Plan and book things early and be in control of your date, rather than letting the date control you so that you can have who and what you want before they get booked up elsewhere. I would recommend to any couples looking to book a DJ, or indeed any other wedding service providers, that you do a bit of homework and research before you make your decision. Book a DJ based on recommendations, word of mouth references and reputation firstly, and price secondly. Don't worry too much about the location of a DJ, as long as he is within a 50 mile radius of your venue, so, for example, if a DJ comes from Tenby and your wedding party is in Carmarthen, then I would not expect there to be much additional charge applied for the 27 mile distance. Likewise if your DJ lives in Pembroke and your wedding party is in Haverfordwest, a mere 12 miles in distance, then the same still applies. Just make sure that he is the DJ who will provide the best entertainment for you and your guests. Even then, myself included, I will travel anywhere in the UK, but I don't charge for my travel time, maybe only a bit extra just to cover the additional fuel for a long round trip, which is fair enough as I am sure you will agree. It's much more important for you to get the right DJ to do the best job possible for your wedding party or family event. This also applies to any other function like children’s parties, family celebratory functions, corporate events etc. 

These are really important considerations as anyone can buy some equipment and call themselves a DJ, and practice their craft at the expense of your wedding or function, but not necessarily do the job professionally or properly!” You need to look for reliability as well as experience because the night party is the perfect end to a perfect day and the wrong choice of DJ will certainly taint those happy memories at the very least and you cannot afford to have regrets after the event, as some couples have had with entertainment horror stories. If your budget will stretch to a good band as well, the right band will certainly be a good enhancement to the evening, but a good DJ is still absolutely essential to fill in between & complement the band’s set & the wrong choice of ‘band fill in’, ie the band playing music through their PA system, or offering to ‘do a bit of a disco’ could prove disastrous! Another thing that couples tend to have low on their list of priorities until near the date is timings. An early wedding at, say, midday will give everyone the chance to enjoy the day and make the most of everything without rushing. 

If the wedding timings are late, then by the time you finish at the church, complete all the photo options, get to the venue, enjoy the wedding breakfast and speeches, allow for the venue staff to turn the room around, it can spill over into the time allocated for the night party. Perfect timings for the night party are, DJ start at 7.30/8pm with background music, food at around 8.15pm, first dance at around 9pm, then lights down & crank it up, party time!

Listen to advice and opinions about your wedding, take on-board the advice friends and family may give, but remember it’s your wedding and do things the way you want to, make it your day and put your personal stamp on it because there is no right or wrong way to plan a wedding, only your way.

Steve Briers / @DJBriers / Facebook-Steve briers Disco Roadshow