Two DJs Are Better Than One

In a recent article published on the WeddingWire Blog, they posed ten questions that you – the potential wedding client – should ask a Wedding DJ before hiring them. Of course, lists like this are published all the time, but this particular list posed a specific question (Question #9) which has been a part of our philosophy since the very beginning.

9. Do you work with an assistant or second DJ? Depending on the size of your wedding, having an extra set of hands can be well worth it. This will help everything from setup to song requests run a lot more smoothly.

Our answer to this question is a resounding yes, yes, YES!

Two-man teams are not just our philosophy, but an integral part of our business model. We certainly didn’t coin the phrase “Two heads are better than one”, but we believe in it, adhere to it, and can even expand on it. Two heads means two sets of hands, two sets of eyes and two sets of ears.

Those ‘in the know” understand that an experienced and talented Wedding DJ does a great deal more than play music. The Wedding DJ is called upon to make announcements, coordinate timelines, and see to it that things happen when they are supposed to, and they happen how they are supposed to.

With the help of our DJ staff, we came up with our own top ten reasons of why, as WeddingWire put it, we work with an “assistant or second DJ”.

10. If a technical issue should arise (and they sometimes do), an assistant/second DJ is essential to help resolve these issues without disrupting the flow of the event.

9. Having an assistant/second DJ enables the main DJ/MC to move freely about the venue to locate essential personnel (caterer, photographer, videographer, etc.) to ensure their presence during a formality or other special moment without leaving the music unattended.

8. Like #9, having the assistant/second DJ (and the extra set of eyes), allows the team to keep track of the bride and groom, as well as their parents and bridal party in order to ensure their presence for a pre-scheduled formality or special moment (introductions, parent dances, cake cutting, etc).

7. Taking requests should be an important part of the Wedding DJ job. While a DJ is mixing or cueing from one song to the next, the assistant/second DJ can attend to any guest’s questions or musical requests without having them have to stand and wait for the mixing DJ to complete a transition.

6. While at the command controls (the DJ mixing board), the DJ is behind the speakers, and not always able to monitor the volume of speakers facing away from them. The assistant/second DJ allows for one of the team to periodically move about the room to monitor volume levels while the other focuses on keeping the music pumping.

5. Focus. Although a Wedding DJ may have decades of experience behind the board, it can still be a challenge at times to transition between songs/knobs/attenuators while making a legible and coherent announcement. A DJ can often find themselves stuttering when they have to do this; not because they are incapable of multi-tasking, but because they are often more concerned with the clarity and flow of the music than the cadence of their speech. Live bands have a designated sound guy for this very reason.

4. As crazy as it may sound, during the course of a five hour reception, it’s quite possible that “nature” may call, and as we all know (because we’ve all been there), nature doesn’t understand time restraints. We feel it is imperative that nature not interrupt a packed dance floor. Popping in a pre-recorded track isn’t acceptable either, as you – the client – hired a DJ not an iPod.

3. As mentioned earlier, the job of a Wedding DJ often goes beyond playing music, or even making announcements. It involves watching the time to ensure that things happen as planned, or, as close to plan as possible factoring in human elements. With a team of two, one can focus on music flow while the other keeps an eye on the agenda/timeline (and the clock).

2. Insurance. One could argue that in most cases an assistant/second DJ is unnecessary, and after reading this list, nay-sayers may still come to that conclusion. But this is your wedding, and there are no do-overs. We all have insurance “just in case”, and it’s better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.

1. Having an assistant in ANYTHING in life makes the job go more smoothly.

So there’s our list, but instead of an argument “for” or “against”, while compiling this list, one of our resident Wedding DJs (Adam) simply asked “I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want an additional staff member to make sure their wedding reception goes off without a hitch”, with which our entire team couldn’t agree more.

-The Staff of Cutting Edge Entertainment