Plugging in the amplifier...
As soon as you make your final decision, contact us. Once we check our schedule and confirm that we are available for your event, we will hold the date for you. We will give you enough time to take care of getting the contract signed and the retainer mailed to us.
We define a wedding reception as beginning with a cocktail hour, then progressing through the rest of the evening. We base our price on the assumption that our time will start at the beginning of the cocktail hour. We will be setup and ready at that time. Our definition of the beginning of the cocktail hour is either the time scheduled for the start of the cocktail hour, or the times guests have arrived for the cocktail hour, whichever is earlier. There are no exceptions to this rule. If you need service for the ceremony, too, our time starts 1/2 hour before the ceremony. It goes continuously until the end of the reception.
Simply ask yourself:
For weddings, we offer, at no additional cost, 3 or 4 pieces of our light show. That will give the people on the dance floor something exciting but won't be annoying to the people who are sitting and talking on the side. We only setup lights, by request. We do not bring them with us unless we know you want them. Be sure to request them before your wedding day.
Our policy is that the DJ must setup on the same level as the guests and the dance floor. The only exception is a stage. Our job is to have the guests hear the DJ, the DJ perform his Master of Ceremonies duties, take guest requests (with your instructions), DJ reading the crowd, etc. we would not be able to do the job you hired us for if we are in a loft. Part of our job involves the DJ leaving the sound system and going out into the hall. For example, we go out to where the bridal party is before introducing them. We line them up and then go back to the system and introduce the bridal party. After that, typically, we go to the head table and announce the people who are giving a toast. We have to be back at our sound system while they are giving the toast in case their speech is too loud, too quiet, or any problem that needs an adjustment of the microphone. Either we would have a long pause in between each speaker or would risk a bad sound or worse. That goes the same for anyone giving a welcome speech or prayer. It could easily take 15 seconds or longer to walk each way to the system. Either we don't do our job of providing quality sound, or we make everyone wait every time we have to go away from our system.
Even during the dance, being up a flight of steps will adversely affect the night. The times that we have been up a flight of steps, some guests never notice how to find us. Meaning they can't make a request. Others won't bother. If you want your DJ to respond to what your guests want to hear, putting a barrier between them interferes with providing a fun night for the guests. It can also be difficult or impossible for the DJ to see the dance floor. That is essential to reading the crowd. Even if we are not taking requests, we adjust the music you requested based on the crowd reaction. If we can't keep an eye on the dance, again, we can't do the job you hired us in the best way.
Finally, lofts will affect the sound quality of the DJ. One possibility is if we have the speakers on the balcony with us. Sound travels mostly straight - not above or below the level of origin. That means the sound is going over all the tables without allowing guests to hear what is going on. Many people will miss the speeches, formalities, and all the essential elements of a wedding reception because of inadequate sound coverage. The other option is to run unnecessary wires down from the balcony to the floor below, so the sound is on the same level as the guests. One consideration we alway weigh in our setup at weddings is to detract as little as possible from the beauty of your reception hall.
We divide our start time calculation into two types. The first is if we are just performing for the reception. For our contract, the beginning of the cocktail hour is our start time. However, if your guests arrive more than 15 minutes before the start time, our start time is when more than a few guests arrive at the cocktail hour. So, if one couple gets stuck in traffic and decides to skip the ceremony and heads over to the reception, our time will not start when they walk in the door. However, if 20 guests are in the room a half-hour before the start time, our time will begin. Please note, our time starts at the beginning of the cocktail hour, even if you have musicians playing or do not request us to play. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy. Even if we are not allowed to setup in the area that the cocktail hour takes place, the price quote we gave you was based on starting our time at the beginning of the cocktail hour. We can setup our back-up system to provide custom music for your guests in the cocktail hour room. There is no setup fee for this. If we provide music or microphones for the service, our time starts 1/2 hour before the ceremony. It continues until the end of the reception. In either case, once the time starts on our clock, it does not stop until we start tearing down to go home. One reason for our policy on start time is so that we neither look bad in front of your guests nor are a distraction to your day. Part of our setting up process involves a soundcheck of the music and the microphones. This would not be good to do in front of your guests. Providing background music for the cocktail hour is entirely different from providing dance music or even the formalities of a wedding. Our wedding package is priced to include an hour for cocktails. But, even if we are not playing music for you, our contract is based on our time beginning of the cocktail hour.
We wear formalwear. You can request us to wear a suit and tie or attire that compliments your theme, but we dress formally for weddings unless you ask otherwise. If a disc jockey does not automatically wear formal attire, they probably don't do too many weddings. Any professional in the wedding market should not have to be told to wear formal attire. For other events, like class reunions, holiday parties, school dances, we wear appropriate attire. That ranges from suit and tie to casual. If you have a preference, let us know in advance.
Like all professionals, we use a written contract to protect both of our interests. Our agreement includes the location of the event, the date, the times we will perform, your total cost for the DJ, when payments are required (in most cases, $300 with the contract, then the balance for 4 hours, photo booth, and uplighting is due fifteen days before the wedding). Any charges for extra hours must be paid by the end of the reception if not paid in advance), and how much additional hours cost. However, full payment is required with the contract if the wedding is less than one month away. You can view our contract online by request. Some other details: we ask that the DJ be provided a meal if one is served (a 4-hour reception is about a 9-hour day for your DJ), and that we need a table provided by the hall. We do not bring a table, the client, caterer, or hall must provide that. We also have requirements about the location of the DJ - basically, if we are not in the same room as the guests or there is a wall between the guests and us, we cannot do our job properly.
We have a very wide variety of music. Because we mostly do weddings, we expect that there will be a lot of different people there who all want to have fun. Your grandparents, parents, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, co-workers, friends, and out-of-town guests will all have a different idea of good music. Especially at the beginning of the dancing, we play music that everyone can enjoy, and will not offend anyone. Later on, as some people leave or sit down to talk, we can play the music that the party crowd will like. In addition to music going back to the big band era up to the current popular music of today, we have a good selection of country, alternative, Christian, and Latin music. We have polkas, jitterbugs, waltzes, and other ballroom dances. For the cocktail hour and over dinner, we have a wide variety of music. There is jazz, classical, the vocalists, light pop hits, instrumentals, piano music, etc. We like to play a mixture of all of these types so that everyone will hear something they like.
The music we buy is either the album version or the radio version. We make sure that it is radio-friendly - meaning that it does not have the words not allowed on the radio. That can mean that there are still offensive words or messages. We do our best to avoid the songs with vulgar messages, but we cannot always be sure that a song will offend you or not. If there is a popular wedding song and you don't want to hear it, it would be best if you specify that in our paperwork.
We may not be able to acquire special versions of songs for your event. YouTube versions or versions not officially released from the record label may not be legally available to us. If there is a different version that you want played that we cannot find, we will have to borrow your CD's. The version we prefer to use is the popular version that people familiar with the song will know. That is usually the album version or the radio version.
There are no hidden fees with OCCASIONS. If the contract says the total is $1750, when it is all completed, that is all you will have paid us. The price is based on the date, location, and the number of hours. The only way the total due would change is if one of those factors changed. The only additional fees that are specified in the contract are if you want to reserve a specific DJ, if we have an unexpected second set-up (this is usually if someone decides after signing the contract that they want us to provide music and/or microphones at the ceremony and it is at another location), if your check is returned from the bank, or you do not pay the entire balance on time.
Yes. Our DJ's are covered with liability insurance. I depend on the continued success of OCCASIONS for my livelihood, so it just makes sense to protect ourselves and our clients. I will be operating the company for a long time into the future. Insurance coverage is essential for that plan.
Because every job is different, we don't want you to have to pay for more than what you are getting. We want fair payment for the services we do provide. Most receptions are 4 or 5 hours long. If we charged you a flat rate, we would have charge you as if your wedding was going to last 6 or 7 hours as many jobs do. If you compare it to a restaurant, and you came in for a light snack and drink, it wouldn't be fair to charge you the same as someone ready for a full meal. Some people want us for 4 hours, some people also want us to provide music and/or microphones at a ceremony, some people wisht to add uplighting, photo booth, etc. Our wedding package includes everything you need for a great reception; there are no hidden fees and no charges for things you don't want. A lot of the price quotes we give are for different amounts. The biggest reason is that we will only charge you for what we do and the services we provide, no more, and no less. The factors that most often change our price rate are the day of the wedding and how far we have to travel and work to get to your reception or the extra work required to setup at the location.
Most likely not, because we mainly do private affairs like weddings. You would not want strangers coming into your wedding or your DJ taking time to make a sales pitch in between songs.
Another reason is that weddings are so important, we don't want to be distracted wondering if a potential client is there during dinner. Or thining maybe you walked in when the dance floor cleared even though we were just playing a request of our bride and groom. Perhaps you stopped by when we were playing a requested country song, and you don't like country. Each wedding is planned to be unique. Even if you were a guest at a wedding we were at we could make your wedding totally different. We have even been hired by two sisters, and the second one said that she wanted the opposite of everything that her sister wanted. Some weekends we have done a Friday wedding that wanted typical wedding music, a Saturday that wanted mostly recent music, and a Sunday wedding that provided a list of most of the songs played during the night.
Also, because weddings are private events, we would not be comfortable bringing in uninvited guests. Most reception rooms do not have a way for outsiders to see and hear what is going on without being right in the place where you and your guests are. And if a DJ lets you come to someone else's wedding, they will probably invite strangers to your wedding.
We have a long list of references. You can ask those people how well we interacted with the crowd, if we led the events, and if they had a good time. There are also websites like The Knot and WeddingWire that post reviews of vendors. We also suggest that you ask your other vendors: your photographer, caterer, banquet manager, etc. They work with DJ's all the time. Many prominent companies recommend us. You can also setup a meeting with us to see how we plan and run a wedding.
Yes. When considering wedding vendors for your ceremony, consider us. But make sure that the ceremony site will allow a DJ. We have all the popular traditional songs from classical elegance to modern alternatives. If you are looking for a way to cut expenses, consider having your DJ perform at the ceremony, too. There are three main advantages to hiring Occasions for your wedding ceremony
Absolutely not. This is not a night out at the bars with just your friends. Your parents, grandparents, co-workers, and nieces & nephews will be there. This is a special day to celebrate with those most important to you. OCCASIONS will fit in with your festivities. Your DJ will wear formalwear and make sure that our sound system fits in with, not clashes with, the formal atmosphere. But beyond that, there will be no signs or banners on our system, we will not insist that our business cards be placed on your guests' plates, and we will not spend the whole night mentioning OCCASIONS over the microphone. We do not jump off the speakers or do anything tasteless, vulgar, or lewd. We do not assume you want inflatable props or instruments, hats, or wigs. We do not embarrass people or play inappropriate requests. After all, you are the center of attention, not the DJ. Our job is to fill the dance floor. We are there to create an atmosphere of fun for all in the context of your wedding day - a day shared with your close family and friends.
We are professionals who are prepared for every wedding. We couldn't correctly do a wedding without a wireless microphone for speeches, prayer, and toast. Therefore, we always bring one to every wedding. If we are providing music and/or microphones at the ceremony, we will have microphones available. See our FAQ above about performing at wedding ceremonies. A lapel microphone can also be setup for the speeches if requested.
Your requests, we play. How we handle the others is up to you. In our MC Forms, we ask how to respond to requests: play them all, play them as long as they are not too different from your requests, or stay strictly within the guidelines given to us. We will never play inappropriate songs without your approval. We get a general idea of your tastes, suggest some songs, and leave room for you to write songs you want to hear and songs you do not want to hear. The first 2 hours or more are background music and then formal events. Then we have an open dance floor for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. There are approximately 17 songs played per hour (based on an average of 3 1/2 minute songs). If you pick 50 dance songs for us to play, you really aren't hiring a DJ. Keep in mind why you hired a DJ and didn't just make some mixtapes. We are trained and experienced to read a crowd and react to what is working and what is not working at a dance. If you insist that we play your pages of requests, we will. But our experience has shown that most of those parties are not fun for the guests. Your guests will leave early if they don't hear the music they want to dance to. Our job is to make sure everybody enjoys themselves. And take it from a music fan. I do not remember more than three songs my DJ played at my wedding. I just remember he had my family and me dancing all night long.
We do not recommend this for many reasons. A significant concern with this is that because the guest provided the request in writing in advance, they will be especially disappointed or angry (yes, guests do get angry at a DJ who cannot play their request) if they do not hear their song. There are lots of reasons why it might not be best to take requests in advance:
We plan to arrive two hours before the start time to set-up and do a soundcheck (some locations up to 3 hours in advance). The contracted times are for our performance. The charge for travel, set-up, and tear down are included in that total rate. We do require that we have access to the room for a minimum of 2 hours before we start. The actual time it takes to prepare is not long. The reason we arrive 2 hours before is in case we are delayed by traffic, locked doors, etc. During that time, we will be bringing in our equipment, setting it up, and doing a soundcheck. Especially in the summer months, we may be in shorts or casual clothes. If you are having the ceremony within view or within hearing of where we will be performing, it could be distracting to your guests, and prevent us from doing a soundcheck - generally looking bad. Make sure that you let us know if you need us to be ready earlier than our start time. We do have an option that allows us to set-up early.
Of course. We are very flexible with the times for a wedding. We know that when you book us 12 months in advance, as you get closer to the wedding day, the times may change. Just let us know. We are also flexible with the ending time.
In most cases, we are available for overtime at the end of the contracted times. We don't want to end the party if there are people still dancing and having a good time. The main reason we would not be able to stay for overtime is if the hall doesn't permit it. Sometimes they book two receptions, and you have to be out by 4 PM or 5 PM, or they limit you to a certain number of hours.
We try our best to keep costs down for all of our clients. Credit cards have a charge that accepting checks and cash does not have. These costs add up quickly. Therefore, the quote we give you is for the cash/check rate. As a courtesy to our clients, we can take a credit card payment if you would prefer. If you want to make payments with a credit card, there is a 4% charge on each amount paid by credit card. We use PayPal to handle credit card transactions. You do not have to sign up with PayPal to use the service. That is the only method we use to process credit card payments.
We use professional-quality disc jockey sound equipment. Each DJ has his own system, so the brands vary, but we only use high-quality audio equipment. Each disc jockey has back-up equipment with him, and there is an available, complete system ready at the office. Every system has a wireless microphone available for speeches, prayer, and toast. All music is legally owned audio files. We do not stream any music during your event. The internet is wonderful, but we don't want to have to count on it at your important party.
Like all professional wedding vendors, we have many safeguards. To prevent problems, we don't keep a sound system in use as long as we could. We keep up on repair and maintenance with our equipment. But if anything should ever happen, there are several solutions. First, the sound system is the same one that we use in gymnasiums and at school dances. If one speaker goes out, there will still be plenty of sound available and a speaker ready to replace it. Wedding volume is a lot lower than at school dances. We have two microphones at every job and extras of necessary cords and connectors. We have a back-up system with each DJ in addition to the main system. This includes back-up of our music. We have a complete system that is kept out of service each weekend. This system can be brought to a job immediately if needed. Third, we have a large network of "friendly competitors." We can call many DJ's in the area who would be more than willing to help us out. We have never had to do this. However, other DJ's have called us, and we helped them as best we could.
Being in the wedding business for 20 years has allowed us to see and solve many different situations and problems. We have the experience to avoid most problems and minimize their impact if they do arise.
Of course, to some degree, that is true. There are many DJ's without wedding experience that will charge less than us, and there are some companies that have extra options or celebrity DJ's that charge more than us. However, our belief is that most of the time, when people say, "You get what you pay for," they are just trying to justify overinflating their prices. We believe you can get a great DJ at many different price levels. Shop around and compare service, value, and that intangible "connection" you feel with a particular DJ. You can find a DJ that you will be happy with for a lot less than what some companies tell you that you have to pay to be happy. Remember, they are trying to scare you into hiring them. Is that the basis for a good relationship while you plan your wedding? Reading DJ promotional materials (I like to keep track of my competition), I would believe that Pennsylvania's "leading wedding entertainer" is a DJ in Erie, and one in Harrisburg, and one in Philadelphia. We formed our web site to answer your questions about OCCASIONS so you can compare the facts. We don't say "the best," "the only," or "the leading." It only matters if we are a good match for you.
Most wedding reception contracts are 4 or 5 hours long. We perform at many that are longer. However, our workday is longer still. Using an example of a short, 4-hour wedding starting at 5 PM, your DJ would probably begin to load their equipment in their car by 2:00 PM, drive to the venue, setup, and then, after the reception, tear down, drive home, and unload their card ending around 10:30 PM. And that is just for a4-hour reception. Typically, we go longer and also provide music for the ceremony. However, in just a4-hour contract, we will be doing very physical labor, walking, standing, and in general, working, for 8 hours and 30 minutes (once again this is a very short day for us, typically we will work 9-11 hours with even more time for the high-energy dance portion).
We don't stop the music, but, like any worker, we deserve time to eat. We aren't always at a location that has nearby food, we would rather not eat junk food while entertaining on your special day, and we won't leave halfway through your reception to search for a meal. But we will get hungry.
Towards the end of the night, when you want a high-energy DJ motivating your guests to have fun and dance, you will be glad that your DJ is focused on entertaining, not distracted by hunger.
A well-fed DJ is a happy DJ! And a good time is contagious.
You may talk to, Skype, Facetime, or meet your DJ before hiring us to make sure that your DJ knows what you want and that you are comfortable with him.
We have an excellent team that understands the importance of committing to perform a job. We have never had a DJ call in sick for a wedding. However, we know it could happen. We have several former DJ's that have gone out on their own that we can call. As mentioned before, we also have an extensive network of capable DJ's we know in the area that would help us out if that was ever needed. We have never had to contact another DJ company to fill in for us at the last minute, but several have called us, and we have always helped out when we could. Your wedding day is too important for us not to have many different back-up plans.
We have an extensive collection of songs that people like to hear and dance to. If we do not have your requested songs, we will do our best to find them. If the song was never popular or is no longer available, we may need to use your copy. This may include songs that were never in the Top 40 for more than five weeks or are over 25 years old. Part of the reason we need the forms completed six weeks before the wedding is to give us time to find any song we don't have that you want. Generally, if we do not own the song and it is not available from our sources, we will need to borrow your copy.
No. If we need to do anything, like take a bathroom break or eat, we do it during the songs. There will be continuous music except for announcements and formal events like speeches, prayer, and toast.
We require one rectangular table that is 3 feet by 6 or 8 feet so that the table is in front of us facing the dance floor. We need a certain amount of space to do our job correctly. We bring two speakers that we place on stands. These will be placed for the best overall sound. Please don't have any tables or walkways between our table and the dance floor. It would be best if our table is right next to the dance floor. We want to make sure during the dinner and cocktail hour everyone can hear the music and our introductions, the speeches, the prayer, and toast. For the guests in the opposite corner to hear us, the sound might be a little loud for people if there is a table immediately in front of the speakers. We recommend that you do not put older people at these closest tables. We want everyone to be able to hear without being too loud for anyone. Once the dancing starts, we may shift the direction of the speakers or even the placement to maximize the sound on the dance floor. We do not setup in lofts. We must be on the same level as the guests. The only exception is that we will setup on a stage. See the above FAQ about lofts if needed.
We require:
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