A Glowing Review for a Wedding DJ

Last week, Vanessa and Matt whose wedding we provided the DJ services for – and our DJ Rich posted a blog about titled “A Bride, a Groom, and a Philadelphia Wedding” – wrote a glowing review on the wedding website WeddingWire about how happy they were not only with the DJ’s performance, but, well, with everything. First and foremost, I would like to thank Vanessa and Matt for writing such a glowing review, which acknowledges the job we did for all to see, and subsequently helps us to gain future business. I think it’s also important to note that, like they said in the review, this IS the way to get future business – by making the customers wants and needs the only priority, and not future business itself. With Matt and Vanessa’s permission, we have re-posted the review here on our blog to share with our readers, and also to point out a few specific points of note that I found quite surprising.

I [Matt] highly recommend Cutting Edge and DJ/MC Richie who made sure the party atmosphere of our wedding night was just as successful as the ceremony. Not only did he ensure everything went smoothly, but he did it with class and a whole lot of fun. The planning process, in particular, was where Cutting Edge set themselves apart from other vendors.

First off, we were able to get two DJ’s (Richie who acted mostly as MC and another young man who was sort of like an apprentice and I hadn’t met until the day of the wedding) plus uplighting for close to the price of what other vendors were charging for a single DJ. We found this to be a vital reason for the success of the evening, as Richie was able to spend time coordinating with the catering staff, making announcements and doing more “directing” than just standing behind a CD mixer. He was interactive with the crowd without being overbearing. The worst thing I could imagine is a DJ trying to “steal the show” at a wedding… and I’ve seen it plenty of times at other people’s affairs. Thankfully, Richie knew how to strike the right balance, while maintaining the right level of energy. While the price may have been a tad higher, we found it to be the biggest “bang for your buck” as far as the difference goes (you know, like $100 more in flowers adds very little value, $100 more in food gets you one more plate, while $100 more in DJ costs gets you a smoother operation that also LOOKS more upscale)

As for the lighting, the Cutting Edge options provided just what we needed for a fraction of the cost of “lighting designers.”  To each their own but I couldn’t imagine spending more on lights than my videographer, which some lighting “artists” wanted to charge me.  Cutting Edge added it in for very little extra cost and Richie and his crew were even able to install them at first in the ceremony space with a simple white light and then transfer them to the reception room, where the same lights produced vibrant blues, amber, etc. There were many color options all in the same light because they use LED, which also has the benefit of being energy efficient & cool to the touch (good for little kids) and reduces the chance of a fire in the middle of your wedding.  Seriously!

The biggest reason I recommend Richie & Cutting Edge is that they listened to us.  It was disturbing and shocking that certain competitors told us point blank “I won’t play the music the bride and groom want to hear, my job is not to listen to their desires, my job is to get people up and dancing so that guests will remember they had a good time and recommend me for future business.”  Umm, I get that this is a business and all but as a contracted vendor you are working for ME, not referrals. Heck, if I hired you to play polka all night long that’s what you would do because that’s why I’m paying you.  Fortunately, my wife and I have much better music tastes so it wasn’t an issue. And Richie was not only OPEN to playing songs we did want to hear, he made it FUN to talk about songs.  We had a meeting for I’d say an hour where we sat around in the office and played songs off iTunes and went over different options for “events” such as Father-Daughter Dance or Cake Cutting. Richie had recommendations, while we also brought in a very long list of songs we liked and hoped to hear (and a handful of “must plays”) It helped him understand our style more and cater his setlist to our tastes. We wanted a mix of everything from Motown to Oldies to Beatles to Funk to Stevie Wonder to Michael Jackson to 80’s to modern danceable pop like Justin Timberlake, and he was knowledgeable about all of it. The most “alternative” song choice we had was entering to MGMT’s “Electric Feel.” Not only did Richie know the song right away, he had a few remixes as options. We felt comfortable immediately that Richie “got it” and were put at ease that our reception would have people dancing all night long. This, of course, turned out to be true.

I also want to point out how important it was to have certain songs NOT played (i.e. chicken dance, line dances, Celine Dion, etc) and again, Richie took this into consideration and guaranteed a “do not play” list while other DJ’s threatened to “play whatever THEY wanted.” Insane!

Acting as MC also meant that Richie went over (and adjusted) a “timeline” of events with us in advance, which as the detail-oriented wedding planner groom that I was, I found really important.  Of course it’s impossible to plan for everything at a wedding but having a meticulous schedule in advance made it feel more orchestrated than doing everything “on the fly”

One final note:  Cutting Edge’s policy as far as I understand is to dress professionally, and Richie & crew showed up in black tie… so that should put your mind at ease about DJ’s who wear jeans to formal events.

Overall, again, a big thumbs up for Cutting Edge and ask for Richie if he’s available!

Although as I said earlier that we could not have asked for a more amazing testimonial about our DJ service, I bolded a section which I found to be enlightening and somewhat disturbing at the same time. Here are my thoughts.

First, Matt, you are absolutely right, we are working for you, not for future business.  At your wedding – had you asked for it – we would have been happy to play polkas, or whatever else you both had wanted you to play.  That is our job.  Might I also add that the success of your wedding had a lot to do with the fact that you did have good taste in music, but in either case, the DJ should always play what the customer wants.  Period.

What I found disturbing was your bad experience with a DJ who told you otherwise.  Obviously, as a DJ myself, I don’t have the opportunity to interview too many Disc Jockeys, but I can imagine your frustration in that situation.  The analogy of a house painter comes to mind, who would have the audacity to tell you he will not paint the room the color you wish but instead will choose the color he feels is best.  Absurd.

I’m grateful you put this out there, as it is something we pride ourselves in and I’ve written a few blog posts about this very subject myself in the past.  That day was Matt and Vanessa’s day, their wedding day, and our job was to be your wedding DJ, play the music you preferred, and do the job the way you wanted it done.  That’s what we do at Cutting Edge.

Thank you again and again for your amazing testimonial.  We are grateful for the opportunity you gave us, and your recognition of the job we did.  We’re always happy to paint the colors you choose. 🙂

-Craig

Image Courtesy of Cindy Guessford

Other articles about doing what the customer wants

“The DJ and the Client in Perfect Harmony”

“Your Wedding DJ… Are They Listening To You?”