Tips for having a guest DJ at a destination wedding

You’re planning on getting married somewhere far, far away and you want to have all the talented wedding vendors of your choice to partake in it. This is no easy task. Destination weddings are becoming more popular and for all the right reasons. I strongly suggest hiring a professional wedding planner who specializes in destination weddings. This will save you tons of headache, time and money.

After you’ve picked out the destination, venue/resort and all the event planning, you’re going to consider hiring a local DJ service you can trust. Here are tips in choosing the best wedding DJ. I’ll be honest; hiring a DJ for a destination wedding is not for everyone. If you have a very small crowd, small budget or the venue doesn’t provide the resources you may want to consider an alternative.

6 tips when hiring a guest DJ for destination wedding

Destination weddings are generally more private, romantic and involve only close friends and family. They are, for the most part, cheaper too. However, if you wanted to contract a local wedding vendor for your destination wedding, costs could quickly add up.

• 6) Resorts usually come with all-inclusive drinks. This may tempt your wedding entertainment from keeping sober. It will be in your best interest to include a no drinking policy during your wedding hours. It’ll sound stingy but it’ll save you from ending up on a YouTube clip with the word FAIL in the headline]

• 5) Have the guest DJ contact the A/V technician from the wedding venue/resort to sort all the technical specifications

• 4) Make sure they have a valid passport and travel documents

• 3) Always get dependable travel insurance for you and the guest DJ

• 2) Put everything down in writing. All the services provided and expenses covered must be written formally and signed

• 1) Negotiate with your strengths. If you’re on a tight budget but you REALLY want a particular local wedding DJ to accept your offer, point out the benefits:
  • International DJ experience
  • Looks great on their DJ resume
  • Explore new destinations

Not exactly a vacation

As a mobile wedding DJ, I’ve been offered many potential gigs to perform abroad. Sounds great doesn’t it? Not so much. It has its perks and disadvantages. Ultimately, at a business perspective, it’s not in the Toronto wedding DJs best interest, two reasons for this are:

2) Expenses not met

Once, I was actually told to pay for the trip myself since this was a “vacation for me”. If you want your wedding entertainment to attend, their travel expenses must be paid for. This goes for hiring out of town guest DJs for nightclub events as well. Expenses include:

• Airfare / commute costs

• Accommodation costs

• Transportation to and from the airport / bus terminal

• Some Toronto party DJs may even charge for meals

1) Lost gigs

Hiring a guest DJ for your wedding out of town means the Toronto party DJ will most likely lose the days’ post and prior to the event. This translates into potential lost gigs, which mean a loss of revenue.

Have you been to a destination wedding or any wedding that brought in international entertainment? How did it go? Share your thoughts below. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.