fit the moment and is appropriate for the event, it gets played.
Sometimes, a guest will ask me to play a great song, but it’s not the right song for that moment, or even for that event. “Stairway to Heaven” is a great song, and some will argue it’s the greatest rock song ever written, but it’s rarely appropriate for a dance floor. On the other hand, plenty of Cardi B’s songs are great for dancing, but aren’t appropriate for all groups.
I also have to keep time constraints in mind. If 15 guests have made requests, and every one of them is perfect for the moment, but I only have time to play 10 more songs before the event ends, well… sadly, at least 5 people aren’t going to hear their request.
My Advice to Other DJs
Not all DJs agree with me about requests. Many openly state that they refuse to play any requests. They’re the experts, they say, and they know best. Dancers will take what they get, and like it. Those DJs can gripe and moan about requests until they are blue in the face, but my honest opinion is that they need to look at the bigger picture. Unless you are legitimately at the star level, and people are showing up to hear whatever you decide to play, you need to put your crowd’s needs first, and that means playing requests.
You may want to be the DJ who plays nothing but awesome, obscure new songs that no one but you knows, in hopes of turning people on to your favorite bands, and having those people look up to you as their top tastemaker, but reality is seldom like that. 99.99% of party guests only want to hear “their jam.” Most of the time, you can play that jam without being told what it is, because most people’s jam is everyone else’s jam at any given time. You play the top 10 songs of the moment and you’ve got it covered. But when someone comes up to let you know that their jam is something else, your job is to play it if it’s appropriate.
Often, a group of friends have a special connection to a song, but you won’t know that until they tell you. Once you do know, it becomes a powerful weapon in your DJ arsenal, and in conjunction with your advanced crowd-reading skills, you can determine the exact right moment in which to drop that song. The result? Instant dance floor pandemonium. And isn’t that the goal? Of course it is! That’s how I take my DJ game to the next level, and you can, too!
I’m sorry if that’s not the answer you were expecting, but trust me, it can’t be done. Sure, you can create a Spotify playlist full of your favorite songs, and you can even create separate playlists for each stage of the wedding, but there are too many intangibles in play, and too many unpredictable circumstances that will crop up, for any D.I.Y. wedding music plan to ever have a chance to succeed.
You probably won’t ruin your wedding if you forego a DJ and create your own playlists, but you are absolutely going to have a lackluster affair. At best, you’ll achieve half the amount of fun that was potentially possible, and at worst you’ll kill the party before it even starts.
How Do I Save Money on My Wedding?
You are better served to D.I.Y. just about any other aspect of your wedding than the music. A potluck dinner in lieu of a caterer will be less detrimental to your event’s overall success than will be relying on playlists. You’d be better off nixing the videographer and asking guests to take short videos throughout the evening for you to edit together into a document of the day.
If you honestly evaluate a typical wedding, you’ll find that the ceremony and the party after dinner are the two elements that really matter. Everything in between is secondary, as the primary focus for everyone between “I do” and “let’s dance” is socializing. Family members are catching up with one another, as people who may not have seen one another in 20 years reconnect. While some people talk with old friends, other people are making new friends.
Cocktails, flowers, dinner, cake, and the rest provide for a festive, traditional backdrop to this, but that’s what it is, a backdrop. It’s what happens after dinner ends, and the lights go down and the dance music starts, that dictates whether this will be a night your guests remember forever, or “just another wedding.”
What Do the Numbers Say?
Let’s look at some hard data. The following numbers are aggregated from over two dozen surveys of brides and their guests, conducted by a number of wedding websites and publications.
• 63% of wedding guests do not remember what was served for dinner, but do remember the entertainment.
• 81% of wedding guests say the thing they remember most about a wedding was the entertainment.
• 72% of over 5,000 brides surveyed after their wedding say they wish they had spent more time planning the entertainment.
• 98% say if they could go back, they would allocate more of their budget to the entertainment.
You did not read that wrong. 98% of over 5,000 brides surveyed said that they while they would not have spent any more money on their wedding, they wish that more of what they did spend went to the entertainment, and less went to everything else.
Don’t Forget, It’s a Party
The DJ and the MC make or break a wedding. The entertainment is what turns an ordinary event into a fun party, and it’s what most guests remember years later. Unless you bring in a Michelin Star chef to craft a legendary menu for your guests, nearly no one is going to remember what they ate at your wedding. Neither will they remember what color the flowers were, or the cute decor you placed on the table with the guestbook. But they will remember the wedding where everyone danced and sang together until last call, or the wedding where the groom crowd-surfed over their head, or the wedding where even the oldest guest was on the dance floor, walker in hand, busting a move. They’ll also remember the boring wedding where everyone left early because the entertainment was ill-conceived, i.e. a Spotify playlist.
How Bad Can It REALLY Be to D.I.Y. My DJ?
Let’s examine some of the drawbacks of taking a D.I.Y. approach to your wedding entertainment.
1. The Drunken Takeover
Invariably, someone, probably someone drunk, and almost certainly someone with questionable taste in music, will at some point decide they know exactly what everyone wants to hear, and they’ll head over and, right in the middle of a song, switch to the song they think will take things to another level, but will, in fact, kill the vibe. At that point, another guest will come over and chastise them. “No, no, Oswald, that’s not what we want to hear!” And on will come an even worse song. At that point, it becomes a free-for-all, as others come up to change the song, and guests will head for the door.
2. No Mixing = No Dancing
Don’t underestimate the need for a DJ who can mix songs together. You and your guests don’t want to hear all 5 minutes of a given song. Sometimes you want just a couple verses, other times you want the full song. And when the song ends, you don’t want to wait for it to fade out, and for another song to fade in. You also need the tempo to remain consistent. If this all sounds technical, well, it is. But it’s also incredibly important! The best DJs mix in a way that keeps a steady groove going, and they blend seamlessly from one song to another. This is what keeps people on the dance floor, and how a great DJ builds the energy in the room. Spotify can’t do this. Nothing can, except an actual DJ.
3. Spotify Can’t Read the Room
A DJ can read the room. A playlist can’t. You can line up 20 great dance songs in a row only to have them fall flat when you press play, because your guests were in the mood for 20 different great dance songs. There’s no way to anticipate this in advance. The only way to successfully play for a group of people, especially a group as diverse as what one finds at a wedding, is by reading the crowd, and choosing the next song while the current song plays, based on what is happening live, in that moment.
4. Great DJs Take (Some) Requests
What’s the best way to read the room? Listen to what the guests are saying. Great DJs take requests. The best possible way to decide what to play next is to play what someone just asked you to play. This of course involves using judgement, as a DJ isn’t a jukebox, and playing any and every request willy nilly won’t work. But a professional DJ knows when a request is valid, and when it isn’t. You’re playing “Uptown Funk” and someone wants to hear Daft Punk? Yeah, that’s probably going to work. “Play some Jello Biafra next!” Yeah, probably not. Or maybe yes? Read the room!
5. The MC Factor
When is a DJ not a DJ? When he’s an MC. That’s right, your DJ is also the voice that guides your guests through the day. He lets them know when it’s time to sit down, move from one area to another, or hit the buffet. He’ll introduce you into the reception hall, bring you onto the dance floor for your first dance, and invite your father to give a toast. Most of all, he’ll adjust on the fly to all the myriad things that can, and will, go wrong on your wedding day, and make sure it all happens behind the scenes, and that no one notices anything.
But MY Friends are FUN!
I’m sure they are, but the bottom line is that for every wedding there is a minimum and maximum level of potential fun, which is based on the attitudes and preferences of the guests. Some groups are outgoing, dancing, party types, while others are more of a low-key mingling bunch. Both groups can have fun, but neither will have the maximum amount of fun possible without a live human DJ and MC there to make it happen.
Resist the temptation, and don’t try to D.I.Y. your wedding music. You only have one chance to get it right!
I’ve seen variations on this post before, and want to offer my own take on the topic of what questions to ask a DJ during the hiring process. I’ve been an Austin wedding DJ for many years, and the DJ for at least 1,000 weddings by now, and I’m happy to share some insights I’ve picked up along the way.
Many of the articles I’ve seen were written some time ago, and as the wants and needs of brides, and anyone else looking for a DJ, have changed drastically in recent years, I think the discussion is in need of an update. Many other articles on the topic are laughably bad, including one very popular list of 33 questions that exists solely as SEO fodder for the site hosting it, and is nearly useless as a DJ vetting tool.
If you are about to hire a DJ, or even if you already have hired one, you don’t need to subject anyone to a 33-question barrage that will end up telling you nothing substantial, and probably overwhelm you and the DJ. Instead, here are 8 key questions that you can use to ascertain if the DJ in question is right for you from a standpoint of professionalism and skill. Once you’ve determined which DJs pass muster in those important ways, you can make your final choice based on the music, vibe, or aesthetic of the remaining candidates.
So, here are 8 questions to ask that will help you separate the pros from the amateurs, and make sure your choice of entertainment doesn’t end up ruining your special day!
1. Do you know how to mix music?
This didn’t used to be as important as it is now, but in 2024 and beyond, a DJ who can’t mix is about as useful to a party as a rotary phone is to updating your social media accounts. Audiences have grown savvy about what DJs can do, and a DJ who still fades out of one song and into another is going to lose the dance floor. If you want a fun, vibrant party at your wedding, it’s an absolute must that your DJ can beatmatch and phrase correctly. Don’t just take his word for it, either. If a DJ tells you he knows how to mix, ask for a sample mix to verify this. There is no more surefire way to kill a party early than to have a DJ behind the decks who can’t properly transition between two songs.
2. Are you insured?
Another must-have is insurance. Most venues require it, and those don’t, should. You hope nothing will go wrong at your wedding or party, just as you hope you’ll never crash when you drive, but there’s a reason we are required to have auto insurance: accidents happen. If something bad does happen, and one of your guests is injured, or anything else unfortunate takes place, and it’s due to the DJ or his equipment, you need to know his insurance company will handle it. You don’t want to be left holding the bill if a speaker topples onto someone’s head, but in today’s litigious world, that’s a very real possibility.
3. Do you bring backup equipment?
When I perform, I bring at least one backup for every single piece of equipment, from speakers and computers down the last cable and adaptor, and every other self-respecting, professional DJ should, too. Make sure your DJ does. Ask him what gear he brings, and what his plan is if any given piece fails. You don’t want to end your wedding 3 hours early because he blew out a speaker, and you certainly don’t want to stop halfway down the aisle and wait for him to call tech support to find out why his laptop froze. Your DJ needs to have a plan in place to immediately pivot from any single piece of gear he uses.
4. Are you willing to play the music we want?
Every DJ should say yes to this, but many won’t! And some will say yes, and then proceed to explain to you why you should let him play what he wants, because he knows best. Run away! Your DJ definitely needs to know how to read the room, and choose songs in the moment that will build energy on the dance floor, and keep guests happy, but there is no one way to do that. If you want to hear all the wedding favorites, by all means let him know that. There’s nothing wrong with dancing to “Y.M.C.A.,” “September,” “Celebration,” and all those great songs. But, if you want to avoid the overplayed songs, that’s your decision. A great DJ can fill a dance floor, and keep it packed, without playing any of the cliche wedding jams. You should let him know the styles of music you like, 4 or 5 absolute must-play dance tracks, and as many do-not-play songs as you want, and then let him take it from there.
5. Will you play our guests’ requests?
What’s the best way for a DJ to read the room? Listening to guests’ requests! That makes his job easy. Instead of scanning the room and trying to determine what song is going to work well, someone is telling him the exact song to play. You can’t get better intel than that. And yet, many DJs are angered by requests. You should see the posts in the DJ-only forums! I laugh them off, and shake my head, wondering how such DJs stay in business, because honestly, requests are the absolute best way to determine what to play. That doesn’t mean you want your DJ to play every song every person asks for. He still has to use his judgement! If someone insists that the full 17-minute version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” is the perfect song to play next, yeah, the DJ needs to know to politely decline that one. Maybe don’t play every request for Jello Biafra or Slayer– or maybe you should? Read the room! But don’t ignore requests!
6. Will you be there at least 2 hours before the event begins?
Your DJ should give himself ample time to park, load his gear in, set up, change his clothes, do a sound check, and do whatever else is needed, with a big time cushion to spare. If he gets a flat tire en route, or his equipment doesn’t work and he needs to troubleshoot and rewire things, you don’t want to delay your wedding to accommodate for it. He should build that time into his schedule. I am nearly always completely set and ready to go about an hour before the first guest is scheduled to arrive, and your DJ should be, too.
7. Are you an experienced MC?
A DJ isn’t only a DJ, he’s also an MC. If a potential DJ is shy about speaking on a microphone, keep looking. You need someone who is not only confident on the mic, but someone who is charismatic and in control. He has to guide your guests through an entire day’s worth of events. He has to be able to think on his feet, too. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been told by a planner to “make such-and-such announcement now,” only to have that same planner whisper to me as I’m in the middle of announcing it “we weren’t ready after all– we need 60 seconds!” Suddenly I have to improvise! I can do it, and whoever you hire as your DJ should be able to do the same.
8. Will YOU be our DJ, or will it be someone else?
It makes sense to hire a company that has more than one DJ, as it provides a good backup plan in case your DJ of choice is sick or otherwise unavailable on the big day. Obviously, you don’t want to have someone else show up, but better someone than no one, right? That said, you should make sure that the DJ you speak with is the actual DJ who will be scheduled as your DJ, and not the company owner, or worse, a middleman. You have no idea how often I get a call on a Thursday or Friday from a desperate middleman who booked weddings that he had no DJs to cover, and is scrambling to find a warm body to place behind a console. I think sometimes they end up sending a friend or relative with no DJ experience whatsoever, and hope for the best. Don’t fall into that trap! Make sure you speak with your DJ, and that he or she is named in your contract. What’s the point of finding a DJ who gave the correct answers to all 7 questions above if you’re going to end up getting some other mystery DJ you don’t know?
And there you have it. Eight easy questions to ask potential DJs to help you verify that they are professional, skilled, and ready to handle the biggest job of their lives: your wedding!
Austin is one of the largest cities in the United States, which means a great many weddings happen here every week. That translates into a surfeit of wedding venues, many of which I’ve been to as a wedding DJ.
Usually, by the time a couple gets around to hiring their DJ they’ve already chosen their wedding venue. On the rare occasion that they haven’t, they will sometimes ask me for some suggestions, which I’m always happy to provide.
I can’t possibly name a favorite Austin wedding venue, and probably couldn’t even come up with a short list of 5 or 6 I think are better than the rest. Nearly everywhere I’ve DJ’ed in Austin has been wonderful, and all venues have their merits, so rather than trying to draw up a “best of” list, instead today I want to share a list of some of the more interesting Austin area wedding venues at which I’ve recently DJ’ed.
I should add that I’m not being paid, or compensated in any way, for any of this. This is a list I’ve created of some of the Austin wedding venues that I think are especially interesting, or that offer some unique spin or twist on the typical wedding locale. It’s also an incomplete list! I’ve DJ’ed at hundreds of venues in my career, and all of them have something wonderful to offer, and just about every one of them is special in its own way. This is but a short list that I could easily expand into the hundreds!
It really is a secret house! Tucked behind an unassuming fence in East Austin is one of the city’s hidden gems. Every time I DJ at Justine’s I feel like I’m working at Jay Gatsby’s mansion. It’s not a vast space, but with its many interconnected rooms, swanky bar, front and back yards, and cozy, wooden walls and floors, it’s perfect for a small to medium-sized weddings and celebrations.
Do you ever want to look at Austin from a zillion stories up? You can. Okay, you can’t. A zillion? Is that even a real number? But you can see our city from 56 floors up, and that’s a lot of floors. In fact, The Austonian is the second tallest all-residential building in North America west of the Mississippi River. And what a view. You can even go outside and walk around the balcony and get a 360° view of Austin and beyond. Meanwhile, inside is a great space for a party. I once DJ’ed during a massive storm, and seeing the lightning strike at eye-level was an unforgettable experience.
With stunning views of Hill Country, Bastrop’s Shiraz Garden is certainly one of the most beautiful places to get married in the Austin area. An added advantage is its proximity to Austin, as Bastrop is less than half an hour from the city lights of downtown Austin. One of my favorite aspects of Shiraz Garden is that it has both indoor and outdoor options. I’ve provided music for outdoor ceremonies at the Sunset Vista, and also in the sheltered space of the Outdoor Cathedral. Most receptions take place in the gorgeous Formal Garden, but if weather intrudes on your special day, you can always pivot to the indoor banquet space.
Old-world charm meets downtown modernity at The Driskill. Located in the very heart of downtown Austin, one can walk to just about anything one needs from the front door of this venue, which is also a grand hotel (one of the grandest in the U.S., in fact), but there may be no need to do so. Everything you need, from cozy and luxurious meeting rooms and banquet spaces to a massive, marble party space, is right here. You’ll come for the wedding, then return next week for afternoon tea in the massive ground floor cafe. If you want Victorian Era excellence for your wedding celebration, then The Driskill is where you want to celebrate it.
Everything you want in a wedding venue is right here: lush oak trees, a lake, a antique French gazebo, and both indoor and outdoor spaces for your party. This is hill country luxury personified! I am always happy when a bride tells me her wedding will be at Ma Maison, and I can already picture her and her new husband looking down onto the wedding party from their balcony perch! If you want to get married at one Dripping Springs’ finest venues, this is the spot for you!
Right in the heart of downtown Austin sits La Condesa, an unassuming restaurant with a party room hidden upstairs. That upstairs event space is known as Malverde. I’ve DJ’ed many weddings up there, along with some corporate parties, and the vibe is always great. The decor sets a mood, the outdoor patio accentuates it, and everything here comes together in a way that always leads to a happy group of guests grooving on the dance floor.
You might wonder how a hotel made the list. Aren’t hotels typically cookie-cutter affairs featuring boring, rectangular ballrooms with removable walls? Often, they are, but the South Congress Hotel isn’t one of them. It features a wonderful event space with floor to ceiling windows, and one that is very transformable with lighting into nearly any aesthetic one can imagine. The outdoor pati
Jordan
Jordan Miller brings years of experience from the festival and club circuit to the world of private events and weddings. Renowned for his upscale professionalism, he knows how to create an unforgettable celebration that resonates with guests of all ages.
Whether it’s the timeless sounds of disco, the vibrant hits of the ’70s and ’80s, or the lively rhythms of Afro beats, Jordan tailors the music to perfectly match the atmosphere of your event. With a portfolio that includes collaborations with prestigious brands like Formula 1, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, as well as a wealth of experience in diverse cultural weddings, Jordan is dedicated to making your special day a truly memorable experience.
Michelle
Michelle, aka DJ Kazami, is our newest DJ, but she has many years of experience as a wedding DJ. She is also a professionally trained MC through the MarBecca method. She has shared the stage with famous artists such as Markus Schulz and Claude Von Stroke.
Michelle has worked many corporate events and destination weddings in Maui, Hawaii. She is versatile in many genres and knows how to read a crowd. She recently won a remix competition through the major record label Realm Records.
Mark
Mark, who goes by the stage name DJ Sway, began DJ’ing at Playland Skate Center, where he wanted to create the open format and crowd focused DJ experiences he always craved. He now uses that ability to play all genres for a diverse audience to read the floor and keep guests dancing at weddings and other private parties.
He still maintains his residency at Playland Skate Center, and plays frequent gigs on 6th street and local bars In Austin, and has become known for blending genres and creating mashups that keep the energy high. DJ Sway brings fresh life to familiar tracks, making them feel brand new while ensuring his audience has a great and memorable, time.
Keith
Keith, aka DJ Design, is not just a great party DJ, he’s also a semi-celebrity in the hip hop world. While more of a behind-the-scenes player, his work has had a sizable imprint on the history of modern hip-hop. As a both DJ and Beatmaker, and as a visual artist, he has contributed production and art since the late 90’s for notables including The Beastie Boys, Madlib, A.G., Foreign Legion, Rasco, Peanut Butter Wolf and Phat Kat. But don’t think he’s only going to spin hip hop. He has a vast knowledge of music, and an equally large collection, and can play all the hits you want, plus those great deep cuts to keep the party going!
