A professional Wedding DJ associate sent me an email about how outraged she was that ABC’s “20/20” did an expose called “Wedding Confidential: Industry Secrets” with Elizabeth Vargas. As what many of the high end professional Rhode Island Wedding DJ company call a ‘Lone Wolf’, meaning I run a one-person company myself, I immediately felt a wave of panic go through my body. I am a small Rhode Island Wedding DJ that makes my full-time income from my business and feared the expose may shed a bad light on the wedding industry. This might in turn effect my personal income. Like everybody else who loves their work, I too need to earn a living.

I watched the video of the expose tonight and was surprised that wedding industry professionals are offended by what was presented, most of it is true! There are may great wedding professionals who really care about the Brides and Grooms we work with, but I am sorry to say, we are the minority. They often speak about how easy it is to manipulate a young Brides vulnerability and wedding fantasy to making more money off her. Not all of the wedding industry works this way but there are enough of them for it to have merit. Please be careful when spending yours or your parents life savings away on your wedding. Check with your gut to see if this feels right for you. Your gut won’t lie, your fantasy of the dream wedding night may.

If you don’t feel right about a certain wedding vendor, follow your instincts and choose somebody else to work with.

The truth is that one of the aspects that Elizabeth Vargas touched on, needs further exploration. She seemed disturbed that event industry professionals like Wedding DJs, photographers, florists and videographers charge ore for wedding than for other events. Well, DUH! The amount of work that goes into a wedding compared to a birthday party, sweet sixteen, anniversary or graduation party are immense differences. I typically invest anywhere from three to ten hours preparation for wedding. A wedding involves meeting with the Bride and Groom, many email exchanges and phone calls, creating a playlist, coordinating Bridal Party Introductions, First Dance, Father-Daughter Dance, Mother-Son Dance,  Cake Cutting, Toasts, Blessings and oh yeah, producing great music and energy for friends and family to dance all night and have tons of fun! That is not even including probably the most important aspect, supporting and helping dissipate the Bride and Groom’s stress and concerns. A good Wedding DJ knows how to calm and guide a Bride and Groom towards their wedding,while making sure everything is planned to a “T”. As I say to my Brides and Grooms all the time, “We do not get a redo of your wedding. If we screw it up, we don’t get to do it again and provide a make-good”.

A Simple Mistake Like Pronouncing a Name Wrong Can Put a Damper on Your Wedding

I love being a Wedding DJ. That does not mean there is not a lot of effort and focus involved with making your day just as you want it. A party that is not a wedding, typically requires just a few hours of prep and minimal, if not no stress and intensity the night of the party. Weddings take a total commitment. An exceptional Wedding DJ cannot just show-up, we need to be totally prepared for whatever twists and turns your wedding may produce; rain, power failures, plane delays, ill family members, birth of babies and who knows what else may transpire? The exceptional Wedding DJ needs to be the one that pulls it all together when the rain comes out of nowhere at an outdoor wedding. The exceptional Wedding DJ needs to have a back-up portable PA that operates off battery if the power fails suddenly. We must be ready with extra cables and microphones if the Bride and Groom forgot to tell me that they are having a family member sing songs on my DJ equipment during dinner.

I hide nothing and want you to know how much more I will dedicate to your wedding compared to a birthday party.

I have no problem charging more money for weddings compared to other parties. In fact, I list the rates of mypackages both on the same page for all to see. I hide nothing and want you to know how much more I will dedicate to your wedding compared to a birthday party. It should be that way.

I invite you to watch the video of “Wedding Confidential: Industry Secrets” below. Let me know what you think!

Wedding Confidential: Industry Secrets

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & Boston DJ