How to Choose a Wedding DJ in New England

7 Questions That Actually Matter
​Planning a wedding in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Maine? Here are the questions you should actually be asking before hiring your wedding DJ.
Choosing a wedding DJ can be surprisingly difficult.
There are a lot of DJs out there. Some are full-time professionals. Some do weddings on the weekends. Some are primarily club or bar DJs. Some are companies that send different DJs to your wedding depending on who is available.
And then there are the questions you see everywhere:
What speakers do you use?
How many songs do you have?
Do you have insurance?
What kind of equipment do you use?
Those questions aren't necessarily bad questions.
But after more than 10 years of DJing weddings, I can tell you that those aren't the questions that will tell you whether someone is going to be a great wedding DJ.
A wedding DJ isn't simply the person who presses play on your music.
Your DJ/MC can have a huge impact on the flow of your reception, the energy in the room, and ultimately how much fun you and your guests have.
So before you hire someone, here are 7 questions I recommend every couple ask.

1. How will you help us plan our wedding reception? This is probably the most important question you can ask.
Your wedding DJ should not disappear after you sign the contract and then show up on your wedding day asking, "So, what are we doing tonight?"
Your DJ should be involved in the planning process.
There are introductions, cocktail hour, dinner, speeches, parent dances, special dances, cake cutting, special announcements, open dancing, last dances, and sometimes a dozen other things happening throughout the night.
How those things are organized matters.
At DJ Justin Gilbert, our process begins well before the wedding day. We sit down with our couples and walk through the reception step by step.
We discuss music, introductions, names and pronunciations, formalities, special requests, announcements, and the overall flow of the evening.
Then we create a detailed FLOW for the reception.
The purpose isn't to make your wedding feel overly structured.
It's actually the opposite.
Good planning gives you the freedom to enjoy your wedding.

2. Who is actually going to DJ my wedding? This is a big one.
If you're talking to a company rather than an individual DJ, make sure you know who is actually going to be standing behind the DJ booth on your wedding day.
You should know:

• Who will be your DJ?
• Will you meet them before the wedding?
• Will they be involved in planning?
• Will they be the person communicating with your other vendors?
• What happens if they become unavailable?

Your wedding isn't a practice event.
You don't want to meet your DJ for the first time when they walk into your reception.
You should already know who is going to be responsible for one of the most important parts of your evening.

3. Is your DJ also a good MC? Being a good DJ and being a good wedding MC are two different skills.
A DJ needs to understand music.
An MC needs to understand people.
The MC is responsible for communicating with your guests, making announcements, introducing important moments, keeping the evening moving, and knowing when to speak—and, just as importantly, when not to speak.
Nobody wants a wedding DJ who spends the entire night screaming into a microphone.
Your MC should be confident without becoming the center of attention.
The wedding should be about you, not the DJ.
A great MC knows how to read the room and make announcements naturally while keeping the reception moving.

4. Can your DJ adapt when something doesn't go according to plan? Here's something that doesn't get talked about enough:
Your wedding will probably not go exactly according to the original timeline.
Maybe dinner takes longer than expected.
Maybe photos run late.
Maybe your maid of honor gets stuck in traffic.
Maybe the photographer needs another 10 minutes.
Maybe your guests aren't ready to dance when you expected them to be.
That's normal.
The question is: Can your DJ adapt?
A professional wedding DJ shouldn't panic when the timeline changes.
They should communicate with your coordinator, photographer, caterer, venue, and other vendors and make adjustments.
I've been in situations where something unexpected happened and I had to step in and help keep the evening moving.
That's part of the job.
Experience isn't just knowing what songs to play.
Experience is knowing what to do when the plan changes.

5. What does your setup actually look like? This is one area where you should absolutely look at photos.
Your DJ's equipment is going to be sitting in your wedding reception for several hours.
It should look professional.
You probably spent a lot of time thinking about your venue, decorations, flowers, tables, linens, lighting, and centerpieces.
You don't want a messy DJ setup with tangled wires and equipment scattered everywhere.
At our weddings, we make a point of keeping the setup clean and professional.
Cords are secured and hidden whenever possible. Equipment is positioned carefully. Speaker stands and other equipment are dressed appropriately.
The goal is simple:
The DJ should blend into the wedding—not look like someone set up a garage sale in the corner of your ballroom.

6. How do you choose the music? This is where hiring a professional wedding DJ can make a huge difference.
You shouldn't have to create a playlist containing 300 songs and tell your DJ to play them in order.
That's not really DJing.
Your DJ should understand your music preferences while also being able to read the dance floor.
Maybe you love 80s music.
Maybe your friends love hip-hop.
Maybe your parents want some Motown.
Maybe your family is from another country and you want to include cultural music.
Maybe you absolutely don't want certain songs played.
All of that information is important.
But once the dance floor opens, your DJ needs to be able to make decisions.
A great wedding DJ knows what to play next.
That's a skill that comes from experience.

7. What happens if something goes wrong? This is the question couples don't always think about.
What happens if a piece of equipment fails?
What happens if the timeline changes?
What happens if a microphone stops working?
What happens if the venue has an unexpected restriction?
What happens if another vendor is running behind?
What happens if something completely unexpected happens?
You aren't hiring a wedding DJ just for the equipment.
You're hiring a professional because you want someone who has the experience to handle those situations.
Professional equipment is important.
But experience is even more important.

Don't Just Hire a DJ. Hire Someone Who Understands Weddings. When you're comparing wedding DJs, it's easy to compare prices.
It's also easy to compare equipment lists.
But I would encourage you to look beyond those things.
Ask yourself:
Who is going to help us plan?
Who is going to keep the reception moving?
Who is going to communicate with our other vendors?
Who is going to read the room?
Who is going to know what to do when something unexpected happens?
And most importantly:
Who do we trust to handle our wedding?
Your wedding DJ should be more than someone who shows up with speakers and a playlist.
They should be part of your planning team.
At DJ Justin Gilbert, our wedding services are built around that idea. We don't simply show up on the wedding day. We work with our couples beforehand to understand exactly how they envision their reception and create a detailed plan for the evening.
We serve weddings throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, and our goal is simple:
You should be able to spend your wedding day enjoying your wedding—not worrying about what happens next.
Ready to Talk About Your Wedding? If you're currently looking for a wedding DJ in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Maine, I'd love to hear about your plans.
Let's talk about your venue, your guests, your music, and what you want your reception to feel like.
Even if you aren't exactly sure what you want yet, that's okay.
That's part of what we're here for.
[Check Availability for Your Wedding]

About DJ Justin Gilbert: DJ Justin Gilbert has been providing professional wedding and mobile DJ services for more than 10 years. Based in New England, DJ Justin Gilbert serves couples throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
From detailed reception planning and MC services to professional DJ entertainment, lighting, and a clean, professional setup, the goal is to make your wedding reception something you and your guests will remember.
DJ Justin Gilbert
Massachusetts • New Hampshire • Maine